A linseede oil-painted knapsack sounds like a hot idea!

[folo1]

On the RevWar list, the subject of knapsacks painted with linseed oil came up. In case you might be thinking of doing that yourself, Lee Boyle warned with a statement from James Abeel, an officer of the Continental Army at Valley Forge, wrote to Jacob Weiss on 21 June 1778 ( Mss. 17,402, Library of Congress): "I received the burnt Knapsacks they

Comments

[sharpiefan]

I think I'm rather glad I don't do RevWar... Living history and trying to be accurate is one thing (and a very good thing, too) but that's taking things a little too far. :D

[folo1]

I get the impression this wasn't standard; it was just some officer thinking it would be better if the pouches were water proof (there's been a big discussion on how universal a pratice this was). Abeel saying that he doesn't think this should be done seems more like a fatherly recommendation than a rant against a stupid regulation!

I just thought it would be an appropriate warning against doing that with a the documentation tha it's not a modern safety precaution but something that happened in the past as well!

[herveus]

Oh lordy! If you used modern boiled linseed oil, you might get away with a shorter drying time, but you'd still be wise to be VERY careful.