A Misidentified Item
Discovered by archeologists in the northwest corner of the west casemate of Fort Stanwix, this match case was part of a British grenadier’s uniform and attached to the shoulder belt. A grenadier was a soldier assigned the task of igniting and throwing grenades. The case kept the slow matches dry during rainy conditions and the perforations allowed for airflow to keep the slow matches burning and ready for use. Match cases from the 1700s are rare to find as archeological artifacts; this one was initially misidentified as a nozzle to a garden hose. It was probably a relic of the British occupation. It is one of only two ever recovered and confirmed archeologically in North America.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
