VEMRA org May 24, 2018 How-to 1895 General Service Water Bottle...and how to fake one VEMRA org May 24, 2018 How-to It is not difficult to convert a generic US Civil War canteen to a British 1895 General Service water bottle.The example below is a US Civil War era reproduction canteen from S & S Firearms, a re-enactment sutler from New York.