shelter half

English

Soldier with a shelter tent comprising two shelter halves.

Alternative forms

• shelter-half

Etymology

From shelter +‎ half; compare shelter tent. From mid 19th century.

Noun

shelter half (plural shelter halves)

1. (military) A canvas sheet that, when combined with another, comprises a shelter tent; one half of a shelter tent.
   • 1898, T.P. Conneff, “Campaigning with the 12th U.S. Infantry”, in The Holy Cross Purple, volume 7, page 72:

     The men now had their rifles and 100 rounds of ammunition, one blanket, one shelter-half (one-half a dog tent), one rubber poncho, one coffee-tin, one knife, fork, and spoon, one tin cooking-pan and cover, one canteen and haversack containing three day’s provisions

   • 1982, Dean Nelson, “‘Right Nice Little House[s]’: Impermanent Camp Architecture of the American Civil War”, in Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, volume 1, →DOI, page 80:

     Soldiers were each issued as standard field equipment a woolen blanket, a rubberized or painted muslin blanket or poncho, and a canvas shelter half or tent half with a series of buttons and buttonholes placed on three sides to enable them to be fastened together in various combinations. It was general practice for soldiers to pair off to share sleeping equipment, in effect doubling their potential warmth.

See also

• dog tent
• pup tent