Philippine Insurrection Era Artillery Knapsack/ Valise – 6th Artillery- “QUARANTINE – Disinfected.”

Philippine Insurrection Era Artillery Knapsack/ Valise – 6th Artillery- “QUARANTINE – Disinfected.” Stenciled on front canvas cover, “G” Co. over crossed cannons, over “6” with the soldier’s equipment number, “160.”  His name was “C.L. BILLSBOURGH, pained in black on the other side.  Marked Rock Island Arsenal on the interior russet leather top section.

“The Transatlantic Shift (1898): Originally organized at Fort McHenry, Maryland, just as the Spanish-American War broke out, Batteries D and G were shipped across the Pacific, arriving in the Philippines between July and August 1898. 

Battle of Manila (February 4–5, 1899): When open hostilities erupted between U.S. troops and the Philippine Republic, Light Battery D (commanded by Captain Alexander B. Dyer Jr.) and Light Battery G (under Lieutenant Harry L. Hawthorne) were deployed under the First Division. They shelled initial insurgent trench lines to secure the city’s perimeter. 

Defending “Artillery Hill”:  Battery D famously established a heavily fortified position known as “Camp Scott” near San Pedro, Makati. Operating 3.2-inch rifled guns behind constructed sandbag and stone breastworks, they provided vital fire support to infantry units—such as the 1st Washington Volunteer Infantry—while keeping their own ammunition caissons and pack animals safe from incoming Mauser rifle fire. 

The Southern Campaigns (1899): Battery G was shifted south to the Island of Panay. During the engagements at Iloilo and Jaro in early 1899, Battery G successfully shelled entrenched Filipino forces, scattering them ahead of the advancing 18th U.S. Infantry. ” (Google AI).

Baggage and Footlocker Labels: Personal property, uniform trunks, and equipment crates belonging to officers and enlisted men of units like the 6th Artillery had to clear customs and health inspections. Board of Health or Marine-Hospital Service officials pasted adhesive paper certificates directly onto these crates to certify that the contents had been successfully baked, steamed, or chemically fumigated.

Missing parts of the label, but canvas is sound, lightly soiled with russet leather straps in fine supple condition.  First we’ve seen with this Quarantine label.

A scarce example.