1st PA. Cav. tunic

[Ralph Heinz]

I photographed the tunic of a descendent of Henry Hoffmeister of the 1st Cavalry/44th Regt. Pennsylvania Volunteers yesterday. Decades ago, the family divided up Hoffmeister's Civil War uniform and equipment. Some member has his sabre, another has his firearm (carbine? as the tunic owner isn't certain what it is); and others have photos and probably accoutrements. The owner of the tunic will check with other family members to see and catalog what they have as they are scattered around the country.

All the tunic owner knew was that Hoffmeister served in Co. E from Centre and Clinton Counties in Penn. From that information I was able to find that Co. E of the 1st PA. Cavalry was recruited from those counties and the tunic owner will now be able to get records of his g,g, grandfather from the National Archives. I showed him the online form to fill out and what he can expect to get back from examples of records I have.

Photos of the tunic are attached. There is a photograph made of an original tin type of Hoffmeister and also another photograph of a Union cavalryman on horseback. I am not certain if the photo on horseback is of Hoffmeister or if some family member copied the photo from some other source. If anyone recognizes this second photo, I would like to hear from them as to it's source. If indeed it is Hoffmeister it is a very rare item. Some family member has the photos and someone else probably has Hoffmeister's Discharge.

The kepi they have of Hoffmeister's is a GAR kepi and they were disappointed to find this out as they had believed it to be his Civil War kepi. It has small GAR chinstrap buttons and other characteristics of post CW kepis. Some other family member may indeed have Hoffmeister's forage cap. The tunic's buttons are all Cavalry buttons made by Horstmann and all match including the cuff buttons. One button is missing from the tunic.

 

[Ralph Heinz]

The tunic has a loop on each side for a sabre belt. I did tell the tunic's owner that it would be incredible if some family member has Hoffmeister's sky blue wool reinforced cavalry trousers and if so, he should try to buy them and reunite them with the tunic. The owner is a former Navy Atomic Submariner and he and his son are very interested in family history and have assured me they will learn as much as they can now about Hoffmeister's service. They had searched unsuccessfully for Hoffmeister's grave in three small cemeteries in Penn. but were unable to find it.

I invited them to visit me as I can show them CW cavalry items that Hoffmeister would have carried and worn. I do hope other family members will part with whatever they have so as many of Hoffmeister's Civil War items can be reunited with the tunic. The sum of all the parts is historically worth far more than each individual item and it is a real shame this was all divided up years ago. This is how so many items lose their history as they get sold off and all provenance is lost as later descendants have no interest in history and simply sell the items.

 

[major bill]

I see that in the photograph he wears a 12 button mounted jacket. I will leave to others to discuss if the jacket might be post Civil War or not.

This type of jacket is sometimes called a "veteran jacket" by modern uniform people. The reason is that men received a bonus and leave when they reenlist in a "veteran" regiment. They wanted to look good for the folks back home while on leave and being flush with cash, due to the bonus, went to a tailor and had acustom jacket made.

Often they had a photo taken while on leave and many if these photos show soldiers in tailor made "veteran jackets". The simple 9 button jackets with short plain collars were particularly popular.

 

[James N.]

I see that in the photograph he wears a 12 button mounted jacket. I will leave to others to discuss if the jacket might be post Civil War or not.

This type of jacket is sometimes called a "veteran jacket" by modern uniform people. The reason is that men received a bonus and leave when they reenlist in a "veteran" regiment. They wanted to look good for the folks back home while on leave and being flush with cash, due to the bonus, went to a tailor and had acustom jacket made.

Often they had a photo taken while on leave and many if these photos show soldiers in tailor made "veteran jackets". The simple 9 button jackets with short plain collars were particularly popular.

The large buttons are officer's buttons (with the C for cavalry on the shield on the eagle's chest) and would more commonly be found on an officer's frock coat. Although this would be a perfect example of an officer's shell jacket, I can also see it being tailor-made for anyone who wanted to pay for little "extras" like these.

 

[Ralph Heinz]

In the wartime photo of Hoffmeister, he indeed wears a typical cavalry shell jacket and that photo was most likely taken very early in the war as he enlisted in 1861. The tunic I photographed is a 9 button jacket. In Arms and Equipment of the Union page 158 is an identical 9 (large) button tunic, with three cuff buttons, and the very short collar. That one has hospital steward's chevrons on the sleeve. I'm aware that the buttons on Hoffmeister's tunic are officer buttons but a man who served as long as Hoffmeister did may well have had the tunic tailor-made for himself and as you say, may have wanted to pay a little extra for the buttons as he was proud to be serving in the cavalry. There is nothing else to distinguish his tunic as cavalry except the buttons and all the buttons match and all have the "C." Since he took home so many things he had used and worn in the war and left them to his family, I'll bet he was very proud of his service. His GAR kepi is a particularly nice example made by Horstmann and it has three silver numbers on the front, "379," which I assume was his GAR post.

When you stand "guard mount" and an officer inspects each soldier, the one who is best uniformed and most knowledgeable is picked by the Officer of the Guard to be the "Orderly" that night and he doesn't have to stand guard out in the rain and cold like everyone else. (I've been that inspecting duty officer and picked the soldier who was STRAC as Orderly and whose only duty was to answer the telephone in the JFK Center For Special Warfare.) There was real competition to be picked as Orderly. Perhaps something similar occurred at Guard Mount in the Civil War and the man picked as Orderly had light duty as his reward. He certainly didn't have to answer a phone call from Ertha Kitt.

 

[WJC]

Whatever it's true identity, it is a fabulous heirloom in outstanding condition. Thanks for sharing the photos and story. Your assistance to the family is a commendable example we should all follow.

 

[Package4]

View attachment 207313

I photographed the tunic of a descendent of Henry Hoffmeister of the 1st Cavalry/44th Regt. Pennsylvania Volunteers yesterday. Decades ago, the family divided up Hoffmeister's Civil War uniform and equipment. Some member has his sabre, another has his firearm (carbine? as the tunic owner isn't certain what it is); and others have photos and probably accoutrements. The owner of the tunic will check with other family members to see and catalog what they have as they are scattered around the country.

All the tunic owner knew was that Hoffmeister served in Co. E from Centre and Clinton Counties in Penn. From that information I was able to find that Co. E of the 1st PA. Cavalry was recruited from those counties and the tunic owner will now be able to get records of his g,g, grandfather from the National Archives. I showed him the online form to fill out and what he can expect to get back from examples of records I have.

Photos of the tunic are attached. There is a photograph made of an original tin type of Hoffmeister and also another photograph of a Union cavalryman on horseback. I am not certain if the photo on horseback is of Hoffmeister or if some family member copied the photo from some other source. If anyone recognizes this second photo, I would like to hear from them as to it's source. If indeed it is Hoffmeister it is a very rare item. Some family member has the photos and someone else probably has Hoffmeister's Discharge.

The kepi they have of Hoffmeister's is a GAR kepi and they were disappointed to find this out as they had believed it to be his Civil War kepi. It has small GAR chinstrap buttons and other characteristics of post CW kepis. Some other family member may indeed have Hoffmeister's forage cap. The tunic's buttons are all Cavalry buttons made by Horstmann and all match including the cuff buttons. One button is missing from the tunic.
View attachment 207313

Do you have any pictures of the interior of the jacket? The sleeve lining, particularly in the armpit would be great to see. I love the balloon sleeves and the handsewn button holes, I see nothing that indicates that this would be considered post war.

 

[Ralph Heinz]

Ray,

I was lucky that the owner took it out of a glass fronted case that was hanging on the wall after I indicated I'd like to photograph it and it was laid out on a large pine table. I did look inside the sleeves and they were lined with white fabric but there was a separate piece of more substantial reddish colored fabric about 1" wide sewn around the inside of the cuffs.

I will send you a private message.