Powder Horns

In the eighteenth century, colonists used hollowed-out vessels made from ox or cattle horns to carry their gunpowder for a flintlock musket. Fitted with a plug at the base and a stopper in the spout, the curved form of the powder horn fit around the waist of its user comfortably when worn with a long strap over the shoulder. 

Powder horns were often personalized, inscribed with the names of their owners along with designs ranging from geographic and military landmarks to whimsical creatures. Artisans working in military camps did much of the engraving, a decorative tradition beginning in the 1740s which lasted until the Continental Army began equipping soldiers with cartridge boxes for their gunpowder soon after the Siege of Boston began in 1775. 

After the American Revolution, veterans and their families preserved powder horns as souvenirs of military service.