Civil War Uniform?

[bravo30]

I purchased this photo a few yrs ago at an estate sale and have always assumed it was civil war era but could never be sure. Any ideas?

 

[bravo30]

this is as far as i got the last time i gave it a go....similar buckle.

 

[Frederick14Va]

Do you have a photo that is straight on to the image?... so hopefully any characteristic details may be seen better....

The image appears to be a photographic copy of another original image.... These were common in the 1880-1920 era... to produce a copy of and/or enlargement of an older image... These are usually found on heavy card stock... Since it is a photo of a photo, unfortunately the small details tend to get washed out and fuzzy... Also common to find them retraced over and tinted to bring back some detail in the blurry fuzzy areas.... The tongue & wreath style buckles were popular with military, militia, fraternal groups and some civilians for a number of years both pre and post war...

 

[Package4]

Please send a straight on pic as Frederick14Va suggests and maybe some of the detail will allow some sort of time period.

 

[bravo30]

this is the best i can do with current camera

 

[major bill]

So far I see nothing to use to decide if it is a Civil War uniform or not. In general I would say the belt looks military, but even US military is open to dicussion.

 

[James N.]

I'll go so far as to say I believe it IS - But having said so, the lack of detail makes any further observation impossible.

 

[CheathamHill]

I believe it is and he is wearing a trendy jumbo cravat. I blew up the image as large as I could and it appears he is wearing a virginia 2 piece buckle
Nice image!

example of 'ginny buckle that is a little more elaborate than his (i.e. the wreath and ivy..his is much more plain)
Expired Image Removed

 

[major bill]

He appears to wear a bibbed over shirt that could be consistent with the bibbed shirts worn by a few Virginia militia company at the start of the war. I would want to compare the belt to the style of belts these militia companies wore. This type of bibbed shirt was worn in other states as well. Could he be an officer?

 

[CheathamHill]

He appears to wear a bibbed over shirt that could be consistent with the bibbed shirts worn by a few Virginia militia company at the start of the war. I would want to compare the belt to the style of belts these militia companies wore. This type of bibbed shirt was worn in other states as well. Could he be an officer?

Looks to me like a full sack blouse or frock blouse. The overly large trendy cravat casts a pretty dark shadow on the front..combined with the low level lighting and not knowing how many times it's been reproduced to lose quality it's just hard to tell if that is a colored front or a shadow.

 

[major bill]

I think I see a small part of the bib above the cravat. Look at the left side above the cravat. I did consider this but I see a light area under the center of the cravat, this area would be shadowed as well but it is not. Here are a couple of images of the bibbed plastron front hunting shirts. To the left is the Lynchburg Rifles and to the right the Southern Guards of Campbell County. Note the significant differences form the threads image. A.) The dark trim on the sleeves, the dark collar.

 

[major bill]

Another version of the plastron front hunting shirt. This time the Appomattox Rangers of the 2nd Vir Cav. There are other version of these hunting shirt uniforms, especially in Virginia. Could our thread image be wearing one of these. Still open to discussion as far as I am concerned. I hope someone more knowledgeable than I will tag in.

 

[CheathamHill]

You may be right...I see buttons toward the bottom near where his arms are crossed. I would guess if that IS a bib shirt, then pre/early war virginia or north carolina

 

[major bill]

I was wondering if his crossed arms were hiding buttons and now that you point them out I see the two buttons.. In my opinion we are making good progress. Also I wonder if there is dark trim on the edges of his collar. Look at the left (his right) collar, is that a light color collar with dark time on the edge or part of the dark bib? I can possibly see a dark edge on the right collar as well.

 

[CheathamHill]

I also think it's, at this point, safe to assume he IS military..he is wearing a sword belt..and you can see the hook at the bottom right. Looking more and more like a bibbed front as you suggested as it makes the perfect shape if you follow the lines and carry them through his arms and up to his collar

 

[CheathamHill]

Here is my AMAZING artist rendering of the outlines and bordering....and a pencil thin mustache, because he would want that.

 

[bravo30]

thats awesome !!...........Breathed new life into the fellow ... im sure he would appreciate it.

lost but never forgotten !

 

[Package4]

I believe it is and he is wearing a trendy jumbo cravat. I blew up the image as large as I could and it appears he is wearing a virginia 2 piece buckle
Nice image!

example of 'ginny buckle that is a little more elaborate than his (i.e. the wreath and ivy..his is much more plain)
Expired Image Removed

Unless the two piece is a marriage, there are no known VA plates that do not have a wreath or decoration on the loops. Also most pre/war date two piece have the loops about the same length as the buckle itself, in addition the loops appear to be much wider than what is normally found. The picture shows that the loops are considerably longer than one would expect and wider as well. I think this is a prewar militia two piece, but the rounded belt loops point in a different direction. The fabric of the shirt/jacket seems too thick to be a battle shirt, but that does look to be a bib, though button placement is off. Could the upper "button" be a cuff button?

 

[major bill]

It could be a button yes. I though I might be seeing a button on the other sleeve hidden in the shadow. the issue being the quality of this image is not real good. There were jackets that had this style of bib as well as the shirts. think of the lancer style jacket. Also this kind of bib was on earlier U.S. Army musician's frock coats, so there is some president for bibs on uniforms. Why I see it as a heave shirt is the large collars. Most period jackets had smaller collars and period images show wide collars on the bibbed plastron front hunting shirts. Like I say the quality of the image leaves me flexible.