Cadet Grey Jackets--All Kersey?

[adamandnicole]

Gentlemen,

I have been long interested in English imports and have enjoyed all of the new dialogue about them. While reading Entrepot, I was amazed at the sheer amounts of "Cadet Grey" cloth that was imported throughout the war. My question is though, was all of this cadet grey cloth kersey or was it a mixture of kersey and broadcloth. Many of the shipments say cadet grey wool while others specify kersey. Should we assume that cadet grey wool meant broadcloth? I know that the period descriptions of quartermaster goods were frequently vague, but the fact that kersey is sometimes specified, begs the question of other types of cloth.

My next thought was that perhaps cadet grey wool was reserved for the private purchase/officers market, but I think that is surely not the case considering the hundreds of thousands of yards that were imported. I have gone through my library of uniform references and have come up with the following enlistedmen's jackets/trousers that are some type of wool, but not listed as kersey.

1. type 2 "dark grey irish wool cloth" jacket -- reportedly a Gettysburg battlefield pick up "Confederate Uniforms @ Gettysburg" Michael Winey pg 78
2. type 1 "made of very fine cadet grey cloth" worn by Sgt C.N. Green, 47th NC "Confederate Uniforms @ Gettysburg" pg 55
3. type 2 made of "greenish grey woolen" material worn by Pvt George N. Bernard 12th VA "Survey of Confederate Central Gov't QM Issue Jackets" Leslie Jensen
4. double breasted "greenish grey wool broadcloth" frock coat worn by Pvt Benjamin Taylor Worthington--"A Catalogue of Uniforms in the Collection of the Museum of the Confederacy" pg 53 Leslie Jensen
5. single breasted "greenish brown wool cloth" frock --owner unknown " " pg 53
6.trousers of "cadet grey cloth" Pvt T.J. Moore " " pg. 44
7. type 2 "cadet grey wool cloth" worn by Pvt George Henry Thomas Greer " " pg 29

I'm sure that there are more examples out there, but this is a start. Am I trying to suggest that most of the cadet grey enlistedmen's uniforms were not made of kersey? Absolutely not. I am however, trying to get a clearer picture of what types of materials were used in their construction--not just what Vendor X has to offer.

Any light that can be shed on this subject is most appreciated.

Regards,

Adam Dickerson

[GreencoatCross]

Re: Cadet Grey Jackets--All Kersey?

Adam,

I have not seen many cadet gray jackets beyond what is depicted in Echoes of Glory and other publications, but here is an original that does not appear to be kersey. http://www.floridaconfederate.com/Museum.html

The close-up photographs show the wool yarn to be a mixed light blue-gray (cadet gray) but the weave is similar to that of a single or double-woven satinet. The jacket is in such good shape that I can't discern the weft.

The "Mississippi artillery jacket" captured at the battle of Labadieville, LA, in the Troiani collection, could be considered cadet gray but having examined the jacket up close I found that the wool yarns are a mixed royal blue wool while the weft is a twisted or "marled" chocolate brown and natural cotton. The appearance of this jeancloth gives the jacket a noticeable blue-gray appearance.

Original use of the word "cadet gray" may have been a generic descriptor of the color that is now referred to as "blue-gray" kersey or "English army cloth" as well as the true light-blue-gray seen in many CS officer's uniform coats. That's just a guess though....

[adamandnicole]

Re: Cadet Grey Jackets--All Kersey?

Thanks Brian,

That is not a jacket that I was previously aware of, but very interesting.

Adam Dickerson

[PanzerJager]

Re: Cadet Grey Jackets--All Kersey?

To add to the discussion and one I have wondered myself I'll add the bit I know. I have seen and handled the coat worn by Green in the Museum of North Carolina history, the coat is made of very tight, very fine, plain weave broad cloth. I only viewed this coat briefly in passing in a back room and did not have time to take photographs unfortunately but I did take note of the wool and how fine the weave was. Attached is a close up of the type 2 reportedly picked up at Gettysburg in the museum collection. The coat us over all pretty rough shape and has been heavily conserved. The nap of the wool is all but gone and you can see the weave of the cloth below compared to the sergeant chevrons which appear themselves to be made from kersey.



Regards,

[adamandnicole]

Re: Cadet Grey Jackets--All Kersey?

Seth,
Thanks for the pic of the Gettysburg jacket. Do you have any other photos of the jacket?

Adam Dickerson

[PaulJ]

Re: Cadet Grey Jackets--All Kersey?

Hi Seth,
whilst at the Gettysburg Visitor centre in September 2006 I saw a jacket very similar to that seen in your post #4 "the coat worn by Green in the Museum of North Carolina history" with the note that it was a Gettysburg battlefield pick-up. Does anyone know if this is likely to be the same jacket (on loan from NC in 2006, or currently on loan to NC from Gettysburg) or another similar jacket? I too would love to see further pics, perhaps showing the buttons for instance.

Also, could the jacket be the darker 'English Army cloth' rather than Cadet grey? I understand that whilst some English Army cloth was coarse, that used in the Tait jackets, at least, was a finer cloth.

Regards

[PanzerJager]

Re: Cadet Grey Jackets--All Kersey?

Hi Paul,

The coat worn by Green in the collection of the North Carolina State museum is different then the coat in the collection of the Gettysburg park. I have linked below the catalog info for the coat in the NC collection below. The coat in the collection of the museum at Gettysburg you viewed was originally part of the Rosensteel collection and was donated to the park along with the rest of their battlefield pick up collection. Not much is known about the coat only the info given at the time it was donated with the attribution to having been found somewhere on the field. This coat was on display at the old visitor center but since the move to the new location is not currently on display. The Gettysburg jacket no longer has any of the original buttons, and as I mentioned before is in pretty rough shape with lots of conservation work. I have attached another photo of the Gettysburg in full for comparison to the Green jacket.

http://collections.ncdcr.gov/dcr/ProficioScript.aspx?IDCFile=DETAILS.IDC,TITLE=Return%20to%20Museum%20of%20History,URL=http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org,SPECIFIC=49796,DATABASE=WebTagSet634149654289093662

Regards,

[Joe Walker]

Re: Cadet Grey Jackets--All Kersey?

Paul,

I had the opportunity to actually placed side by side, a Tait jacket and a Type II RD dark blue/gray jacket. The RD is much darker, and has a distinct kersey weave. Compared to the Tait which is a smoother, lighter weave cloth and lighter in color. These two coats were not made from the same cloth. I don't claim this to be a rule, but wanted those interested to know my observation.


Joe Walker
Waco