cap box design

[runes]

Why is there a second flap under the first one on a leather .58 CW cap box, and why is there a strip of sheeps wool on the body side of the box.
Is the wool there to assure a grasp on the caps and is the second flap to rain proof the contents. Seems both South and north used the same design.

 

[musketman]

I'm just guessing here, but with all the marching and running into battle they did, I suspect the wool was there to prevent the percussion caps from banging into each other hard enough to detonate.

 

[bingo1952]

The wool was put in to keep the caps from from falling out from as you said from marching/running/falls and otherwise being in a horizontal position. Ditto on the second cartridge box flap.