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Hi,
I recently bought some cotton trousers from Fred Adolphus, copied from those worn by a CS soldier who died at Vicksburg. I enquired further about the history of the trousers they were copied from and would like to share some information gained from that correspondence (posted with Mr Adolphus's permission):-
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Regarding your inquiry, I studied this set of artifacts in the first week of June 1997. The collection consisted a cotton shirt and cotton trousers, in the custody of Mr Frank LaRue of Athens, Texas. Mr LaRue was a member of the local historical society and a ranking member in the local Sons of Confederate Veterans. Based on these credentials, he was given custody of an original Confederate shirt and trousers. He was already old when I met him, and when I called to ask him about the artifacts this summer, I figured he would be deceased. Sure enough, he was.
Now here is the heart-breaking part: When he died, no one knew what he had, and the family came and took his belongings or disposed of them. No one knows where the Confederate clothing is now, and I curse myself for not having contacted him years ago. He died four or five years ago, and I just found this out when I called the historical society in August of this year (2009).
Now for the details on the artifacts. The shirt and pants were worn by Private John Jay, Company H, 1st Louisiana Heavy Artillery. Jay died at Vicksburg, Mississippi in a hospital on December 31, 1862. He had enlisted September 11, 1862 in Winn Parish, Louisiana for three years or the war. The clothes were probably made by Jay's wife. Following his demise, his body was sent home in the shirt and pants. The clothes were removed from the body so that he could be laid to rest in a formal suit. The shirt and pants were washed and packed away.
The shirt is natural, off-white, unbleached, cream color cotton with three porcelain/glass buttons on front and one at each wrist. It has no pockets. The pants are cotton tabby weave, having a brown fill and a light blue warp. Pockets are of the same material. The fly has five white bone buttons. Suspenders were held by two white bone buttons in the front and two white glass buttons in the rear. There is no adjustment belt at the rear seam.
Sincerely,
Fred Adolphus
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Mr Adolphus may be able to e-mail some pictures to me of the artifacts, taken before they were lost. I will post them if I receive them unless Mr Adolphus posts them first.
Mr Adolphus also stated that he has found a number of references to cotton trousers in diary accounts and letters that he has studied, as well as having viewed several original pairs. Obviously I cannot expand on this.
I would be interested in further views/ thoughts/ observations on this subject. Could cotton trousers be under-represented for CS portrayals, or is there a feeling that Pvt Jay was in a small minority. Or simply, will we ever know....
Best regards
I recently bought some cotton trousers from Fred Adolphus, copied from those worn by a CS soldier who died at Vicksburg. I enquired further about the history of the trousers they were copied from and would like to share some information gained from that correspondence (posted with Mr Adolphus's permission):-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regarding your inquiry, I studied this set of artifacts in the first week of June 1997. The collection consisted a cotton shirt and cotton trousers, in the custody of Mr Frank LaRue of Athens, Texas. Mr LaRue was a member of the local historical society and a ranking member in the local Sons of Confederate Veterans. Based on these credentials, he was given custody of an original Confederate shirt and trousers. He was already old when I met him, and when I called to ask him about the artifacts this summer, I figured he would be deceased. Sure enough, he was.
Now here is the heart-breaking part: When he died, no one knew what he had, and the family came and took his belongings or disposed of them. No one knows where the Confederate clothing is now, and I curse myself for not having contacted him years ago. He died four or five years ago, and I just found this out when I called the historical society in August of this year (2009).
Now for the details on the artifacts. The shirt and pants were worn by Private John Jay, Company H, 1st Louisiana Heavy Artillery. Jay died at Vicksburg, Mississippi in a hospital on December 31, 1862. He had enlisted September 11, 1862 in Winn Parish, Louisiana for three years or the war. The clothes were probably made by Jay's wife. Following his demise, his body was sent home in the shirt and pants. The clothes were removed from the body so that he could be laid to rest in a formal suit. The shirt and pants were washed and packed away.
The shirt is natural, off-white, unbleached, cream color cotton with three porcelain/glass buttons on front and one at each wrist. It has no pockets. The pants are cotton tabby weave, having a brown fill and a light blue warp. Pockets are of the same material. The fly has five white bone buttons. Suspenders were held by two white bone buttons in the front and two white glass buttons in the rear. There is no adjustment belt at the rear seam.
Sincerely,
Fred Adolphus
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Mr Adolphus may be able to e-mail some pictures to me of the artifacts, taken before they were lost. I will post them if I receive them unless Mr Adolphus posts them first.
Mr Adolphus also stated that he has found a number of references to cotton trousers in diary accounts and letters that he has studied, as well as having viewed several original pairs. Obviously I cannot expand on this.
I would be interested in further views/ thoughts/ observations on this subject. Could cotton trousers be under-represented for CS portrayals, or is there a feeling that Pvt Jay was in a small minority. Or simply, will we ever know....
Best regards
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