how heavy is one half of a chest?

The weight varies a lot depending on the timber. A solid mahogany half is heavy enough that one person will struggle to lift it comfortably. Teak examples are even denser. You'll usually need two people to move the bottom section safely once the drawers are full.

My grandfather left me a two-part chest that has no brass bindings on the corners at all, could it still have been used by the military?

Yes, it could. While the classic antique campaign chest features brass strapwork, many officers bought plainer versions to save money or weight. Naval officers in particular often used unbound chests because ships offered smoother transport than rough land routes. You'll want to look at the handles instead. If the drawer pulls sit flush to the wood and the piece splits in two, it belongs to the travel furniture family regardless of corner bindings.

what are the pegs on the top half for?

Those are locating dowels. They slot into matching holes on the bottom half to stop the top section sliding around. Some makers used iron pins instead of wooden pegs. A restorer can easily turn new ones if yours are missing.

I have noticed the bottom drawer on my piece is much deeper than the rest of them, did they do that just to make it look balanced or was there a reason?

That deeper bottom drawer had a very specific function. It was proportioned to hold bulky items like uniforms, boots and saddle gear that simply would not fit into the standard top drawers. Cabinet makers understood that soldiers lived out of these pieces. They arranged the drawer depths to mirror the kit an officer had to carry, keeping the heavy gear low down for stability.

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Designed to be packed up and transported across the Empire, an antique campaign chest is a two-part chest of drawers fitted with flush brass hardware and removable feet that allowed officers to carry their furniture safely into the field.

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