Commutation jackets

[westcoastcampaigner]

Hello All,

Before I ask this question I'll state for the record that YES I used the search function and couldn't come up with anything. I've seen and heard references to commutation jactets with piping and exterior pockets but are there any originals out there that are just plain jean wool with a 6 or 7 button front, no pockets or piping? Would love to know. Thanks.

Best Regards,

Josh Sawyer
Liberty Rifles (National Light Infantry)
Hardtack Society

[Craig L Barry]

Re: Commutation jackets

According to Tom Arliskas, author of Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown, there is no such thing as a "commutation jacket". The Commutation System was a "government reimbursement process" and should not be confused with describing a particular piece of clothing. Any shirt, jacket, coat, hat, pair or shoes or boots, trousers or socks, civilian or military cut, paid for by the Confederate Government under the Commutation System, and issued to the Volunteers can be described as "Commutation Clothing", supplied under the Law, and is not a particular style of clothing.

Pick up a copy of CG and BB at Barnes & Noble, and peruse the generous number and variety of "commutation period" photos and CDVs to see if you find something akin to what you are seeking.

[Iron Scout]

Re: Commutation jackets

What? You mean you don't want something like this???:D

Neill Rose
PLHA

[brown]

Re: Commutation jackets

Neill,
While I can't speak for Mr Sawyer, I'd have to agree with you that the jacket you posted is plain and nondescript. Where is said boring jacket located today? What do you know about it and it's ACW owner.
Lindsey
PS. Got the package; clothing looks great.

[Iron Scout]

Re: Commutation jackets

Lindsey,

I don't want to hijack the thread but the jacket is c.1864 and belonged to Pvt. Wm. Bobo, 2nd SCC. Bobo was an old timer who was conscripted in the state and served along the SC coast. The jacket is very well tailored with false, yes, false pockets and that funky yellow cording throughout. The lining is printed and is straight out of a Dead show. The garment still remains with the family in the state along with an amazing amount of artifacts.

Regards,

Neill Rose
PLHA
**PS-glad you liked the articles!

[westcoastcampaigner]

Re: Commutation jackets

Just to add this in there without starting a new thread...when did varigated jeancloth come into use during the WBTS? Tried a search, came up empty. Was it during the commutation period? I've heard Antietam timeframe is a good time for it but don't know for sure. Any input here?

Best Regards,

Josh Sawyer
Liberty Rifles (National Light Infantry)
Hardtack Society

[unclefrank]

Re: Commutation jackets

I have a Commutation style short Jacket that was made by Dan Wambaugh a few years ago. It's a very plain heavy gray jean material with a five eagle button front. It's my favorite. I suggest dropping him a line.

[Craig L Barry]

Re: Commutation jackets

From a recent post on "jean" cloth,variegated or otherwise, which definitely pre-dates Antietam...

The word has a European root, as that type woven cotton/wool fabric was imported by England from Genoa, Italy ergo the name “jean”. The Italian sailors from that city were said to have worn trousers made from that blended fabric in the early 1600s. Therefore "jean wool" in Europe easily pre-dates the American Revolution by 150 years.Whatever the case, the fabric known as jean wool was durable, and since it was a wool/cotton blend, it was less expensive than all wool cloth. The ratio of wool to cotton varies, but Ben Tart jean is representative at 73% wool 27% cotton. Wool fiber is said to be hydrophilic, or “attractive to water” and as such it is easily dyed. The same can be said of cotton hence as a combination of the two, jean cloth readily accepts a variety of dyes. Sumac, Barkwood, Logwood, Walnut and other vegetable based dyes were commonly used in the South during the Civil War era.

The colors of naturally dyed fabric fade with exposure to the sun to what you see behind the glass case in museum displays today, but they did not start out that color. For example, “Sumac jean”, which is a Confederate recipe from Richmond, is a combination of sumac and logwood dye. The color of the cloth coming out of the vat is a consistent light to medium gray, but after continuous exposure to sunlight the cotton part of the thread fades out to a cream color and the wool part a brownish khaki color (often called “butternut”). Logwood is what is called an indicator dye. It changes color with the Ph of the solution. Combined with iron, Logwood dyed jean cloth is a darker blue-gray color which fades to tan. It is difficult for today's cloth treated with modern dyes to duplicate these colors because the modern dyes will not fade like vegetable based dyes.

According to Richmond Depot Clothing Bureau records, the mills which supplied the Richmond Depot produced primarily jean cloth and cassimere, in other words cotton/wool blends but not 100% wool cloth.

[westcoastcampaigner]

Re: Commutation jackets

I'm specifically looking for information on varigated or tiger striped jeancloth, not jean cloth in general but thank you. Very informative.

Best Regards,

Josh Sawyer
Liberty Rifles (National Light Infantry)
Hardtack Society

[tmdreb]

Re: Commutation jackets

You might as well ask when specific colors of jean were woven or dyed for the first time. I very much doubt that at any point during the War someone just decided to start making tiger stripe jean, and it never existed until that point. If you've got some, use it, and don't worry about the time frame.

[Craig L Barry]

Re: Commutation jackets

Tiger striped jean cloth? Stony Brook Company (Chris Sullivan) has a CS jacket advertised in that material. This would be a pretty rare item.

[Dan Wambaugh]

Re: Commutation jackets

Craig,

Thank you very much for your post, that is some excellent information there and it taught me some wonderful new things!


Josh,

To my knowledge, variegated jean appears only in two surviving original garments, a pair of CS-used trousers now in Mississippi, and a single sleeve on display at the Antietam visitor's center. This sleeve, being a battlefield pickup is of dubious quality when determining the appropriateness of a particular garment at that battle; there's no way to know what type of coat from which it came.

Variegated jean was a common and somewhat popular pre-war civilian material, and I have seen dozens of pictures from the 1855-1860 era with folks wearing the jean, most commonly in the form of trousers. Its widespread use in CS issue garments is not supported by photographs I have seen (though I would be interested to see if anyone has actually done a scientific survey of surviving photographs cataloging the use of this jean.)

The basic conclusion that can be drawn from the limited information available is that the use of variegated jean in CS ranks is extremely over-represented in the hobby today, one pair of trousers and one sleeve should not warrant the ratios we see today. If you really want to stand out in an authentic way and have a garment made from an under-represented material, go with a cassimere.


Best Regards,

[coastaltrash]

Re: Commutation jackets

The pair Dan is mentioning that is located in Mississippi is made out of blue and white varigated jean. The tag reads "Jean wool trousers made by a plantation seamstress and worn by a student of the Georgia Military Institute during his service in the Confederate Army."

[Joe Walker]

Re: Commutation jackets

Mr. Sawyer-

As far as I know, the only extant varigated "jacket" part is the sleeve at the Antietam visitor center museum. It is believed to be from a Mississippi cavalry soldier's uniform who was wounded there. It is of a brown/tan color now. Pants of varigated cloth were in the basement section of the Gburg museum. Charles Childs first produced the Anteitam varigated reproduction cloth in 1987, followed by Pat Kline ca. ten years ago and some recently.

Joe Walker
Waco Guards

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Commutation jackets

Rumor has it that, an existing VMI Cadet Fatigue jacket was made from some sort of varigated jean. I have only seen a black and white photograph, and the owner of the image did not have the name available of the current owner.

This jacket is in a private collection.

It is my goal to someday find this jacket and get some documentation and color images of this unique piece.

Paul B. Boulden Jr.

RAH VA MIL '04
23rd VA Regt.