Page Lapham Vest?

[poilu1917]

While doing some research on Washington Artillery uniforms, I noticed that there were two vests identified by two different sources as belonging to Pvt Page Lapham (WA). The first is a bluish/gray military style vest shown with Lapham's jacket & trousers on pg116 of EoG (Confederate). The second is a black velvet civilian style collared vest shown on pg7 of the Confederate Sketchbook. Are both vests Lapham's or was one of these mis-identified? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[PenPusher]

Re: Page Lapham Vest?

The Museum of the Confederacy "Catalogue of Uniforms" lists three vests for M. Page Lapham.

Vest 1 cadet grey wool.
Vest 2 Black velvet cloth.
Vest 3 Brown Silk

[Matthew Semple]

Re: Page Lapham Vest?

Jon,

Mr. Thrower beat me to posting the information from the Museum of the Confederatcy "Catalogue of Uniforms". They were identified as belonging to Page by the Lampham Family upon their donation to the MOC.

That said, your question got me thinking:

Occassionally, duplicate uniforms and gear donated by families attributed to one soldier show up in museum collections:
1. One example of this are the two different haversacks in the Museum of the Confederacy collection identified and donated by the Bayley Family as having belonged to Alexander Bayley.
2. Another example was a jacket donated to the Museum of the Confederacy by the Semmes Family. Upon donation they stated that the jacket belonged to Adm. Rapheal Semmes. Based on the fact that it was not a Confederate Naval Officer's frock coat but instead an Infantry Officer's frock coat and only upon further research, the MOC concluded that it was actually mis-identified by the family and belonged to Brigadier General Paul Semmes, Rapheal's brother.

If the Lampham vests were in fact mis-identified, they were perhaps mis-identified by the family prior to or at the time of donation. It is entirely possible that the vest were mis-identified but proving the family "wrong" or "right" can be a sensitive and daunting task. This is especially true when the family may have specific references and accounts from their ancestor that have not released to the general public.

It is entirely possible that all three of the Lampham vests all belonged to Page. One, two, or all three could have been used at various points during the war and sent home or carried with him. Additionally, two might be from the war period and one might be from the immediate pre or post war period. The family may not have known which one was not used in service so they donated all three.

I would also be interested in hearing from others' perspective on this subject.

[poilu1917]

Re: Page Lapham Vest?

Alan, thanks for the info. That confirmed what I thought was the case but didn't have the info to confirm. I tried locating the MoC's catalogue of holdings online to see if there was in fact more than one vest ID'd to Lapham but guess they don't list it on their website (I assume that is what this book is: http://01f78b5.netsolstores.com/acat...funiforms.aspx). Thanks again for helping to confirm there was really more than one vest.

Matthew, I agree with your observations as well. There is so much room for error or misinterpretation one must be careful with some items. Thanks for responding!

[brown]

Re: Page Lapham Vest?

Mr Bocek,
Indeed. "A Catalogue of Uniforms in the Collection of the Museum of the Confederacy" is a nice resource if you are looking at CS garments. Supporting the museum isn't a bad idea either. Good luck.

http://01f78b5.netsolstores.com/acatalogueofuniforms.aspx

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Page Lapham Vest?

On that note, Mr. Page Lapham was a Virginian who was recruited by the Washington Artillery (New Orleans) while they were stationed in Virginia. His (cadet-grey) jacket, (cadet-grey) vest, and I believe cap were all said to have been given to him by the unit when he joined them (the former owner no longer in need of those particular articles). I think the forementioned book details this...

Paul B.

[brown]

Re: Page Lapham Vest?

Lapham was only about 17 when he died in 1864.