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Note: This first appeared on Joe Strauser's Gentleman's Joe website and then Joe of the Tar Water Mess gave me permission to post it on the old AC, circa 2000.
Fatigue duty is described as all of the irregular work that the soldier is called upon to perform from time to time. In the field, it includes working upon roads, the construction of a bridge, building fieldworks, rifle pits, the repairing of a railroad, the management of a boat and other such duties. At all other times the soldiers were to have coats buttoned at the top.
The fatigue blouse was the first all American military coat. It was free of all foreign influences as seen before, in the frock coat, shell jackets and etc. (French and British uniforms were the main influences in other American uniform coat styles). This was the first time in American history, soldiers were issued a separate uniform piece for fatigue duty and campaign purposes. This was also the first coat issued to the troops that was made of wool flannel. Before this coat, the military usage for flannel was usually only seen in Federal issue shirts and issue underdrawers.
The fatigue blouse was also called the "Sack coat, " because it was patterned after the popular period civilian style sack coat. Coats of this design were called "sacks" because they "hung on" the wearer like a "sack". They were also a very loose fitting and comfortable coat. A great deal of the soldiers favored the sack coat over the uncomfortable frock coat and shell jacket, which both offered less movement. Many of the men, when they were issued their sack coats, threw away their dress frock coats and never used them again.
The majority of the sack coats were manufactured for the men, by three different clothing depots. The Schuykill Arsenal in Philadelphia, the Cincinnati Arsenal were constructed with machine and hand sewing on the garment. Coats from the St. Louis Arsenal were entirely machine sewn. Button holes were hand stitched throughout all of the coats, just like button holes on all other garments of the the period.
During the Civil War, sack coats, frock coats, overcoats and shell jackets were originally issued in only four sizes. Size 1 sack coat: 36-inch breast, 30 1/2 inches long; Size 2 sack coat: 38-in. breast, 31 1/2 inches long; Size 3 sack coat: 40-in. breast, 32 1/2 inches long; and Size 4 sack coat: 42-in. breast, 33 1/2 inches long. They did not come in the wide variety of sizes as sold to reenactors today. The blouses they were issued(as well as other uniform pieces) were "close" to their size, but they were not an exact custom fit. The original soldiers did not send their exact measurements to a company, wait 6-12 weeks for their completed uniform (minus the buttons, which are extra cost). This is the way we as living historians receive our uniform pieces, not the original veterans. The original men received them on the spot (with buttons), but they may have required a few makeshift size alterations by the men. Using one of these four sizes would improve a person's impression greatly!
The size was marked in the sleeve lining of the coat, by either dots or numerals, next to the contractor's and inspector's markings. Most uniforms were not marked with the date of the contract until 1864. Dot sizing was first used to accommodate the large number of illiterate soldiers. The Schuykill Arsenal used a red dot system for marking sizes. For example; size three was marked with three red dots. The Cincinnati Arsenal used the Arabic numeral system for size marking. After 1862, it became standard for all arsenals and depots to use the Arabic numeral system. Some arsenals then after, marked their garments with both dots and Arabic numerals. J.T. Martin was the major contractor who supplied the largest amounts of uniform pieces to the Cincinnati Arsenal, during the War Between the States. George C. Fry was the U.S. Inspector General located in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the war years.
Although regulations called for lined coats to be issued to recruits only the majority of enlisted men received them also. More lined sack coats were produced than unlined coats during the war. The 1865 Quartermaster's report states that 3,685,755 lined coats were made and 1,809,207 unlined coats were produced. This is a ratio of 3 to 1 of lined sack coats over unlined coats. The body lining was made of either a lightweight kersey wool flannel, or linsey (a wool-cotton blend). The colors of the body linings varied from gray , off-white and blue, but khaki brown was the most common. The sleeve linings were made of undyed cotton muslin. Unlined blouses were flat-felled on all seams, except the top edge of the sleeve. On a flat-felled seam, the interior raw edges are tucked in and stitched down, either by machine or whip-stitched by hand. This made the coats more sturdier, when there was no lining to protect the seams.
The inside breast pocket was present in all of both lined and unlined fatgue coats. The stitching for the pocket opening was usually faced with an inch of the same material used in the body of the coat.
A great number of reproduction sack coats today , actually do not resemble the original blouses that well. The fabric used in constructing reproduction sack coats are usually much too thick and many are loosely woven. The weight and thickness on many of the reproductions can be compared to trowser wool thickness. The fabric used on the original blouses was not nearly as thick as trowser** material, for they were made of wool flannel.
The Quartermaster's Manual of 1865 stated that the body of the fatigue coat was to be made of "3 yards, 4 inches of 3/4 (27" wide) blue flannel" weighing "5.5 ounces per yard." The fabric was to be of light weight, but tightly woven with a diagonal weave. Original sack coats were much lighter in color than most reproductions. The coats were definitely not blue-black or navy blue as seen in many replicas.
The collars on many reproductions are much too large. The collars on the originals were only 2 1/2 inches high at the back seam, and 1 1/2 to below the horizontal line running through the top button hole.
**- Trowser: This is the correct 1860's spelling of the word.
Sources:
Cunningham, Mike R. and Hughes, Nicky. "Trying to Bag a Good Sack Coat." The Watchdog. Spring 1994.
Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equiptment of the Union. Alexandria: Time-Life Books. 1991.
Katcher, Philip. American Civil War Armies (2): Union Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry. London: Osprey Publishing. 1986.
Mckee, Paul, "A Survey of Sack Coats in the National Museum Collections." The Company Wag. Vol. 1, No.1. February, 1988.
Regulations for the Uniform and Dress, of the Army of the United States 1861. Washington: George W. Bowman. 1861.
Smithsonian Institution. "Federal Enlisted Uniforms of the Civil War," video tape. Washington D.C.: Roberts Video Publishing, Inc. 1990.
Williams, Thomas B. The Administration of Companies. Indianapolis: Adjutant Supply Company. 1994.