Infantry Coat

Corsetiére

Cadet
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Location
Columbus, Ohio
Well, this was a bit of a surprise! A friend was moving and said she has a bunch of antiques clothes she wanted to give me. When she dropped them off in a plastic garbage bag, I took a cursory glance and it looked like your typical lot of 1860's women's clothes - interesting but nothing particularly unique or special. I'm always interested in historical clothing, because I'm corsetmaker, as my career, and have worked on period dramas like Mercy Street - so of course I took the clothes to study at a later date. Months later I finally had a chance to really look at things and look what I found! At first I just assumed it was possibly a fraternal society coat, then I noticed the buttons! LOL! Here's some photos of me goofing around with it before I knew the value of what I had! Can you believe it?! Now, I need to get an acid free box for it! ha ha!

Now I kind of want to create a reproduction to actually wear! Who has the best pattern?!

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Well, this was a bit of a surprise! A friend was moving and said she has a bunch of antiques clothes she wanted to give me. When she dropped them off in a plastic garbage bag, I took a cursory glance and it looked like your typical lot of 1860's women's clothes - interesting but nothing particularly unique or special. I'm always interested in historical clothing, because I'm corsetmaker, as my career, and have worked on period dramas like Mercy Street - so of course I took the clothes to study at a later date. Months later I finally had a chance to really look at things and look what I found! At first I just assumed it was possibly a fraternal society coat, then I noticed the buttons! LOL! Here's some photos of me goofing around with it before I knew the value of what I had! Can you believe it?! Now, I need to get an acid free box for it! ha ha!

Now I kind of want to create a reproduction to actually wear! Who has the best pattern?!

IMG_8757.jpg


IMG_8791.jpg


IMG_8809.jpg


IMG_8817.jpg
That is an awesome looking coat, would you please post pictures of the interior, particularly the sleeves and button hole close up? The coat has balloon sleeves which is always a good sign, but an interior look will help refine the date of the coat and give an idea as to the financial health of the officer who wore it.

What a great surprise! I'll ask my friends at S&S who might have the best patterns in their opinion and let you know, Tim and Debbie are great people and love to help.
 
Sure! I was actually really fascinated with the interior structure and quilting. I love those sleeves! I don't know why we don't see them in contemporary fashion?! I think they are beautiful!

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What a beautiful coat, your officer had means, that is a very finely made ACW date coat. The quality of the broadcloth, inner belting, velvet collar and superior padding are all indication of a very high end tailor! Typically a line officer would have a more cheaply made coat. Check the tail pockets (in the skirts) for any hidden treasures, in addition to the inner seam pocket, never know, I've found calling cards in kepi sweatbands...........
 
What are the back-marks on the buttons as they are Line Officers and not staff officers buttons.
 
Thank you for posting. By the way your shoes and not exactly period correct and perhaps you should consider buy new shoes.
 
Many staff officers were previously in the line, so buttons are not necessarily an indication.

I was looking to get a back-mark which will date the buttons and if original to coat would date its as well. Being a single row of buttons he was a junior officer Lt - Capt. On the Staff verses Line officer I can tell you from my many years in the US Army that as soon as you were promoted the new uniforms were bought and a lot of the times they already had them.
 
I was looking to get a back-mark which will date the buttons and if original to coat would date its as well. Being a single row of buttons he was a junior officer Lt - Capt. On the Staff verses Line officer I can tell you from my many years in the US Army that as soon as you were promoted the new uniforms were bought and a lot of the times they already had them.
Unfortunately ACW and modern day army supply are completely different, out of the ACW frocks in my collection, all of the junior staff have line officer buttons, in addition all of the Id'd staff kepis & forage caps with two exceptions, have line officer or general service buttons, but a staff US on the front.

I even had an id'd Massachusetts colonel's coat in a line officer's configuration with impeccable provenance de-accessed from the Chicago Museum of History. One couldn't go to the Exchange or order from Marlow White.

The coat in question is "almost" certainly ACW date, based upon sleeve width (beautiful balloon sleeves), skirt length, hand sewn button holes and collar configuration. The coat is one of the most finely tailored that I have seen for a line officer.
 
Unfortunately ACW and modern day army supply are completely different, out of the ACW frocks in my collection, all of the junior staff have line officer buttons, in addition all of the Id'd staff kepis & forage caps with two exceptions, have line officer or general service buttons, but a staff US on the front.

I totally respect your opinion, I was going with US Army reg's plus it appears to be an early war coat. Officers then as now received a clothing allowance. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the original owner of the coat was promoted to Major and got him a new set of uniforms and that this one survived do to the fact that it was hardly used. Its a very nice tailored coat with an awesome lining and ever thing is correct.

My 3 CS coats have a podge podge of buttons, Here is a CS 1st Lt's coat that I have been after for years. This coat was made in 1864 when he was promoted to ADC of Gen Law and all the buttons are yankee staff officers buttons so I guess anything is possible.
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I totally respect your opinion, I was going with US Army reg's plus it appears to be an early war coat. Officers then as now received a clothing allowance. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the original owner of the coat was promoted to Major and got him a new set of uniforms and that this one survived do to the fact that it was hardly used. Its a very nice tailored coat with an awesome lining and ever thing is correct.

My 3 CS coats have a podge podge of buttons, Here is a CS 1st Lt's coat that I have been after for years. This coat was made in 1864 when he was promoted to ADC of Gen Law and all the buttons are yankee staff officers buttons so I guess anything is possible.
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I agree with your assessment, the coat was either a spare or something transpired, sickness, death, resignation or promotion. I can't get over the sleeves, a rare attribute in existing coats, though a Jr. officer, either he or the family had means for such a finely tailored coat, I'm thinking NY tailor like Brooks Brothers. They produced shoddy enlisted men's contract clothing early in the war, but their officer's wear was superb.
 
I totally respect your opinion, I was going with US Army reg's plus it appears to be an early war coat. Officers then as now received a clothing allowance. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the original owner of the coat was promoted to Major and got him a new set of uniforms and that this one survived do to the fact that it was hardly used. Its a very nice tailored coat with an awesome lining and ever thing is correct.

My 3 CS coats have a podge podge of buttons, Here is a CS 1st Lt's coat that I have been after for years. This coat was made in 1864 when he was promoted to ADC of Gen Law and all the buttons are yankee staff officers buttons so I guess anything is possible.
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What a beautiful coat, the use of federal buttons on Confederate uniforms has always fascinated me, what was their supply/how did they obtain so many federal buttons. Late in the war, the Confederacy was not in possession of many fields, nor were they capturing Federal supplies. Why didn't they melt the buttons down for their brass to supply badly needed caps and fittings and go with wooden buttons? Just my opinion, but I believe that many of the Confederate coats today had their buttons replaced post war, when there were copious supplies. They could then wear the coats in public and not be in violation of the new Federal law barring the display of any CSA related insignia.

I have seen so many Southern coats with Federal buttons, I always wondered where they came from.
 
I just assumed they cut them off a dead/imprisoned Yankee's coat, but that would be a lot of cutting if it was the whole coat!
 
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