W.D. Pender - trousers

[Rhinevalleylad]

IS THERE SOMEONE OUT THERE???

Well as we all knew, the pair of trousers Gen. Pender wore on this fatal day at Gettysburg are imported british EM pants.

Beside the one pic in EoG-Confederate and the info in the MoC-Catalogue. Does someone has more Information and of course more pics of this Trousers?

Any help/info/pic would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Ingo Rolletter
5th Va vol Inf Rgt (GER)

[Secesh]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

It's interesting when one considers the time frame of the battle...it would seem that English-made uniforms were coming thru the blockade much earlier than late 1863-early 1864...Pender had to have acquired his EM trowsers at least by May '63, perhaps even earlier...

[DBURT]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Tom,

You are correct. By February 1863, 8,250 pairs of trousers had been sent in from England, with another 13,750 waiting to be shipped. (Gorgas, Feb 3rd 1863)

Ingo, the trousers themselves have a label marked "Campbell & Co" and were supplied by S. Isaac Campbell & Co of Jermyn St London, almost certainly ordered by Caleb Huse the main CS purchasing agent at the time.
They are made from royal blue kersey wool, with pockets and inner facings of light brown cotton drill with black japanned tin buttons.
They do not have any "WD" markings, meaning they were made for the Confederate market, and enlisted men in particular.

As you say, Pender was wearing them at Gettysburg in July 1863, when he was mortally wounded. They could have been one of the 8,250 pairs that had been imported by Feb 1863.
I hope this helps.

Dave Burt

[Secesh]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Thanks Dave! Would this apply to jackets also?

[DBURT]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Tom, I have never seen an invioce for any jackets from S. Isaac Campbell & Co, only greatcoats and lots of cloth. Peter Tait & Co was the firm who provided the uniforms.

Dave Burt

[Secesh]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Thanks Dave! You are a fountain of knowledge on this. Best regards.

[poilu1917]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Definately would love a pattern for these (Pender) trousers. I heard that Kochen maybe doing a run of this color blue wool in the future as well.

[Prodical Reb]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

As requested here is a pic of the pants as displayed by the MOC. Wish it were more.

[PaulJ]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

"Definately would love a pattern for these (Pender) trousers. I heard that Kochen maybe doing a run of this color blue wool in the future as well.
V/r
Jon Bocek"
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Hi Jon, I believe that County Cloth's #K2CS ("Royal blue") cloth is good for these trousers:- http://www.crchilds.com/Fabrics%20C.S.2011.html

Also, it's my understanding that this cloth was made up by the Richmond Depot in their pattern too - as an alternative idea? Making Pender's trousers might be quite a challenge as the hardware (buttons etc) might be hard to aquire for the 'perfect' copy?

Also, there is a good thread here ("Blue Confederate trousers") you might find of interest if you haven't already read it:-

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?32510-Blue-confederate-trousers&highlight=blue+trousers

Regards

[poilu1917]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Paul,
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately Charlie is sold out of the #K2CS. He has said there is a possibility of getting another run done, but wouldn't be for awhile. The thread on the "Blue Confederate trousers" and the research that has come out on English imports is what has fueled my desire to get a pair like these for the upcoming late '63 and later events.

[DBURT]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Here is a link to an article of mine which appeared in the now defunct Civil War Historian Magazine on blue trousers.

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?16931-Royal-and-Sky-Blue-Enlisted-Men’s-Trousers-in-the-ANV

Dave Burt

[CSchneider]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Luckily it is possible to reproduce the Pender pants, but it is a bit of a challenge. While #K2CS is a perfect match to the cloth and the typical blackened tin buttons are easy to find as both original and reproduction, the pants have all sorts or lining materials including black and white silesias, plain woven linens in a couple colors and weights, scraps of blue grey kersey (pretty cool, huh?), etc. Add to that the "S. Campbell and Co." label, paper size label, funky pattern details, tons of reenforcements, and some bizarre construction techniques, and you've got quite the project for what ends up looking like typical Richmond pants from the outside. It was fun for a couple pairs but I'm not anxious to make more, and guys didn't seem too willing to pay what it takes to make them right anyway.

-Craig Schneider

[DBURT]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Craig,
One thing I never managed to get a picture of when I saw the trousers (because they were on display) was the "Campbell & Co" label. Do you or anyone else have a picture they may be willing to share of that label, or an accurate description?

Dave Burt

[Rhinevalleylad]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

Thanks Craig-
you received a PM.
Regards
Ingo Rolleter

[Rhinevalleylad]

Re: W.D. Pender - trousers

WEll,

Thanks to all of you for your input.
If anybody has worksheet or more pics/details a PM would be really appreciated.

Kind regards
Ingo Rolleter