Tractor Repair: 1953 ford 8n battery problems, ford 8n tractor, negative cable

Question
Evening Arnie, I've resently inherited a 1953 ford 8n tractor from my late fathers estate .  I'm damned good with cars but not a expert on 6 volt systums, in fact I'm a 6 volt beginner .  I totally understand the terminology of auto electrical systums so that may be of some help .  Mistake 1, i reciever this tractor in bad shape but it ran .  The battery went dead and I replaced it unfortunately with a 12 volt battery .  The 12 volt went to hell very quickly and I bought a 6 volt from tractor supply .  I also replaced the ford blue electrical box found under the dash board .  The 6 volt immediately drained itself and repeated attempts to charge it with a 6 volt charger are not working .  My older brother told me to jump the battery by placing the positive jumper clapm on the negitive battery terminal and the negitive jumpper clapm on the positive battery terminal . ???  I'm confused by everybodys efforts to be of help .  Can you straighten me out on how this is done by an expert on the matter Arnie ?  I'd be so very thankful !

Answer
  There seems to be some conflicting information.  Are you sure this is an 8N and not a newer model?  The 8N was only produced until 1952, and I have not seen one with a blue electrical box under the dash.  I'm guessing that the box you replaced is probably a voltage regulator which could be different colors, but is usually black.  Blue did not become Ford's color until many years later.  A 6 volt system is positive ground, meaning the positive battery cable grounds to the tractor chassis, and the negative cable goes to the starter which is just the opposite of a 12 volt system which of course is negative ground.  Putting a 12 volt battery in it could have caused other damage to the generator, wiring, or ignition system, especially if you hooked it up as negative ground.  When jump starting, you should always connect positive to positive and negative to negative, but you can only jump start a 6 volt from another 6 volt anyway.  If you try to jump it from a 12 volt system, there will be lots of sparks and you can do the same damage as putting the 12 volt battery in the tractor.