Confederate Frock Coat

[Cumpston1862]

Gents and Ladies-

A Confederate artilleryman's frock coat up for sale from one of the dealers in Tennessee. It seems to have an interesting color to it that some may find of interest.

http://www.rebelrelics.com/newitems.html

[the Tennessee Confederate]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

It says on the site that it was made at home but how would a civilian get artillery buttons. Hunter Greene

[Coatsy]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

Good question. I don't want to travel too far into speculation land, but once the item was received, buttons can fall off/pop off as you do pretty much anything. THis could have happened, and he had to replace them with these. The buttons could be a post war addition from the family as well. I've seen this with a few coats and jackets in the Atlanta History Center's Turning Point exhibit.

[woodsda]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

This is a nice find, does anyone have the information left off the site like who the coat belonged too, what unit, years served, where he was killed? The coat looks to be in great condition and the color is very interesting after all these years.

[Cumpston1862]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

I would agree with Herb there are any number of reasons a homemade/homespun jacket had regulation issue buttons on it. More than likely the owner acquired them sometime later in the field but we will probably never know. I believe the Marchbanks jacket in EOG has a similar type background. A wife made homespun jacket having government issue buttons.

I browse several Civil War relic dealers during the week and post links to interesting items they have for sale. I have not approached any of them to ask for details on any of the items. Often times the more in depth information about items such as this jacket is reserved for the buyer unfortunately.

[GenuineInformation]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

Lined A buttons look British/Irish to me, like those from Manchester or from P. Tait, Limerick. Again, more question marks than periods. But, I know this...I like it.

[the Tennessee Confederate]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

Sorry I'm new but thinking he later replaced the brings up another questions. How would a soldier in the field get a hold of loose military buttons and if he replaced them wouldn't the coat be in worse shape. Hunter Greene

[Tyler Underwood]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

Hunter, IMHO I think that the buttons could have been saved from a previously owned jacket or he could have traded for them.

if he replaced them wouldn't the coat be in worse shape?[/I]

I am not quite sure what yo mean by this. Are you asking if the coat would be in worse shape because he replaced the buttons?

[the Tennessee Confederate]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

In responce to Tylor underwoods question, I mean if the buttons popped off like Herb said then I would think the coat would be in worse shape because all the buttons were the block A.Meaning more wear on the coat to be able to lose all the buttons. Hunter Greene

[Tyler Underwood]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

Hunter, thanks for clarifying your question. I wouldn’t think that a garment would necessarily be in worse shape. Think about how often we as reenactors lose buttons and then replace them. Most of our stuff doesn’t show that much wear either. Just a thought.

[the Tennessee Confederate]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

Sorry about that, Im new to the hobby all I've done is research never attended any events. Hunter Greene

[Cumpston1862]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

If memory serves me correctly the soldier found at Franklin back in 2009 had a variety of military buttons found with him. That led many to conjecture that the soldier could have been a Confederate having scavenged many different buttons during his service time. Again, we are only guessing as soldiers on both sides did this but it is commonly associated with southern soldiers as such items were not always readily available for him.

Soldiers both north and south used what they could find and field modified their uniforms and gear often quite effectively. After all more often than not each regiment had a fair variety of tailors, harness makers and 19th century occupations represented on their rolls. We see this in the modifications seen in many period photographs of soldiers having pockets and cuts on their uniforms that were not standard issue. So the possibility of a soldier having acquiring buttons from a variety of sources is very plausible.

[Tyler Underwood]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

Hunter, no need to apologize, I appreciate your thought into the matter and I look forward to future discussions.

[the Tennessee Confederate]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

"Hunter, no need to apologize, I appreciate your thought into the matter and I look forward to future discussions."
Thanks I'm also looking forward to further discussions. Hunter Greene

[roundshot]

Re: Confederate Frock Coat

Soldiers also could purchase buttons from various commercial sources. Southern hospital matron Phoebe Yates Pember describes how her patients developed a button mania: “Men who had never had a dream or a hope beyond a horn convenience to keep their clothing together, saved up their scanty means to replace them with gilt, and made neat little wooden shelves with a slit through the middle into which the buttons slid, so that they could be cleaned or brightened without taking them off, or soiling the jacket.”