Uniforms Civil War Brogan Sole?

[Phogan87]

A relative purchased this "Civil War Brogan Sole" from a vendor at the the Chicagoland Civil War Show in Wheaton, IL and passed it on as a gift. In a quest to make sure my collection is authentic, I am always questioning things unless it comes from reputable shops such as The Horse Soldier or Shiloh Relics. Again, I ask for the wisdom of the forum for any thoughts about the legitimacy of this item (my hope is that uniform guru "Package4" offers his insight). My concerns are the size (especially the narrowness) of the sole and heel, although I know that leather shrinks when exposed to the elements which may account for this. I also wonder why a person would discard a shoe which seems to have an intact sole. The description of the item is as follows:

"This sole from a Jefferson Bootee was hand-stitched rather than "pegged" and was dug from a Union trash pit in Nashville, TN. It was found without its "upper half" probably because it was a common practice for Union soldiers to destroy worn out or damaged shoes before disposing of them. This practice prevented the severely ill-equipped Confederate Army from scavenging them. This desperate need for basic necessities is why the dead soldiers in many battlefield photographs are missing their shoes."
Again, thank you for any help you guys can offer.

 

[Package4]

A relative purchased this "Civil War Brogan Sole" from a vendor at the the Chicagoland Civil War Show in Wheaton, IL and passed it on as a gift. In a quest to make sure my collection is authentic, I am always questioning things unless it comes from reputable shops such as The Horse Soldier or Shiloh Relics. Again, I ask for the wisdom of the forum for any thoughts about the legitimacy of this item (my hope is that uniform guru "Package4" offers his insight). My concerns are the size (especially the narrowness) of the sole and heel, although I know that leather shrinks when exposed to the elements which may account for this. I also wonder why a person would discard a shoe which seems to have an intact sole. The description of the item is as follows:

"This sole from a Jefferson Bootee was hand-stitched rather than "pegged" and was dug from a Union trash pit in Nashville, TN. It was found without its "upper half" probably because it was a common practice for Union soldiers to destroy worn out or damaged shoes before disposing of them. This practice prevented the severely ill-equipped Confederate Army from scavenging them. This desperate need for basic necessities is why the dead soldiers in many battlefield photographs are missing their shoes."
Again, thank you for any help you guys can offer.

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Just an opinion as always, this appears to be the sole of a boot and not a brogan. When I saw the title of the post, I automatically thought Nashville trash pit. The provenance lends credence to this being an ACW period sole. The current location of The Tennessee Titan's Stadium was a prolific trash pit uncovered during stadium construction.
I have a few pieces from that pit. The elongated slender footprint (no pun intended) leads one towards a boot. Most brogans of this late war period have metal rivets in the insole/instep and copper rivets on both sides to help reinforce the stitching, similar to those employed on cartridge and cap boxes.

You have a nice and original piece!

 

[Phogan87]

As always I really, really appreciate it. So this may have been a boot of an officer or a cavalry trooper? Any idea why a boot would've been discarded with a sole that's still intact?

 

[Package4]

As always I really, really appreciate it. So this may have been a boot of an officer or a cavalry trooper? Any idea why a boot would've been discarded with a sole that's still intact?

The square toe means that this is most likely an enlisted boot and could easily have a leather tear in the upper. There was a huge supply base in Nashville, so after an arduous campaign resupply would have been very likely. Maybe the other sole had an issue, or the tops of both had wear creases that split.

 

[CowCavalry]

Just an opinion as always, this appears to be the sole of a boot and not a brogan. When I saw the title of the post, I automatically thought Nashville trash pit. The provenance lends credence to this being an ACW period sole. The current location of The Tennessee Titan's Stadium was a prolific trash pit uncovered during stadium construction.
I have a few pieces from that pit. The elongated slender footprint (no pun intended) leads one towards a boot. Most brogans of this late war period have metal rivets in the insole/instep and copper rivets on both sides to help reinforce the stitching, similar to those employed on cartridge and cap boxes.

You have a nice and original piece!

You never cease to amaze with your knowledge!

 

[Phogan87]

I agree! I can't thank you enough for what you have taught me in a couple of threads that I posted. I teach history and frequently show my artifacts to students. Know that your knowledge gets passed down to the next generation. They love it…