By Carrie Blough
Imagine Jonathan Armstrong, exhausted and victorious after a hard-fought battle during the American Revolution, quenching his thirst with this canteen. Canteens were often made of wood in the 18th century, and the two most common types were the drum and cheesebox styles. Armstrong’scanteen, which is 6.25 inches in diameter and 3.75 inches high, was made in the drum style. It is a staved vessel, made by a cooper (a craftsman who builds wooden containers) with specialized tools for constructing watertight vessels without nails. Coopers also made buckets, barrels and other storage containers in this manner. Armstrong’s canteen has three iron braces for holding a strap that would have gone around his neck and under his arm. Some canteens were painted and engraved with the owner’s name. Others, such as Armstrong’s, were plain.
Armstrong, who was born in Connecticut in 1743, carried this canteen with him as he fought in the War of Independence. He served with Vermonters under Captain Daniel Smith’s Company, which was part of Colonel Ira Allen’s Regiment. Armstrong distinguished himself by capturing the wounded colonel of the Corps of Royalists, Francis J. von Pfister, during the fighting at Hoosick Falls, N.Y., in the Battle of Bennington in August 1777. Pfister had been shot while leading a cavalry troop and died sometime after his capture.
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