PATTERN 1899 INFANTRY CORPORAL’S
TROPICAL UNIFORM – FULL SET OF BLOUSE AND TROUSERS
COMPLETE WITH ALL THE PROPER INSIGNIA – SCARCE EARLY
KHAKI UNIFORM IN VERY GOOD CONDITION:
At the start of the Spanish
American War, khaki colored, cotton uniforms were
adopted with the issue of General Order No. 39 on May 9,
1898 and were to be trimmed with the color of the branch
of service (G.O. 51, May 23, 1898) - dark blue for the
staff departments and general staff, yellow for cavalry,
red for artillery, and sky blue for infantry. The
blouses for the enlisted men had the trim colors on the
collar, shoulder straps, breast pocket flaps and cuffs,
and the officer blouses were trimmed in the branch color
on the collar, shoulder straps and cuffs.
While the colored trim provided an attractive and
distinctive uniform for each branch, the concept proved
to be “one of those good ideas that didn’t work”
for more than one reason.
The immediate problem became apparent when the colored
trim panels - especially the blue for infantry and red
for artillery – suffered from the severe tropical sun
and faded to some fairly unattractive anemic hues.
Additionally, as the uniforms were subjected to the
rigors of the field, the army quickly discovered that
the wear out period for cavalry and infantry uniforms
was considerably shorter than it was for artillery and
staff department uniforms. This resulted in a serious
shortage of replacement uniforms for the mounted and
foot troops, while an overabundance of artillery and
staff uniforms sat unissued in storage. Due to the way
in which this pattern of coat was trimmed, changing the
color of the facings in order to meet the need for
uniforms was not practical.
As a result, less than two months later, on July 15,
1898, the Secretary of War issued a circular directing
that while the design of the uniform blouse would remain
the same, the colored facings would be eliminated and
replaced with colored detachable shoulder tabs that
could be issued with the later pattern all khaki coats
in the appropriate color for the soldier’s particular
branch of service.
The next phase in the evolution of a tropical weight
cotton khaki uniform occurred the following year with
the introduction of the uniform offered here, the
Pattern 1899 Tropical Uniform. The standing collar of
the Pattern 1898 Blouse was replaced with a more
comfortable and less restrictive rolled collar. The
waist belt was eliminated, and the pleat on the rear
panel was replaced with a single center seam. The lower
pockets were moved from the hips to the front, more or
less in line with the breast pockets. The colored
shoulder tabs continued in use, designed to be removable
and easily replaced by the soldier and not requiring the
talents of a tailor. Like the Second Pattern 1898
Blouse, the Pattern 1899 Blouse could be issued to a
soldier in any branch of the service, and this amounted
to a substantial cost savings. The Pattern 1899 Blouse
continued the use of the US Army General Service Buttons
used on the earlier khaki uniforms and wool blouses.
This uniform shows the obvious signs of having been
issued and worn in the field, but it faired well in
service and the corporal took good care of his clothing
both while in service and in storage after his
enlistment. The khaki fabric of the blouse and the
trousers is in overall very good condition, with no
deterioration, no open seams, no fraying to the lower
edge of the blouse, the edge of the cuffs or collar, and
no wear to the waist or cuffs of the trousers.
The blouse shows the appropriate stains and soiling that
is expected with these uniforms which saw wear in the
field, but nothing which dramatically detracts from the
uniform. There is some light surface soiling on the
inside of the arms, the breast pocket fronts, and the
front of the torso, but none of the sweat stains that
are commonly found on these tropical uniforms. The rear
of the blouse is overall very clean. There is a spot on
the center front that can be seen in the photographs
below. The shoulder tabs are in place and full form,
showing no significant wear and still firmly held in
place by the integral wire hooks. There
is a short area of wear to the bottom edge of the
blouse, situated over the right buttock when worn
resulting in some fraying to the edge and the loss of a
½” square piece of fabric – likely caused by a piece of
the soldier’s equipment rubbing against the edge when he
was on the march.
The matching
corporal’s chevrons are intact on the sleeves and are in
full form, showing only minor wear to the dark blue
piping which delineates the two bars of the chevron.
The chevrons and the shoulder tabs all appear to be
original to this blouse. All of the matching original
General Service buttons are present on the front
closure, the shoulder straps, and the pocket flaps, and
the hook and eye closure at the bottom of the blouse
opening is intact.
The trousers match the blouse in color and are in
likewise very good condition. All of the fly,
suspender, and pocket flap buttons are present and
matching, and all appear to be original to the period of
wear of the trousers. All of the seams are intact. The
waist adjustment belt at the back of the trousers is
present, full length and the original claw buckle is
present and functional. All of the waist band liner and
all of the interior pocket material is present and
intact with no damage. There is a ¼” wear point on
right rear trouser pocket as would be left by the handle
of a folding pocket knife. There are a few minor
soiling marks to the exterior of the trousers as is
expected from any uniform worn in the field, but nothing
dramatic.
Introduced as our army was deployed to far away lands
and subjected to the sweltering heat of the Caribbean
and Pacific, this Pattern 1899 Tropical Uniform Set of
blouse and trousers shows some evidence of the
corporal’s service, but nonetheless, it has survived in
very nice condition and given the scarcity of these
tropical uniforms, it will be a particularly nice
addition to your Spanish American War display.
SOLD
NOTE:
To say that photographing uniforms is a challenge is an
understatement. In normal lighting, the cloth absorbs
the light and none of the finer features or condition
details can be seen clearly. In order to highlight the
features and provide you with an accurate view of the
material, I have to lighten the contrast of the
photograph which in turn causes even colored cloth to
appear faded or discolored when such is not the case.
This uniform has an even khaki color throughout as is
seen in the close up photographs.
|