WW1 AMERICAN TYPE 2 CANVAS HAVERSACK WITH WW2 DATED STRAP

This is an original WW1 haversack (or backpack).  It is the 1874 type 2 with a drab canvas flap and a shoulder strap with a chambers buckle.

The strap has been replaced by a WW2 soldier and it dated 1943. Also written on it is the service number of the soldier, only partially legible where we can see 24x5959.

The term haversack comes from the seventeenth century Low German word hafersach
meaning “a cavalry trooper's bag for horse provender,” literally an oat sack. By the mid eighteenth century the French were using the word havresac to mean “a single strapped bag worn over one shoulder and used for carrying rations.”

A haversack marked for Company F, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), Soldier No. 64.  Company F of the 3rd Infantry Regiment was part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during WW1. The 3rd Infantry Regiment has a long history and played a significant role in various battles during the war.