***If you only ever get one U.S. canteen, this type should be it.***
For a long time, many reenactors avoided canteens with chains due to how common they are in the mainstream side of the hobby.  Certainly, those canteens mainstreamers use are garbage, but it turns out that a New York contract canteen with chain is the most versatile canteen you can have.  Among the most widely issued canteens in the Army of the Potomac as well as in the Western Theater were those contracted by the New York Depot.  Featuring a custom pewter spout and stoppers with brass nuts and unique domed caps that match the wartime production (rather than the usual incorrect stopper sold with every canteen), this is the only US canteen that will work for virtually any impression.