Blakeslee cartridge box

[wild willi]

Now pards bare with me, as a feller once told me" I aint smart and don't know nothin neither" I got me a Spence here in the wire awhile back and a fellow showed me a Blakeslee cartridge box he made or bought from someone on the wire. What I remember is there were several PVC pipe tubes.I have a 45 schofiled caliber.  If you know what wh mkes or sell these that would be super, If you know what the PVC tubes are that ould be ok as well or an dimensions!
Thanks WW

[Two Flints]

Try this link,  http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,13249.0.html and the information it contains.  Not sure about a .45 Schofield Blakeslee, though.  These may all be for the 56-50.

Wild Willi, are you joining our Spencer Shooting Society?  Let me know, please by Email fsgrand2@fairpoint.net.  Always looking for more .45 Schofield Spencer members

Two Flints

[SGT John Chapman]

Hey Two Flints,...
Do you still have the info you sent Snapshot in this thread?   http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=7958.0

I'm looking at making my own Blakeslee Box before long.

Thanks,

[Two Flints]

Hi SGT Chapman,

I think this is the diagram I was unable to reproduce before.  I think I have better software now than I had back in 2006.  Whew, has it been that long since I posted that information in the first place.

Just right click on the photo/diagram and you can print out a hard copy.



If you need the full article, send me your address by Email at fsgrand2@fairpoint.net, although it's more historical, and I've already posted the measurement information on that link you provided.

Two Flints

[SGT John Chapman]

Yes Sir,... I have the picture above and the one with the soldier and the Spencer Rifle Butt. I have another set of pics that I captured from one for sale. They are of an original first run 6 tube Blakeslee Box.

[Jan Buchwald]

Two Flints
What was in the little pouch on the side?
Are there some special "Spencer tools"?
JBW

[Two Flints]

JBW,

That pouch on the Blakeslee was originally intended to carry cartridges for whatever revolver the soldier had on his person.  It was placed on the first Blakeslees made, but later on, because if loaded with more (revolver) cartridges the weight of the Blakeslee increased too much, it was eliminated from later made Blakeslees. 

Still could be used to hold cleaning and repair tools, though.

Two Flints

[Herbert]

The pouch on the side of most Blakedlee boxs is the implement pouch for caring thw Spencer combination tool and a puul through + a bit of cleaning rage,the cobination tools and pull throughs can still be got from S&S in very good condition

[SGT John Chapman]

That's what the pocket gets used for, but as Two Flints said, from the patent write up, it was intended for a packet of 6 paper pistol cartridges.

[Two Flints]

   Wow, I just love the renewed interest in the Blakeslee "quick loader".  The pouch on the Blakeslee was initially first intended as a holding pocket for pistol cartridges, but was also used to hold the Spencer cleaning tools described below.

Spencer two blade combination tool as issued during and after the Civil War.  

This is an original example of the cleaning tool for a post Civil War Spencer carbine or rifle. This is the classic style that would have been used with the famous cartridge Spencer of the Indian War era.

It has the screwdriver style blades very similar to the Civil War ones except the end with the hole is shorter than a Civil War example.







Spencer Carbine Bore Cleaning Brush

A second tool is the Civil War era bore cleaning brush for a Spencer cavalry carbine. This one has the full-length leather portion that was used top pull the brush itself through the barrel of the carbine. At the end of the leather strap, the brush and brass base are both complete and in fine shape.

[Herbert]

You would end up with one hell af a mess if you tryed to store paper cartridges in the pouch of the isue Blakselee box, the patent box pouch must have been very diffrent.Just out of interest were did you find the refrence to the pouch being yoused to hold paper cartridges,the only refrence I can find call it a implement pouch

[Two Flints]

Hi Herbert,

This is the best reference I could find to the intended use of the Blakeslee pouch, taken from Arming & Equipping the United States Cavalry 1865-1902 by Dusan P. Farrington.  I'll try to find another reference, if time permits.



Two Flints

[SGT John Chapman]

http://www.google.com/patents?id=USUAAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=45469&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

No. 45,469.

E. BLAKESLEE. Cartridge Box.

Patented Dec. 20, 1864.

H. PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHEf!. WASHINGTON. D C

United States Patent Office.

ERASTUS BLAKESLEE, OF PLYMOUTH, CONNECTICUT.
IMPROVEMENT IN CARTRIDGE-BOXES.


Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,469, dated December 20, 1804.

To all ivhoin it may concern:

Be it known that J, Erastus Blakeslee, of Plymouth, Litchfield county, and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements iu Cartridge-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be an exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of 1his specification.

The nature of iny invention consists in the combination of oiie or more metal tubes containing cartridges, with a spring-top cartridgebox and side-pouch for pistol-cartridges.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation, as follows:

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the cartridge-box complete; Fig. 2, a sectional view of a tube, with the elastic bottom. Figs. 3 and 4 show a tube with springs attached to a wire.

A represents the cartridge box, made of wood or metal and covered with leather, and is about one foot in length and three by two inches square.

B is a strap, by which the box is suspended over the shoulder. The one end of this strap is attached at the float side of the box by a loop and eye, B, and theother end by a hook, C, and eye D, at tlie lower side of the box. This strap can be shortened or lengthened at pleasure, to suit the size of the person, by moving the hook E to an upper or lower hole. G is the self-shutting lid at top, connected with the box A by a spring-hinge, F, to keep the lid always shut and prevent the accidental loss of ammunition. The lid is also secured by a tongue and button, H H.

J is a pouch at the front side of the box, secured by a tongue and button, K K, intended to contain pistol-cartridges.

L L are long tubes, made of tin or any suitable material (one or more in number) to suit the length and size of the box. Each of these tubes are filled with seven cartridges—more or less in number. The tubes fit closely in corresponding chambers in the box, and a tube is drawn out of the box whenever the fbe-arm is to be loaded. They are admirably

adapted for loading carbines such as the Spencer carbine.

In case I use a single tube, L, I attach a wire, O, inclosed on the outside of the tube L, as shown at Figs. 3 and 4, with a spiral spring, P, at top, and a flat steel spring, E, at the bottom, and I reverse the tube so that the open end is below.

The cartridges are - first inserted in the wooden chambers of the cartridge-box. I then shove the movable metal tube over the cartridges, when I desire a charge of cartridges, and by means of the lower spring, R, I withdraw all the cartridges of one chamber and drop them out of the tube L into the piece or fire-arm. When the wire O is up, as at Fig. 3, the spring K hangs flat against the side of the tube L, and the tube L can be thrust down over the cartridges; but when the wire O is pressed down from the top, as shown at Fig. 4, the flat spring R at the bottom bends outward underneath the lower cartridge, and a small hook or catch holds the spiral spring P to its place, and thus the whole charge of seven cartridges can be withdrawn at once.

M M are small elastic buttons, made of india-rubber and fitted in the bottom of each tube, to prevent the cartridges from being jarred or injured by friction or concussion when the tubes are charged with the cartridges. A loop, N, is fastened by rivets to the back of the cartridge-box near the lower end, by which the box is secured to the saberbelt of the soldier.

This tubular cartridge-box is very light, easily carried, and very convenient for loading various kinds of fire-arms, and the ammunition is well protected and preserved.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is—

The combination of one or more movable metal tubes, each containing two or more cartridges, with a spring-top cartridge-box and side pouch, as herein described and for the purposes set forth.

ERASTUS BLAKESLEE.

Witnesses:

I. Franklin Keigabt,

JOHN S. HOLLINGrSHEAD.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
From SGT John Chapman - http://www.google.com/patents?id=USUAAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=45469&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

[Herbert]

Very interesting,were the pistol cartridges ment to be put a metal container then placed in the pouch,that would protect them from damage,for interest sake I put 6 44 rusian cartridges in the puch of my 6 tube Blakeslee box (the closest I could find to the 44 paper cartridges for size)and found that if the paper cartridges were in a box the idear would have worked but would have been not as handy as a seprate pistol cartridge box

[SGT John Chapman]

The pouch in the new manufacture boxes is incorrect and made for ease of sewing/manufacture,...the originals appear to be cased(moulded) to stand off the actual cartridge box.

[SGT John Chapman]

http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=326.0

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,37269.50.html

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,9695.0.html

[Herbert]

Thank you for that imfomation,I belive I will have a go at making some,you have done a butifull job on the boxes.Looking at the pictures of the original Blakeslee 6 tube box in the Marcot book mine apears identical to the production one,it would take a box of cartridges but would benifit from a bit of moulding if you were to do it with the carbord boxes,and even then I would gess that the cartridges would be very easily damaged by field conditions,my gess is that is the reason the idea was abandonded

[SGT John Chapman]

This is what I was talking about with the pocket Herbert,......

[SGT John Chapman]

Closer view,.....You can see it's cased and just not a sewn on pouch,....it also has a tab and buckle not a slip through slit.

[Herbert]

That one is the same as the type A 6 tube box in the Marcot book,mine is a copy of the type B box,wich in the book the pouch apears to be moulded in the pouch and has a slip through tab and brass button,the patent model also seems the same except it has a metal lid hinge