Sailor’s Purser Sea Bag - Identified to Silas Butler, U.S. Navy
New England, early 19th century - 20 x 40 inches 
 
A rare linen sailor’s sea bag identified to Silas Butler (1778–1837), purser in the United States Navy and later master purser at the New York Navy Yard. Entirely hand-stitched and stenciled “S. BUTLER,” the bag survives as a direct and personal artifact of naval service in the early republic.
 
Objects of this type formed part of the practical fabric of daily life at sea and provide an unusually immediate connection to the lived experience of naval service in the years surrounding the War of 1812.
 
Condition: Very fine; minor holes consistent with age and use.