Converted Enlisted Trousers of Lt. William Atwood

Joined
Jul 28, 2015
William Atwood enlisted in Pennsylvania Light Artillery Battery F on August 8th 1862, he was promoted to 2nd Lt and apparently was a frugal individual and elected to take a pair of standard issue trousers and have them altered to an officer's configuration. He also added a rear pocket and since he was mounted, had reinforcing canvas inserted around the bottom cuffs about 7". He had the seam split and dark blue cording/piping sewn in as befitting a junior officer. These were purchased from the Horse Soldier and late of the Jim Stamatelos collection. Inspected by William Giles at the Branch Depot in Steubenville, OH.
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Battery F:

It joined Gen. Banks' army
on the upper Potomac, participated in the action at Dam No. 5
in December and at Hancock, Md. early in Jan. 1862. In the repeated skirmishes between the forces of Gen. Banks and Stone-wall Jackson in April, 1862, the battery was actively employed, but after the closing engagement at Winchester was stationed at Front Royal for three months and was not again in active service until late in August. With Gen. Pope's army, it participated in the fierce struggles of Bull Run and Chantilly and in the minor engagements preceding them. Its guns boomed at South Mountain and Antietam, after which it was posted at Harper's Ferry with the 12th corps. At Charlestown in November and Winchester the following month the battery was active, but it arrived too late for a share in the battle at Fredericksburg.
In the battle at Chancellorsville the command played an important part and on the last day of the fight Capt. Hampton was killed. On account of the heavy losses sustained the battery was consolidated with Battery C early in June and the two batteries were united during the remainder of the year. In the spring of
1864, a number of recruits was received sufficiently large to enable both batteries to become independent organizations. At Camp Barry, Washington, Battery F was refitted and became a part of the defenses of the city until ordered to Harper's Ferry on July 4 and remained in that vicinity until April,
1865.
 
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There has been cheap officers foe ever in the Army who coverted enlisted uniforms. For example I had 6 or 7 enlisted quality of those ugly green army dress shirts. When I became an officer I bought officer quality shirts and had a tailor retailor them for a proper fit (increase collar hight, shorten sleeve length, take in waist) but at times would wear my old enlisted quality shirts.
 
In the 1980's I bought a pair of sky blue trousers, a frock coat, and a kepi sight unseen from a man in N. Colo. who ran a cat at a land fill. Someone who knew me had seen the "Civil War uniform" and called me with the information so I called the owner and bought the items. When they arrived, I was horrified as the frock coat was from a later period and the kepi looked like something an organ grinder's monkey would have worn. However . . . the trousers were ink stamped and dated as can be seen in the photo. I assume they were for heavy artillery based on the stripe and the fact the seat was not reinforced. That same day, I called a friend, asked him if he had a pair -- he didn't -- so I drove 80 miles south to his home and he has them still along with hundreds of uniforms, artillery pieces, three tanks, and more than 1,000 firearms -- but only that one pair of sky blue trousers. At one point years earlier he had bought three four button sack coats from a costume shop in Seattle -- old Bannerman surplus. He kept one and sold the rest.

1865 sky blue arty trousers.jpeg
sky blue arty trousers detail.jpeg
 
Those trousers are worth a small fortune, the piece alone is rare due to the high attrition rate because of wear both during and post war; the sergeant's stripe is incredibly rare. Add to that the artillery aspect and you (your friend) have one of the very few existing trousers of this type and a contract JT Martin, at that.
 
The friend is Hayes O. in Missoula, MT if you happen to know of him. In 1995 I did an inventory of just what he had for sale in his warehouses and it took me 8 days from early AM till late at night. Earlier when I sold him the trousers he did pay what they were worth at that time. That inventory did not include anything in his collection. He is a member of the American Society of Arms Collectors. One time he showed me 8 LeMats including a carbine. Awesome. If you ever get out this way, let me know and I'll arrange for you to meet him and see his collection as you are a serious and knowledgeable collector. [email protected]
 
In the 1980's I bought a pair of sky blue trousers, a frock coat, and a kepi sight unseen from a man in N. Colo. who ran a cat at a land fill. Someone who knew me had seen the "Civil War uniform" and called me with the information so I called the owner and bought the items. When they arrived, I was horrified as the frock coat was from a later period and the kepi looked like something an organ grinder's monkey would have worn. However . . . the trousers were ink stamped and dated as can be seen in the photo. I assume they were for heavy artillery based on the stripe and the fact the seat was not reinforced. That same day, I called a friend, asked him if he had a pair -- he didn't -- so I drove 80 miles south to his home and he has them still along with hundreds of uniforms, artillery pieces, three tanks, and more than 1,000 firearms -- but only that one pair of sky blue trousers. At one point years earlier he had bought three four button sack coats from a costume shop in Seattle -- old Bannerman surplus. He kept one and sold the rest.

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Ralph, I assume your avatar is a picture of yourself, what group and when, we can take this offline, but you may know a very good friend of mine.
 
Correct --- the photo was taken in late 1969 when I finished the Vietnamese language course at The DLISC at Fort Bliss and was on my way to RVN. I had served a year in Delta Co., 3rd SFG and we all switched beret flashes to the 5th. When 3 of us got there, the 101st Abn. had taken a lot of casualties in the Ashau so any abn. officer was sent to the 1o1st where I became the Recon PL for the 1/502 in I Corps triple canopy jungle mountains. I had volunteered for assignment to C & C North but you don't get to do what you want to in the US Army. I was 27 at the time.
 
Correct --- the photo was taken in late 1969 when I finished the Vietnamese language course at The DLISC at Fort Bliss and was on my way to RVN. I had served a year in Delta Co., 3rd SFG and we all switched beret flashes to the 5th. When 3 of us got there, the 101st Abn. had taken a lot of casualties in the Ashau so any abn. officer was sent to the 1o1st where I became the Recon PL for the 1/502 in I Corps triple canopy jungle mountains. I had volunteered for assignment to C & C North but you don't get to do what you want to in the US Army. I was 27 at the time.
Did you know a Ssgt William "Bill" Gordy?
 
William Atwood enlisted in Pennsylvania Light Artillery Battery F on August 8th 1862, he was promoted to 2nd Lt and apparently was a frugal individual and elected to take a pair of standard issue trousers and have them altered to an officer's configuration. He also added a rear pocket and since he was mounted, had reinforcing canvas inserted around the bottom cuffs about 7". He had the seam split and dark blue cording/piping sewn in as befitting a junior officer. These were purchased from the Horse Soldier and late of the Jim Stamatelos collection. Inspected by William Giles at the Branch Depot in Steubenville, OH.View attachment 122593 View attachment 122594 View attachment 122595

Battery F:

It joined Gen. Banks' army
on the upper Potomac, participated in the action at Dam No. 5
in December and at Hancock, Md. early in Jan. 1862. In the repeated skirmishes between the forces of Gen. Banks and Stone-wall Jackson in April, 1862, the battery was actively employed, but after the closing engagement at Winchester was stationed at Front Royal for three months and was not again in active service until late in August. With Gen. Pope's army, it participated in the fierce struggles of Bull Run and Chantilly and in the minor engagements preceding them. Its guns boomed at South Mountain and Antietam, after which it was posted at Harper's Ferry with the 12th corps. At Charlestown in November and Winchester the following month the battery was active, but it arrived too late for a share in the battle at Fredericksburg.
In the battle at Chancellorsville the command played an important part and on the last day of the fight Capt. Hampton was killed. On account of the heavy losses sustained the battery was consolidated with Battery C early in June and the two batteries were united during the remainder of the year. In the spring of
1864, a number of recruits was received sufficiently large to enable both batteries to become independent organizations. At Camp Barry, Washington, Battery F was refitted and became a part of the defenses of the city until ordered to Harper's Ferry on July 4 and remained in that vicinity until April,
1865.
Condition of these trowsers is amazing. They practically look new.
 
I did not know your friend Staff Sgt. Gordy. Sorry. Those two years before RVN service were spent in constant training including two language schools and four changes in MOS.
 
I am writing to clarify the provenance of the Atwood trousers. I bought those trousers, along with the rest of the Atwood grouping, from a Pennsylvania antique dealer, and they were in my Civil War collection from 1978 to 1992. At that time, the William Atwood grouping consisted of a Hardee hat (Tomes, Melvain & Sons), frock coat and epaulets, M1851 eagle plate and sword waistbelt, non-reg sword (Peterson 75 from Schuyler, Hartley & Graham), NCO wool sash, flannel four button sack coat, partially lined broadcloth sack coat with shoulder straps, blue wool vest, white linen vest, eagle head spurs and the Steubenville trousers.

After Atwood was discharged from Hampton's Battery on 1/4/1864, he worked in the War Dept. Then he became Capt. & Asst. Adj. Gen of Vols. on 3/2/65. He was brevetted Major to date from March 13, 1865 for gallant and meritorious service during the war. He was 2nd Lt. in the 19th US Inf, 3/6/66, 1st Lt 7/23/67 and assigned to the 21st US Inf. on 12/15/70. Atwood drowned in the Great Lakes while in transit to serve on a Court Martial board on 10/15/71.

I traded the Atwood grouping, other items and cash, for the uniform and accoutrement grouping of another Federal officer who was KIA at Vicksburg. After it left my care in 1992, I regret to say that the grouping was broken up and the Atwood ID was largely concealed because the dealers did not want buyers to be aware of the fact that the material was used 1865-1871. To their credit, the Horse Soldier was forthright about the Atwood identification.

Given their fine condition, the Steubenville trousers likely were worn by Atwood closer to 1871 than 1865. But they were produced and inspected before the end of the war. My old friend Jim Stamatelos liked EM trousers, but he seldom pursued officer material. I never heard that he owned the Atwood pants, although I cannot completely rule it out.

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