Description
Fresh from an estate sale in rural Pender County, NC, this classic example of a cavalry canteen is beyond rare. It is often called a wagon canteen which is quite a bit larger than a standard canteen since at times even horses need a drink of water!
This canteen is all hand made and is completely original in all respects. It even retains the original vent stick and loop chain and would likely hold water again!
Neatly carved into one side is the name of the soldier and his unit and all carving has aged well with the wood. A records check quickly found the soldier and all information as carved matches his early War enlistment documents.
John B. Sage enlisted into the Confederate Army on May 14, 1862 and served in the 5th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, and later transferred briefly into the 25th NC Infantry before being transferred to the 6th NC Cavalry in 1863. He is documented as having been taken a Prisoner of War on 8/3/1863 but the location is not noted.
Fresh UPDATE! From a dear friend in Phoenix
Hey Will,
On that nice canteen you have, there is an additional interesting further back story.
Private Sage was never a deserter. Instead he and others in his company and related companies were on (an apparently semi-secret) missions of destroy railroad bridges inside Yankee lines on those occasions, mistakenly listed in the Confederate roll records as deserters. Apparently the officer of the day taking roll did not know they were on special missions behind enemy lines.
Remarkably, the Confederate records for those guys was ordered to be corrected by act of the House and Senate( USA) dated March 26, 1869:
This would likely have allowed these soldiers to get back pay and pension benefits from the southern state where then lived. Sage was in Company B for purposes of this Act of Congress:
Detachment of the 2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry – Part 1
In 1864 soldiers from the 2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry were ordered to go on detachment to the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry to make a raid against the enemy and to destroy railroad bridges. While on detachment these men were listed as deserters in the rolls of their regiment. This error was corrected by an act of congress dated 26 March 1869 that ordered the Secretary of War to remove the charges of desertion or absent without leave from the following soldiers:
On 9 February 1870, an amendment to that act included the names of more soldiers who had been wrongfully listed as deserters. Those soldiers are listed in Part 2.
Company A
Joseph Thompson
Job Rice
A. J. Massey
John W. Bullman
James Arrowood
Kinsey Kensley
George West
William Hunter
Alfred Fox
Allen Fox
Company B
Henry M. Revis
George M. Roberts
Jacob M. Revis
Adam F. Eller
Pinkney Fox
Robert L. Fox
Spencer Rice
Patterson Reece
Robert H. Pickens
Calvin Maney
Sheperd Deaver
Robert Sams
J. B. Gosnel
Peter M. Hughy
Alexander Beachboard
John S. West
Edward Sams
Jeremiah Buckner
Thomas D. Cole
James P. Arrowood
John B. Sage
James M. Cole
John H. Payne
Company C
Lewis W. Ramsey
Samuel Rector
Manley Ball
Hiram Rice
John H. Wild
John Ramsey
George W. Freeman
Andrew J. Freeman
Robert Anderson
David Lunsford
Jacob H. Wild
John M. Wild
Jackson Paris
William D. Perry
George N. Stines
Job Ramsey
Jackson Ramsey
Abner Brooks
Lewis Paris
Benjamin F. Freeman
Seth Freeman
Jasper Brown
James Pain
Company D
Leander Wright
Company E
John Stanton
Hackley Norton
Eliphas Shelton
Ezekiel Sams
James Norton
Samuel Gosnel
William Hensley
Peter McCoy
Simon P. Presnel
William Gentry
William Norton
Tilman Landers
William Shelton
Balis Norton
David Norton
Francis M. Franklin
George M. Gentry
James Gosnel
William J. McCoy
William Norton jr
Jesse Norton
John E. Griffin
Andrew J. Banks
John H. Cook
William Shelton jr
Thomas J. Candler
David Shelton
Robert H. Hare
Larkin Stanton
James Norton jr
George W. Gentry
Company F
James M. Case
John H. Drake
Joshua F. Case
William C. Lanning
Levi Cantrell
E. F. Case
William F. Case
John Cantrell
Wilie Gosnel
William H. Walker
Richard T. Drake
James J. Camp
Voltair V. C. Cantrell
Company H:
Ezekiel Kuykendoll
Daniel Gilbert
Best regards, Rollie Wightman
