CIVIL WAR UNION CAVALRY ENLISTED
MAN’S SHELL JACKET – VERY NICE CONDITION w/ GOVERNMENT
SIZE STAMP AND IDENTIFIED WITH HANDWRITTEN SOLDIER’S
NAME:
One of the
signature uniforms of the Civil War, the Mounted
Enlisted Man’s Shell Jacket featuring tailored lines and
trimmed in piping of the color of the branch of service
– orange for dragoon, green for mounted rifles, yellow
for cavalry, and red for artillery – was at the same
time one of the most attractive, and comfortable uniform
coats of the war. Far lighter than the heavier frock
and sack coats characteristically worn by the foot
soldiers, the fitted lines defined by the colored piping
presented a dashing appearance when worn by the mounted
troopers.
This Cavalry Shell Jacket has
survived the years in very good condition.
While showing minor
evidence of wear or aging as detailed below, the blue
wool is in very good condition overall - very solid with
all of the seams are intact. Both of the sabre belt
supports – often referred to as “pillows” - are present
and intact on the back of the jacket.
The body of the jacket and both sleeves
are fully lined with natural cotton cloth. The lining
is complete, with some the minor wear commonly found in
the armpit areas. There is a deep slash pocket lined
with natural colored cotton cloth on the inside left
front edge of the jacket.
Across the upper back of the interior
lining is the hand written inscription “REEDY”,
apparently the name of the soldier who was issued, and
wore, this jacket. A search of the National Park
Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
revealed twenty-three (23) soldiers with the last name
of “Reedy” who served in Union cavalry regiments during
the Civil War. A printed list of these 23 soldiers will
accompany the sale of this shell jacket.
The lining of the right sleeve, just
below the shoulder, is ink stamped with the original
Quartermaster Department applied numeral “2”, indicating
the size.
Inside the left sleeve, just below the
shoulder, is a light ink stamp, “EAVES”, indicating that
this jacket was once in the inventory of the Eaves
Costume Company of New York City. Harry Eaves
established his firm in Manhattan in 1863, and was still
in business after World War One, advertising the company
as "The World's Largest Rental Costumers".
It is of no surprise that this jacket is so marked, as
many surviving examples of these shell jackets bear the
ink stamps of a number of different costume companies
who carried these striking uniforms in their
inventories. In reality, were it not for these jackets
being cared for by the costume companies through the
years, very few would exist today.
It is worth noting that two of the
soldiers named “Reedy” which are listed in the National
Park Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
served in New York regiments. As most of the Civil War
soldiers, lacking any alternative clothing, wore their
uniforms home at the end of the war after being
discharged, it is entirely possible that one of those
two New York cavalrymen sold their uniform to Eaves once
they had resettled into their civilian lives.
The yellow trim on the collar, cuffs,
the “V” shaped yellow trim on the reverse, and around
the bottom edge of the jacket is completely intact.
There are some minor snags and wear points, but nothing
significant.
All of the standard pattern US Army
general service brass buttons are present on collar
trim, the front, and on the functional cuffs. All of
the buttons are full form with no dents or depressions,
save for one of the buttons on each cuff. The domes of
these two buttons are slightly depressed, but not
significantly malformed. The throat hook and eye
closure is present.
There is some surface mothing on the
front of the breast. There are some small moth holes –
all less than 1/8” in diameter, low on the front and on
both sleeves. The most significant mothing to the cloth
is in the area under the left armpit and is detailed in
the photographs below. This mothing in the armpit is
not visible when the jacket is on display. None of this
mothing is boldly apparent and is not unusually severe
than what is normally found on these shell jackets.
This is a very attractive specimen of
one of the most iconic uniforms of the Civil War. While
this Cavalry Enlisted Man’s Shell Jacket shows true
evidence of having been worn by a soldier in the field,
and has the added value of his name applied to the
lining, it has survived in very good condition and would
display nicely. (0935) $2750
NOTE:
To say that photographing dark blue wool is a
challenge is an understatement. In normal lighting, it
appears black and none of the finer features or
condition details can be seen clearly in the
photographs. In order to highlight the features and
provide you with an accurate view of the material, I
have to lighten the contrast of some of the photographs
which in turn causes the even colored dark blue wool to
appear faded or discolored when such is not the case.
This coat is an even dark blue color with no fading or
discoloration.
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