Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

[DougCooper]

This is a link to a musuem display of the uniform worn by Louisiana soldier Henry Brunet, housed at the Museum of Southern History in Sugarland Texas (outside Houston). The uniform is apparently made of English Army Cloth or at least BG Kersey, including the kepi. I have seen a close-up photo of the uniform and it certainly appears to be blue gray kersey. There is speculation it is a Houston Depot product due to the cloth and location but Brunet served in Fenner's LA battery, an AoT unit. They were stationed at Mobile at war's end and fought in the last actions there (Spanish Fort). One wonders if we are looking at an English import uniform of BG kersey like those described in the Mobile newspapers in early 1865?

Hard to tell here but the photo I have seen shows that the trousers have what appears to be a japanned tin button at the waist band closure.

http://63.90.155.100/henrybrunet.asp

[Sweatshop_Tailor]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

The provenance of the Brunet jacket is indeed a problem... I have his service record and there is nothing to put him west of the Mississippi in 1864/1865 (though that said, there are only a few cards in his file and the chances for absence between the remaining rolls are legion). It conforms in many ways to what we would expect a Houston Depot jacket to look like -- according to the archival data unearted by Fred Adolphus. The Southern Heritage Museum also believe it to be a Houston Depot style product -- or at least copied from a Houston Depot garment.

According to internal details of the outfit supplied to me by Danny Sessums the curator, this jacket looks very much to be a bespoke tailored product (much like a Thomas Taylor jacket). There are polished cotton linings in the arms, and extra gusset pieces below them [in the lining only] (very unusual!). The standard of sewing is very high throughout. It also has Lousiana buttons which look to be original to the jacket (not a trace of anything earlier). A complete description of the jacket, including some internal photos, will soon be posted on the Lazy Jack Mess website before the end of June.

Doug -- do you have any more specific information on the Mobile issue of jackets in English import cloth -- it sounds fascinating!

Just an ole Texas boy on an extended English Holiday,
KC MacDonald
Lazy Jacks Mess

[DougCooper]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

KC - I seem to remember that Lee White came up with the article - will search around and find it.

For everyone, KC is the man on current research into TMD and Houston uniforms and we await the next LJ article with great anticipation. Lots more coming to light there that KC has discovered over the last few months.

It is interesting to note that the 5th Company, Washington Artillery was also at Mobile during this time and they were always known to be pretty nattily dressed. Lots of cloth, uniforms and overcoats were coming in as Mobile was still open for runners then. Does anyone have any more photo evidence of late war Mobile stationed units?

Here is the article as posted by Chris Daley and found by Lee White on an earlier thread. I was incorrect - this was from the Columbus GA Daily Enquirer paper, not Mobile. Kate Cummings, a Mobile citizen, did mention in her book the number of well dressed soldiers in new dark gray uniforms in Mobile in early 65:

October 22, 1864
COLUMBUS GA. DAILY ENQUIRER:

GOOD NEWS FOR ALABAMA SOLDIERS

Four months ago a contract was entered into between the State of Alabama on the part of the Quartermaster General and the firm of Peter Tait and Co, Limerick, Ireland through Major J.L. Tait, of the British army, for a large quantity of military clothing for the Alabama Soldiers. Quartermaster General Green stipulated that a large portion of the goods should be furnished partially cut, with the necessary trimmings, thus affording employment to the seamstresses and tailors of our home factories. Some thousands of these Uniforms, we are glad to be able to announce, have safely arrived in the Confederacy, and the residue of the order is hourly expected. The outfit consists of jacket, pants, shoes, and overcoat, all made of the most substantial material-the cloth being exactly the same as used in the British army.

The house of Peter Tait and Co. In Limerick, is one of the mostextensive in Great Britan, and these enterprising factors furnish a great portion of the outfit to the British army than any other in the realm, and give employment to two thousand operatives. Their own vessels run into the Confederate ports and they have filed frequent contracts with the Government. Their contract with the State of Alabama has been faithfully and promptly fulfilled, thanks to the energy and tact of their agent and represenative, Maj. Tait.
Some of the goods for our State troops is already made up into Uniforms. A specimen overcoat which we have seen exhibits the superiority of the material for durability and comfort and the excelence of the make up. When Alabama's soldiers are comfortably clad in the ample folds of a cape and skirt of one of these overcoats they will be as handsomely and as comfortably uniformed as any soldier in the world. Several thousand of these uniforms are already here. The rest of the order will be here in a few days.-Montg Mail
__________________

[1stMaine]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

Comrade doug,

The Washington Artillery was also well dressed out here in the east. The Mannassas Battlefield Park has one of their jackets and I took a lot of notes about it many years ago. It was also a blue/grey cloth, not jeans, with red piping, although I cannot tell you the button type as my notes are not here with me. This particular jacket was part of a special order by the battery that was placed with the Richmond Depot and paid for by the battery as well. It was done in 1864, and shows that this unit, at least, was still trying to maintain a sense of uniformity and adherance to percieved regulations regarding branch trim, etc. The workmanship on the coat was excellent.
Respects,

[DougCooper]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

Yeah that is poor M. Page Lapham's uniform as seen in EoG as well - probably one of the best dressed 18 year olds in the army, he was killed at Drewry's Bluff (hit in the head by a shell or solid shot if memory serves). Like TV Brooke, Otis Baker and others, almost everything of Lapham's survives, even shoes.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

Jeeze, look at how they have that cap displayed! That cannot be good.

[markj]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/English Import Uniform

This is a link to a musuem display of the uniform worn by Louisiana soldier Henry Brunet, housed at the Museum of Southern History in Sugarland Texas (outside Houston). The uniform is apparently made of English Army Cloth or at least BG Kersey, including the kepi. I have seen a close-up photo of the uniform and it certainly appears to be blue gray kersey. There is speculation it is a Houston Depot product due to the cloth and location but Brunet served in Fenner's LA battery, an AoT unit. They were stationed at Mobile at war's end and fought in the last actions there (Spanish Fort). One wonders if we are looking at an English import uniform of BG kersey like those described in the Mobile newspapers in early 1865?

Hard to tell here but the photo I have seen shows that the trousers have what appears to be a japanned tin button at the waist band closure.

http://63.90.155.100/henrybrunet.asp

Greetings Doug,

I have my doubts that this is a TMD depot product (e.g., Houston or Shreveport). Without tipping my hand too much, I've found a June 1863 uniform contract, drawn up by the TMD Clothing Bureau, in Shreveport LA, containing fairly detailed "specs" and the jacket lining requested differs quite a bit from what has been stated elsewhere in this thread. The jacket fabric was to be "cadet gray cloth" but "Linsey" was to be used for lining the body and "brown drilling" for the sleeves.
At this point, I'm not sure if the contract was actually fulfilled but the fact that the Shreveport QM was very specific in stating what he wanted says quite a bit.

Your thoughts?

Mark Jaeger

[DougCooper]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

Mark - agree and KC will be discussing what we think are real TMD uniform examples in his article. Originally the Brunet uniform elicited some excitement as a possible long lost Houston Depot uniform (no known survivors) because of the cloth and the location. But based on Fenner's Battery location record and how the uniform actually arrived in Houston (Brunet moved here after the war) I would agree that it is likely not an HD product.

There is much excellent info on the TMD specific uniforms, and it sounds like you have located another! We have photos, specs, requisitions and QM descriptions, even paintings and drawings, but alas no surviving bonafide originals made from either the Penitentiary cloth (undyed cotton jean) or English Army Cloth. Various surviving jackets and trousers are out there, such as Troiani's jean shell jacket (prob 3rd LA), the Mansfield jacket, etc. Fred Adolphus, Don Smith, KC MacDonald, Gary White, Nic Clark, John Schwarz and others have worked like dogs to try ferret out what was what but it is a real puzzle.

Sounds like you have another piece of the puzzle. Note the Louisiana kepi in EoG made from cadet gray cloth - speculation is it came from Shreveport or Monroe as well based on time frame (post New Orleans capture), production records (25,000 caps in last half of 63 alone) and tentative issue provenance.

[Sweatshop_Tailor]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

Interesting posts!

Doug -- the Montgomery Messenger article copied by the Columbus Daily Enquirer is great -- especially as the uniforms were sent only partially cut. That is a potential source for this outfit. That said, the Brunet outfit appears to be a fairly 'hefty' :confused_ surviving outfit -- at least a 42 --and the model they have the clothes on would equate to a man of about 5'10 in height. Not the sort of sizes we normally equate with Taits.

Mark -- the sleeve linings are polished cotton, but the body lining is a brown cotton domestic with plenty of slubs in it (this shows very well on one of the internal photos I have). Shreveport thus remains another possibility. The cut conforms with what we know of Trans-Miss products: straight collar, straight margins, no dip in the back (and, of course, 7 buttons). We know that Brunet was with Fenner's Battery on October 31st, 1863 in Mobile (and previous to that almost monthly). The next record in his file is the fact that he appears on a roll of prisoners of war compiled at Meridian, Mississippi on 10 May, 1865. There is no way of knowing whether or not he had a furlough, or sick leave, or was detached during this 18 month 'blank' period.

From the look of it (and having spent some time in close proximity to it), I believe it to be a privately tailored rather than a depot garment (it is really immaculately made). The question is: where was it tailored and what was it based upon? Again, in cut it is most like a Trans-Miss jacket.

I am currently completing two articles for our newsletter 'The Lazy Jack Journal' which should go more or less straight to web after I mail it out to members of the American Eagle Society (the UK's 50+ authentics). One is on new evidence for Texas and Louisiana depot issues, the other is on the Brunet outfit. With a bit of luck (and the kindness of our webmaster Dave Turpin) they should be viewable within 30 days.

Best Regards to All,
KC MacDonald
Lazy Jacks Mess

[markj]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

Hi,

Yes indeed, the TMD Clothing Bureau had very definite ideas about what it wanted. Again, I can't really provide too many details since I'm still working on my article but I can definitely state the TMD "CB" was very particular to the point where it even specified the "brand names" of thread and sewing machines to be used in making the uniforms. This pickiness extended even to trouser buttons: the TMD asked for bone buttons with a certain number of "lines."

Even more interesting, the same contractor was asked to provide a large quantity of camp equipage, which included axes produced by a well-known Northern manufacturer. This whole deal apparently tied in with attempts to run Southern cotton through Union lines for sale to Northern contacts. The profits would, in turn, be used to surreptitiously purchase uniform and equipment items from Northern retailers and manufacturers. I think this cotton-smuggling operation is discussed in "Confederate Quartermaster in the Trans-Mississippi" but it appears the author barely scratched the surface as to what was really going on.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[tmdreb]

Re: Possible Houston Depot/TMD Uniform

Gents,

I have had the opportunity to look at this uniform up close, as it resides about 20 minutes down the road from where I live. I can say with certainty that it is indeed made of BG kersey. I took a scrap of FHW Peter Tait kersey to compare, and aside from my scrap being a slightly more vibrant blue, the two were identical. The topstitching appears to have faded in exposed areas to a brown color. Speaking of topstitching, there is an extra line of it running through the middle of the collar. The way the jacket is displayed, the interior cannot be seen, and the waistband of the pants is covered up.

Robert, I wouldn't worry much about the cap. It sure looked to me like a cheap repro of a similar colored (not similar in weave) fabric. Mark, I'd sure be interested to see that info you mentioned about the jacket specs.

It is true that it is unlikely it is a Houston oir TM product. However, I do feel it is possible for a few reasons. First of all, we know that by the time of the official surrender of the TMD, there were no soldiers left in it. They had all gone home on their own accord, and quite often drew or simply stole clothing from various depots on their way to wherever they were going. This particular uniform has only a couple places that show wear. Otherwise, it is in almost an unissued condition. Brunet could possibly have got it on his way to Houston, or once he got here. Additionally, in the Les Jensen article that is so often referenced on these forums, there is a Department of Alabama jacket issued to Thomas Jefferson Beck, a member of Fenner's Louisiana Battery when they were in Mobile right before the end of the War. Jensen's article mentions the battery received a large issue of clothing on March 17. I find myself wondering if different members of the same battery were issued jackets made of completely different patterns and cloth at the same time. Also, in Brunet's trip from Meridian to Houston, how would he have kept his uniform in such immaculate condition? The jacket in the museum does not seem to show a month's worth of wear, and a trip across Louisiana, at least to me.

I suppose my analysis is that Brunet likely obtained this uniform somewhere during his trip to Houston, or once he arrived there. It is also likely he was issued it at Mobile or somewhere else before crossing the river. But, based on the lack of wear, and disparity with what we know his comrades were issued, and the preponderance of BG kersey uniforms in Louisiana and Texas, I think it is perfectly likely this uniform is of Trans-Mississippi origins.