Tait Trousers?

[Seamus]

Re: Tait Trousers?

In the Museum of the Confederacy Collection

Directory Name: Permanent Collections
Accession No.: 0985.9.54a
Object Name: PANTS
Artist/Maker: Tait, Peter
Description: Cadet gray wool cloth with red (now light pink) piping down outer seams, inner facings and pockets are unbleached cotton sacking, black horn buttons.
Owner/User: Glennan, Michael G. Lt.
Military Unit: 2nd North Carolina Artillery (36th North Carolina State Troops); ADC, Col. William Lamb
Place Made: Ireland, , , Limerick, Peter Tait
History: Michael G. Glennan wore this pair of pants and shell jacket (.54) as part of his Confederate uniform. Described as a "cripple and exempt from service," Glennan left his home city of Norfolk, Virginia (occupied by Federal troops), and enlisted in the 2nd North Carolina Artillery (36th North Carolina State Troops). Promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant, Glennan held the rank of Lt. while serving as Aide-de-Camp to Col. William Lamb, commander at Fort Fisher. Glennan was among the defenders of Fort Fisher and surrendered with the garrison in January 1865. He was exchanged and paroled in Norfolk in April 1865.
Images: B & W Print-#6772 B & W Print-#6773

[jacobite8749]

Re: Tait Trousers?

James, thank you, good post.

These are perhaps (I say that because? ) the first, and only instalment of clothing in respect of James Tait’s “1st. Confederate” contract which left Limerick on August 1864 on the “Condor”. A surviving quartermaster report in the Richmond Depot book records the arrival of 4,400 jackets and trousers on December 29th 1864. These are perhaps the only documented part of the Tait contract that we will ever know.

The “Condor”, was a brand new three funnelled steamer built on the Clyde in Glasgow and is a well documented ship, sailing from Greenock, near Glasgow, Scotland, on the 16th. August 1864 . Other of Collie uniforms in the shipment were possibley J & J Crombie, having been shipped via the Caledonian canal. Another part of the cargo being the passengers, one of which was Rose O’Neil Greenhow, on her way back to report to Jeff Davis.

The Captain was a Samuel S. Ridge. As a blockade runner captain he used a number of names, Capt. Hewitt, Capt. Roberts, (when he commanded the DON) and Capt. Gulick amongst others. His real name was Augustus Charles Hobart-Hampden, third and youngest son of the sixth Earl of Buckingham and a Victoria Cross holder from the Russian War, were he led cutlass armed British troops aboard Russian battleships. He had already figured in one international incident when he picked up Slidell and Mason at Provincetown and took them to England in a British ship. Afterwards he became an Admiral in the Turkish Navy.

The “Condor” ran aground on the 7th October 1864, after being pursued by the USS Niphon, off New Inlet below Fort Fisher. It was on this ship that Rose O’Neil Greenhow, the Confederate spy lost her life. She was only fatality of the night, as she was being taken to safety. It is not surprising that Mrs Rose O’Neil Greenhow came back via a Collie ship as she was a frequent visitor at 17 Leadshall Street, Collie’s “dark office”. When her body was found it was taken to Col. Lamb’s home.

[jacobite8749]

Re: Tait Trousers?

All the "connections" are there, Fort Fisher, Col. Lamb, The Condor. Perhaps not all the cargo got as far as Richmond? lots of "possibles".

My worries in it all "inner facings and pockets are unbleached cotton sacking, black horn buttons".
Did TAIT, or any British company use poor cotton? why not linen like the jacket linings!
Do horn buttons sound like a British Army item? why not black jappanned tin, like some of the others!

Sadly we do not have a written spec for British made jackets and trousers, so much is left to imagination, and sometimes we classify items because it kinda sounds right, like the above trousers. What we do know about TAIT is that his goods would have been to a similar quality as British Army goods.