"A Wooden Bottle Made With One Hoop" - Why Tin Canteens Were Not Carried By Massachusetts Militia Men at Lexington and Concord

Over the past several years the nerds have received multiple inquiries regarding whether or not tin canteens were used by Massachusetts militia and minute companies at the outbreak of the American Revolution. At first, we naturally assumed that these water containers would have been readily available as they were issued to Massachusetts Provincials fighting in the French and Indian War. However, the more we examined the matter, the more we were convinced that tin canteens were most likely not utilized by Massachusetts forces on April 19, 1775.

The first thing we noticed in our research was as early as 1746, tin canteens were referred to as "flasks" and "tin flasks" rather than “canteens”.  Of course, the tin industry was almost non-existent in mid-18th Century New England and as a result, Massachusetts officials were heavily dependent upon England to deliver tin flasks to the colony.  

During the French and Indian War, English supply lines were sporadic and occasionally non-existent. Thus, there is a gradual evolution by the Massachusetts legislature to supply only wood canteens or “wood bottles”. At first, colonial officials recommended troops be supplied with tin flasks or “wooden bottles”.  However, by 1758-1759, the Massachusetts legislature had entirely ceased recommending tin flasks and ordered provincial soldiers be supplied with “a wooden bottle made with one hoop ... or a Canteen". 

Understandably, some researchers will argue the legislative term “canteen” is a continued reference to tin canteens. Respectfully we disagree. Given the legislature’s shift to wood water vessels in 1758, we believe the term “canteen” was a possible reference to wooden staved canteens.

That said, we do want to mention that a limited amount of tin flasks were issued to Massachusetts provincial troops during the French and Indian War. At least 1000 tin flasks (ie canteens) from England were disbursed to Colonel Thomas Doty's Regiment in May 1758. According to the "Account of Warlike Stores deliver'd Col., Thomas Doty's Regiment" the unit received "...1000 flasks, 183 Tin Kettles." It should be noted that this report of equipment issued surfaced in a Boston newspaper after Colonel Doty publicly claimed his regiment never received weapons, canteens, and accoutrements.

So assuming that at least 1000 tin canteens were in the hands of provincials in 1758, the next question is whether they remained in serviceable condition to be of any use in 1775?

During the French and Indian War, the British government was not sending its best arms and equipment to the American colonies. Many provincial soldiers and colonial officials repeatedly complained about the quality of supplies they received. In 1756, Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie complained about a shipment of arms and equipment that was received and slated to be shared amongst the American colonies, including Massachusetts. According to Dinwiddie, the stands of arms were “in a very rusty condition, and it w’d appear they had been underwater for months.”

The previous year, on September 28, 1755, Governor Shirley and Major General William Pepperrell both received correspondence highlighting the inadequacies of weapons and equipment sent to Massachusetts provincials. “The locks being wore out and the hammers so soft, that notwithstanding repeated repairs they are most unfit for service, particularly Sir William Pepperrell’s Regiment being old Dutch arms. The holes of the pouches and boxes are so small that they cannot receive the Cartridge, nor is there substance of the wood, to widen them sufficiently. The leather scanty and bad likewise.”

Given the above, we suspect tin canteens issued from England were also of poor quality and would not have survived a hard military campaign season, let alone twelve to seventeen years of service on a New England farm before being used on April 19th.

However, to cover all bases, we returned to the Massachusetts legislative records and examined petitions for compensation for property, destroyed or lost at the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill. There are NO claim or request for compensation for lost tin flasks or tin canteens. We also examined available returns and orders for Massachusetts minute and militia companies immediately before or after Lexington and Concord. While we have uncovered references to "wooden bottles" we have not found a specific reference to “tin flasks”.

Finally, we examined merchant advertisements from Boston, Salem and Newburyport between 1770 and 1776. Unfortunately, we could not find a single advertisement for tin flasks or tin canteens.

As a result, we’re of the opinion tin canteens were not utilized by Massachusetts militia and minute companies at Lexington and Concord.

Of course, if you know of any available documentation that challenges our theory, please let us know! We’d love to get your thoughts on the issue!