Rare U.S. Army Hospital Department Bottle / SOLD

Aqua colored glass bottle bearing the raised oval boarder and the text: “U.S.A. Hosp. Dept.”.  This example measures: 6 ¼” x 2 ¼” and is in very good non-excavated condition, free of chips or breaks. Very clean example of a scarce Civil War bottle!

Following the Federal defeat at First Manassas and the grim realization that the war may last years and not months, the Army Medical Department, under the auspices of the Quartermaster Department, (the agency responsible for procuring supplies) began purchasing standard medicines for the army.  These medicines were normally packaged in several ways: in bottles, tins, papers, and boxes.  Army officers seemed to prefer packaging in tins and bottles as these were more robust, holding up to the rigors of the field better than packaging in fragile papers or boxes.

Inventory Number: MED 185 / SOLD