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PATTERN 1883 5 BUTTON ENLISTED MAN’S BLOUSES OR
UNIFORM COATS – EXCELLENT “LIKE NEW” SPECIMENS:
Examples of the Indian Wars era original 5 button US
Army Blouses are not particularly common, and those that
have survived in the condition of the two offered here
are almost nonexistent. Due to the environments in
which they were worn, and the relatively few which did
survive were later poorly stored, finding any of the
blouses in decent condition is notable. In the case of
these two blouses, one is in “like new” unissued
condition and the other while obviously issued, could
not have been worn on more than a few occasions. These
two are genuinely the cream of the crop when it comes to
Indian War era blouses.
Due to the several changes in pattern and features to
which the standard blouse was subjected in a short,
three year period – 1883-1886 – several features ordered
in the earlier pattern such as button or pocket
placement bled over into subsequent patterns. This was
the result of the Quartermaster’s efforts to exhaust the
quantities of existing stocks of clothing before
producing a newer pattern. Where possible, the new
changes ordered for the blouses were incorporated in
those currently in the manufacturing pipeline or those
which had not yet been issued.
In
the best of circumstances, there were no distinct lines
of demarcation in the issue or use of any of the
clothing, weapons, or equipment during the Indian War
era, as is documented in period photographs. Driven by
limited finances and huge stocks of material left over
from the Civil War, the army made every effort to use up
any stocks in inventory prior to even manufacturing new
material, much less issuing it. So when the army came
to the point of manufacturing new uniforms such as these
five button blouses, and the pattern changed as often as
it did from 1883-1886, it is no surprise that some
combinations of features of the different patterns is
often encountered in surviving examples of these Indian
War period uniforms. This characteristic is well
documented and described in John Langellier’s More
Army Blue – The Uniform of Uncle Sam’s Regulars
1874-1887 (both of these volumes are highly
recommended).
Both of these two blouses most closely follow the
Pattern 1883, with the addition of the cuff buttons as
ordered in 1886, but without the three exterior pockets
as ordered in 1884. That both blouses are regulation
and the products of the regular army clothing supply
system, there can be no doubt, as both are heavily
marked with Quartermaster Depot ink stamps which include
the place of manufacture, the date of manufacture and
the inspector’s identification. That all of these ink
stamps survive is further testimony to the lack of wear
to which they were subjected, as these ink stamps were
prone to fade or wash away with only minimal wear when
subjected to the body heat and perspiration of the
soldier.
This brings us to the most notable historic feature of
these blouses. As evidenced by the Quartermaster
Department (QMD) ink stamps in the sleeves of the two
blouses, both were manufactured in the early 1900’s –
one in 1906 and the other in 1908 – and were issued out
of the Jeffersonville QMD Depot confirming that these
blouses continued to be worn by the regular army after
the turn of the century. If further evidence is needed,
the photograph below shows a company of cavalry
preparing to ship out to the Philippine Islands in
1900. I
contacted John Langellier regarding these heretofore
unseen late dates on these blouses and he remarked that
such documentation that the blouses were made at such a
late date was not only rare, but a valuable link in the
history of the U.S. Army’s blue wool uniform.
Examples of Indian Wars era
Enlisted Man’s Blouses are not particularly common, and
specimens in this excellent condition are virtually
nonexistent on the market. In addition, these two have
the added historic and empirical value of bearing the
scarce early 20TH Century Quartermaster and
inspector ink stamps. These are superb examples of the
desirable Indian War Enlisted Man’s Blouse worn by the
men who wrote the history during the last years of the
Western Frontier, in the tropics of Cuba, and on through
the jungles of the Philippines, and either one would be
very special addition to your collection.
Each coat is listed below with a detailed description
and accompanying photographs.
NOTE: To say that photographing
dark blue wool is a challenge is an understatement.
Its closer to a nightmare. In
normal lighting, it appears black 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 the even
colored dark blue wool to appear faded or discolored
when such is not the case. These blouses are even dark
blue color as is seen in background wool surrounding the
close up photographs of the cuff buttons. Trust that you
will not be disappointed in these blouses.
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