31
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
In 1872 a board of officers
recommended the adoption of a meat
can for both infantry and cavalry as
part of the 1872 brace system.
The term can, comes from the Old
English canne, meaning “a cup or
container,” which comes from the
Saxon (Germanic) word kanna,
borrowed from the Late Latin word
canna meaning “a container or vessel”
(Online Etymology Dictionary).
The 1872 meat can
The 1872 meat can was not a field mess item, but was intended to hold the uncooked meat ration
to prevent the grease from getting into the material of the haversack, and everything else
contained therein. The can was made of heavy tinned iron, 6.5 inches long by 5.18 inches tall, by
1.12 inches wide, with a handle on one end, and a friction lid on top with a collapsible bail
handle. The side of the box was embossed with a US in an oval.
In 1874 the Infantry Equipment Board recognized for the first time the need to issue field mess
equipment to the soldier and recommended a “meat-can and plate combined.” The report was
approved and forwarded to the Chief of Ordnance on January 4, 1875. Ordnance Memoranda
No. 19, Infantry Equipment describes the meat can as “two oval dishes made of block-tin, one
deeper than the other, which fit together, forming a meat-ration can… to the deeper dish is
attached a light iron handle which folds over and holds the two together.” The meat can was
eight inches long, six and one half inches wide and one and one half inches deep when closed.
The first pattern can had a slot in the handle, which made the handle prone to bending. By 1879
a second pattern meat can with a solid handle was in production.
Above is the 1874 meat can (type 1) with slotted
handle, and to the right is the 1874 meat can
(type 2) with solid handle in the open position.
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37
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
The third and most numerous of the 1874 meat cans went into production in the early 1880s and
is identified by the pull-ring on the plate being mounted in an offset position. This pattern was
used during the Spanish-American War and into the 20
th
century. After 1910, it became a
secondary standard item but was still in use into World War I.
The 1874 meat can (type 3) used by a member of the 1
st
Rhode Island Infantry, United States Volunteers
during the Spanish-American War. The picture to the right shows the U.S. and Rock Island Arsenal
markings on the handle.
Substitute standard meat can used during the Spanish-
American War.
During the Spanish-American War the
Ordnance Department purchased
substitute standard items for issue.
One such item was a round version of
the meat can (in at least two slight
variations). Two batteries of the 3
rd
U.S. Artillery at the Presidio of San
Francisco preparing for service in the
Philippines received round meat cans.
These items were also used in recruit
mess halls at the beginning of World
War I.
The 1909 Infantry Equipment Board recommended a new meat can that became standard in
1910. The 1910 meat can was similar to the previous model but larger. It measured eight and
one-quarter inches long by six and three-quarter inches wide by approximately one and one-half
inches deep and it was made of aluminum. Like its predecessor, the cover doubled as a plate and
fit into the top of the frying pan and was held in place by a folding galvanized iron handle.
Early in 1918 the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) reported that the 1910 pattern top plate
was too shallow and recommended a deeper configuration. A new meat can with a lid one-half
inch deeper and an appropriately corresponding folding handle, quickly went into production as
the Model 1918.
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24
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
The M-1910 meat can (left) and the M-1918 meat can with deeper top (right).
Prior to 1918 the M-1910 meat can was
manufactured exclusively by Rock Island
Arsenal. Known manufacturers for the M-
1910 and M-1918 meat cans during World War
I include: Aluminum Company of America
(ACA); Landers, Frary & Clark (L. F. & C.);
The J. W. Brown Manufacturing Co.
(T.J.W.B.M. Co.); Wheeling Stamping Co.;
Edmund & Jones Co.; and Rock Island Arsenal
(R.I.A.).
M-1910 meat can handle marked U.S. / L.F. & C. /
1918
In 1932 the Quartermaster Department changed the specification for the meat pan. The new pan
was deeper and had a segmented lid. However, because of the numbers of World War I meat
cans on hand, general production did not begin until the start of World War II.
Beginnings in 1942 meat cans were manufactured of alternate materials to include tin, zinc-
coated steel, and corrosive resistant steel as a substitute for aluminum. Some early production
items have cast handles similar to that found on earlier meat cans, but most had a slightly curved
handle with a round hole at the upper end. In late 1942, aluminum was released by the War
Production Board and production of aluminum meat cans was begun.
Above (left) is a corrosive resistant meat can dated 1942 and (right) an aluminum meat can dated 1944.
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12
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
Some of the known manufactures of meat cans during World War II include: Aluminum Goods
Manufacturing Co. (AGM Co); Buckeye Aluminum Co. (BA Co.); Eastern Aluminum Co. (E.A.
Co.); Knapp Monarch Co.; Southeastern Metals Co. (S.M.Co.); and Vollrath.
Meat can markings: U.S. / ARCO, 1942 (left) and U.S. / M.A. Co. / 1944 (right).
Following World War II the term meat can was changed to meat pan. Both aluminum and
corrosive resistant steel meat pans continued in use into the 1970s. Meat pans in stainless steel
were produced during the Vietnam War and continued to be issued, although virtually unused,
until the end of twentieth century.
A Vietnam Era meat pan in stainless steel, marked on the handle, as seen on the right: U.S. / S/L MFG.
1965 / DSA- 4 – 055006 – TR530.
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23
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
6. Utensils
Prior to 1874, procurement of eating utensils (knife, fork, and spoon) was up to the individual
soldier. On some occasions, such items were, purchased and distributed by a benevolent
commander, purchased by company funds, or in the case of a volunteer regiment, contributed by
a support organization at home. Such cases were, however, the exception rather than the norm.
Seen above are two sets of utensils used during the Civil War. The set on the left was used by a member of
the 10
th
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the set on the right by a member of the 21
st
Maine
Volunteer Infantry.
A Union Knife Company combination folding knife, fork and spoon, shown open on the left and combined
on the right. A compact and practical item, this was one of the more popular items purchased by soldiers.
The knife blade is marked Union / Knife Co. / Naugatuck, and the base of the fork is marked Army (Knife)
/ Union.
In 1874 the Infantry Equipment Board recognized for the first time the need to issue field mess
equipment to the soldier and recommended the knife, fork, and spoon manufactured by Lamson,
Goodenew & Co. of New York. The report was approved and forwarded to the Chief of
Ordnance on January 4, 1875. These items are illustrated in Ordnance Memoranda No. 19,
Infantry Equipment, published in June 1875.
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6
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
The fork was iron cast in one piece and the tines ground to shape. It was marked U.S. or occasionally
U.S.A. on the underside between the tines and the handle.
Knives were made of cast iron in one piece with the blades polished and sharpened. The letters
U.S. were marked on the blade.
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15
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
Spoons were stamped tin plated steel and were generally marked U.S. on the top of the handle,
occasionally the mark was set horizontally.
Utensils were manufactured or contracted for by Watervliet Arsenal from 1875 to 1890 and by
Rock Island Arsenal from 1875 to 1902. Other known contractors include: Steward &
Montgomery; Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett; Manhattan Supply Company; Meriden Cutlery
Company; J. W. Stewart Co.; and Lamson, Goodenew & Company.
National Guard units of the various states were, for the most part, not issued field mess
equipment during peace time. At summer camps, meals were prepared in mess halls or catered
so field mess kits owned by the states were kept in storage or in many cases never acquired at all.
During the mobilization of 1898 for the War with Spain the Quartermaster Corps purchased non-
standard utensils in order to provide for the volunteer force. The items purchased were generally
as close as possible to the Army pattern, but were not marked U.S.
Spanish-American War contingency utensils
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19
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
From 1902 to 1910 Rock Island Arsenal became the exclusive manufacturer of utensils for the
U.S. Army. The forks and knives were stamped steel with tin plating. The knife was stamped,
formed, tempered, and plated, and then an aluminum handle was cast on the tang.
1902 Utensils – the knife is marked R.I.A. U.S. 1907
Spoons and forks were marked on the back of the handle with R.I.A. over the year of production.
These marking were often very faint and are difficult to see. Knives were marked on the side of
the handle. With the passage of the Dick Act in 1904, federal and state items were no longer
differentiated by their markings.
Based on the recommendations of the Infantry Equipment Board of 1909, M-1910 utensils were
similar in appearance to those of 1902. The fork and the spoon were stamped-formed form
corossionless metal consisting of an alloy of brass and nickel. The blade of the M-1910 knife
was shortened, but made in the same manner as previously. Rock Island Arsenal was still the
exclusive manufacturer of these items. Production for the M-1910 utensils began in 1911. The
new utensils continued to be marked in the same location as the previous items.
M-1910 Utensils – the knife is marked R.I.A. U.S. 1911. The markings below the U.S. on the fork and
spoon is G I, stamped by a National Guard unit to indicate that they were federal and not state issued
items.
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26
U.S. Army Field Mess Gear
During World War I contracts were let with commercial manufacturers to make the M-1910
pattern utensils. The fork and spoon were stamped steel with tin platting. The knife was made in
the same manner as at the arsenal with a cast aluminum handle.
M-1910 utensils made during World War I
Known contractors for M-1910 forks include: R. Wallace & Co. (1917 and 1918); Wallace
Brothers Company (WB/W 1917 and 1918); William B. Durgin Company (WBD 1918); Charles
Parker Company (C.P.C. 1918); and Rock Island Arsenal (R.I.A.).
Known contractors for M-1910 spoons include: R. Wallace & Co.; National Enameling
Company (NEC 1917-1918); William B. Durgin Company (WBD 1918); Charles Parker
Company (C.P.C. 1918); Wallace Brothers Company (WB/W 1917 and 1918); and Rock Island
Arsenal (R.I.A.).
Known contractors for M-1910 knives include: American Cutlery Company (AC 1917 and
1918); Hinkley Manufacturing Company (H.M.1918); International Silver Company (1918);
Landers, Frary & Clark Company (L.F. & C. 1917 and 1918); and Rock Island Arsenal (R.I.A.).
Based upon wartime lessons learned, the Army adopted a new pattern of utensil in 1926, but
because of the large quantities of older patterns on hand production did not begin until 1941.
The new utensils were to have openings made in the handles so that the items could be slid onto
the handle of the meat can for cleaning. They continued the requirement for corossionless
materials to be used and the knife to be manufactured in the same manner as the previously.
Specification USA 28-15, dated 23 March 1934 required that M-1910 utensils be modified to
conform to the new pattern but evidence indicates that only a very few were ever modified, so
the M-1910 utensils remained in service into World War II.
By the beginning of World War II responsibility for the design and contracting of field mess
equipment was Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot. Specification JQD-2 dated 3 September
40
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
