Gunpowder Flask
Maker and role
Robert Dingee, Maker
Production date
1833
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Object detail
Media/Materials
Bronze
Measurements
9" (22.9cm)
Description
Robert Dingee’s 1833 “Bugle Eagle” powder flasks are rarer than those he initially made for the military in 1832. Dingee’s first copper powder flask contract was renewed in 1833, but only for 500 flasks compared to the 3,450 ordered by the government one year earlier. Dingee, an arms manufacturer from New York, had made powder horns for the U.S. military since 1819, but did not produce any metal flasks until 1832. This was the era in which American makers first switched from horn to more-durable copper flasks, following developments that had occurred in France and Britain decades earlier. Dingee’s contract with the U.S. military was renewed throughout the 1830s. He became especially well-known for his so-called “Bugle Eagle”, design which appeared on flasks typically issued to infantrymen.
Gunpowder was sold in bulk and gunpowder flasks were used to carry gunpowder when out in the field.
Gunpowder was sold in bulk and gunpowder flasks were used to carry gunpowder when out in the field.
Object number
59G14/G76-89
Currently on display?
Maker
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