Historical Information
Waterbottles, or canteens, were classes as camp equipment and only issued when troops were ordered on active service. It is not known when the wooden canteen, illustrated here, was first taken into use but during the American War of Independence, 1776-1783, British troop carried tin canteens. The earliest known description of the wooden pattern is of one carried by a Light Dragoon in the sketch "The Death of Major-General Mansel at Beaumont" by C. Hamilton Smith, 1794.[1]
The following two accounts give a brief description. "20,00 wooden canteens to contain three prints...'the timber to best Riga oak'" (1813). "The leather strap to be five feet, eight inches long and one inch broad" (1810).[2]
Sources
The following is the list of approved vendors for the canteen and belt. Please do not purchase a canteen or belt elsewhere without officer approval.