IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGE BOXES AND KNAPSACKS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGE BOXES AND KNAPSACKS."-A communica-
tion from abroad by Joseph Wellington Frazier, of the City, County,
and State of New York. United States of America.
Sealed the 18th June 1872, and dated the 17th January 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th January 1872.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGE BOXES AND KNAPSACKS," a com-
munication to me from abroad by Joseph Wellington Frazier, of the
City, County, and State of New York, United States of America, to be
as follows:-

page_text: of which a lid is hung so as to require no such effort on the part of the
of the soldier to keep the box open as the flap of an ordinary cartridge
box demands.
The second part of the Invention consists of a knapsack and cartridge
blocks relatively constructed so as to enable a soldier to carry into action
an extra supply of ammunition without inconveniently loading his
cartridge box. Also, of cartridge blocks hinged together so that they
can be readily folded for adjustment in a cartridge box and as readily
unfolded for adjustment in the knapsack.
The body of the cartridge box is made of leather as usual, and of the
ordinary shape, and within this body are deposited the wooden block or
blocks having a number of holes for receiving the metallic cartridges.
In the present instance there are two wooden blocks hinged together
at one end for a purpose rendered apparent in the second part of the
Invention, which relates to a knapsack and cartridge blocks combined.
The cartridges are retained in the holes of the lower block by a strap
fastened to one end of the said block and passing beneath the heads of
the cartridges, the outer, end of the strap being turned up against and
buttened to the opposite end of the block.
When the upper tier of cartridges has been exhausted both wooden
blocks are withdrawn from the body of the box and reinserted therein
after being reversed, so that what was previously the lower block
becomes the upper block, from which the cartridges may be withdrawn
after unbuttoning the strap.
Instead of the usual flaps for closing the top of the body of the box 2
a falling lid is employed, having at one end a strap united in any suit-
able manner to the end of the body of the box near the lower portion of
the same, the strap being long enough to permit the lid to fall or hang
down in a perpendicular position. The outer end of the lid is furnished
with a short strap provided with a slot for attachment to a stud at the 3
end of the body of the box.
""
The soldier desiring to gain access to the cartridges has simply to
unbutton the strap and throw the lid back to the hanging position when
he has no further care about keeping the box open, such as is required to
keep up the flap of an ordinary cartridge box, both hands and arms 3

page_text: being at liberty to withdraw the cartridges from the box, load his
firc-arm, and discharge the same as rapidly as he may desire.
The falling lid may be attached to the front of the box, but in this
case the hanging lid would be more in the soldier's way than one
hanging on the end of the box.
Under the second part of the Invention it is proposed to employ two
wooden cartridge blocks, cach having a number of receptacles for
cartridges, and both blocks hinged together at one end and secured at
the opposite end by a hook or other suitable fastening, as described in
reference to the first part of the Invention.
The cartridges in the lower block are held in place by a strap attached
to one end of the block and buttened to the opposite end.
The two blocks are together of such dimensions as to fit into an
ordinary cartridge box or into the improved box which forms the subject
of the first part of the Invention, the latter box being of about the same
dimensions and holding about the same weight of ammunition as a
common box.
The knapsack is constructed in the ordinary manner, with the usual
flaps and straps, but care is taken to make it of such dimensions from
the top to the bottom that two cartridge blocks when folded out will
fit snugly between the said top and bottom of the knapsack.
Four blocks are disposed of in the knapsack, one pair hinged together
on each side, while the intervening space between the blocks may be
devoted to clothing.
Each pair of blocks may be retained in place within the knapsack by
a strap or by any other suitable attachments. By thus disposing of the
cartridge blocks within the knapsack they serve as strengthening ribs for
the same and tend to maintain it in a more compact condition than that
in which an ordinary knapsack can be retained, at the same time lighter
and cheaper leather than usual may be employed in the construction of
the knapsack owing to the presence of these strengthening ribs.
When the cartridges in the upper block are exhausted the soldier
reverses the blocks in his cartridge box, and after consuming the
cartridges in the lower block both blocks are removed from the box and
replaced by another pair of loaded blocks taken from the knapsack,

page_text: while the empty blocks take the place of those removed from the
knapsack.
In like manner when the cartridges in the second pair of blocks are
consumed a third pair from the knapsack is placed in the cartridge box
and the empty second pair placed in the knapsack.
Although this Invention enables a soldier to carry three times as
much ammunition as is usual his cartridge box is never inconveniently
loaded.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th July 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN CARTRIDGE BOXES AND KNAPSACKS," a communication to me from abroad
by Joseph Wellington Frazier, of the City, County, and State of New
York, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the

page_text: same to be filed in the Great Seal. Patent Office, within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say :-
The first part of this Invention consists of a cartridge box, to the body
of which a lid is hung substantially in the manner described hereafter,
so as to require no such effort on the part of the soldier to keep the box
open as the flap of an ordinary cartridge box demands.
The second part of the Invention consists of a knapsack and cartridge
blocks, relatively constructed, substantially in the manner described here-
after, so as to enable a soldier to carry into action an extra supply of
ammunition without inconveniently loading his cartridge box; the second
part of the Invention further consisting of cartridge blocks, hinged
together, as described hereafter, so that they can be readily folded for
adjustment in a cartridge box, and as readily unfolded for adjustment in
the knapsack.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved cartridge box; Figure 2
is a vertical section of the same.
Figure 3 is a view illustrating a modification of the Invention.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of an open knapsack illustrating the
disposition of ammunition blocks within the same; and Figure 5 is a
perspective view of the cartridge blocks removed from the knapsack
prior to being introduced into a cartridge box.
The greatest objection to ordinary cartridge boxes is the manipulation
demanded in extracting a charge. In order to do this it is necessary to

page_text: hold up the double flap in front of the box, a matter of inconvenience if
not difficulty for the soldier, especially when in action and when he is
armed with a breech-loader. Holding the weapon in his left hand the
soldier must unbutton and elevate the flap in order to gain access to the
interior, and while he extracts a cartridge with the finger and thumb of
the right hand it is necessary to hold up the flap by pressing it against
his body with the elbow of his left arm; in other words, the soldier is
compelled to adopt a very complex system of manipulation in order to
extract a cartridge from an ordinary box and insert it into the breech of
the fire-arm, and the difficulty of these manipulations is increased by the 1
excitement of the soldier in action and by the rapid loading and dis-
charging of weapons demanded by modern warfare.
This Invention, which will now be fully described, has been designed
with the view of rendering more simple the operation of withdrawing
cartridges from a box.
A is the body of the box, made of leather as usual and of the ordinary
shape, and within this body are deposited the wooden block or blocks
having a number of holes for receiving the metallic cartridges.
In the present instance there are two wooden blocks B and B' hinged
together at a for a purpose rendered apparent in the second part of the
Invention, which relates to a knapsack and cartridge blocks combined.
The cartridges are retained in the holes of the lower block B¹ by a
strap b, fastened to one end of the said block and passing beneath the
heads of the cartridges as shewn in Figure 2, the outer end of the strap
being turned up against and buttoned to the opposite end of the block.
When the upper tier of cartridges has been exhausted both wooden
blocks are withdrawn from the body of the box and reinserted therein
after being reversed so that what was previously the lower block becomes
the upper block, from which the cartridges may be withdrawn after
unbuttoning the strap b. In order to permit the ready withdrawal of
the blocks from the body of the box the opposite sides are cut away x, x,
Figure 1, to allow the operator to grasp the upper portion of the upper
block between his finger and thumb.
Instead of the usual flaps for closing the top of the body of the box
a falling lid B is employed, having at one end a strap d, united in any
suitable manner to the end d' of the body near the lower portion of the

page_text: same, the strap being long enough to permit the lid to fall to the position
shown in Figure 1. The outer end of the lid is furnished with a short
strapf provided with a slot for attachment to a stud at the end e of
the body of the box.
The soldier desiring to gain access to the cartridges has simply to
unbutton the strap and throw the lid back to the position shown in
Figure 1, when he has no further care about keeping the box open, such
as is required to keep up the flap of an ordinary cartridge box, both
hands and arms being at liberty to withdraw the cartridges from the
box, load his firc-arm, and discharge the same as rapidly as he may
desire.
The falling lid may be attached to the front of the box as shewn in
Figure 3; in this case however the hanging lid would be more in the
soldier's way than one hanging on. the end of the box, as shewn in
Figure 1.
When the muzzle-loading musket was the common infantry weapon
the old-fashioned cartridge box was of sufficient capacity to hold ammu-
nition enough for an ordinary action, but the use of breech-loaders and
the rapid firing demanded by modern warfare render the ordinary
cartridge box totally inadequate for the supply of ammunition required
for an ordinary infantry soldier. To increase the dimensions and weight
of the present cartridge box however would seriously incommode the
soldier and interfere with the free movement of his limbs in marching.
The only way of disposing of the extra ammunition demanded by
modern warfare with any degree of comfort to the soldier has been found
to be in the knapsack, as the extra weight can be more easily supported
by the shoulders than by any other part of the body, hence the second
part of this Invention which relates to the construction of the cartridgo
blocks and to the disposal of the same in the knapsack, and which will
now be described.
In Figures 4 and 5, B and B are two wooden blocks, each having a
number of receptacles for cartridges, the two blocks being hinged
together at a and secured at the opposite end by a hook a' or other
suitable fastening.
The cartridges in the lower block are held in place by a strap b
attached at g to one end of the block and buttoned to the opposite end,
as shown in the Drawing.

page_text: The two blocks are together of such dimensions as to fit into an
ordinary cartridge box, or into the box which forms the subject of the
first part of the Invention, the latter box being of about the same
dimensions and holding about the same weight of ammunition as a
common box.
The knapsack F is constructed in the ordinary manner with the usual
flaps and straps, but care is taken to make it of such dimension from
the top i to the bottom j, that two cartridge blocks when folded out as
shewn in Figure 4 will fit snugly between the said top and bottom of
the knapsack.
Four blocks are disposed in the knapsack, one pair hinged together on
cach side, while the intervening space between the blocks may be
devoted to clothing and other matters.
Each pair of blocks may be retained in place within the knapsack by
a strap k, as shewn in Figure 4, or by any other suitable attachments. By 1
thus disposing of the cartridge blocks within the knapsack they serve as
strengthening ribs for the same, and tend to maintain it in a more
compact condition than that in which an ordinary knapsack can be
retained, at the same time lighter and cheaper leather than usual may be
employed in the construction of the knapsack owing to the presence of
these strengthening ribs.
The soldier in going into action carries 120 rounds of cartridges, 40 in
the blocks B and B¹ contained in his cartridge box and 80 in his
knapsack. When the cartridges in the upper block B are exhausted the
soldier reverses the blocks in his cartridge box, and after consuming the 2
cartridges in the lower block B' both blocks are removed from the box
and replaced by another pair of loaded blocks taken from the knapsack,
while the empty blocks take the place of those removed from the
knapsack.
In like manner when the cartridges in the second pair of blocks are
consumed a third pair from the knapsack is placed in the cartridge box,
and the empty second pair placed in the knapsack.
It will be seen without further description that although the Invention
enables a soldier to carry three times as much ammunition as usual his
cartridge box is never inconveniently loaded.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the