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I just received a civilian sack coat from South Union Mills located in Spring Hill Tennessee. I have been in the market for an authentically styled civilian style sack coat for some time and have been shopping around without much success. It would seem from the number of related inquiries on this forum that there are a lot of us looking for civilian sack or frock coats. I found a listing for a sack coat on South Union Mills' website with a couple of good photos so I decided to order their "Mid to late 19th century civilian sack coat" in Charcoal grey.
I am very pleased with the coat. The wool is a very nice broadcloth in a dark grey that is almost black in color. The coat closes with four four hole buttons (I may change these out for cloth covered buttons after I do some research). The length of the lapel matches those seen in numerous period photographs and the collar lays down just as smoothly as a modern suit jacket. In fact the workmanship is superb throughout. The coat has one interior pocket, one exterior breast pocket and two pockets in the front with flaps. In studying period photographs I see civilian sack coats with and without pocket flaps. The button holes are hand stitched. The sleeves flare slightly wider at the elbow and are narrower at the cuff. There are no buttons on the cuff but there is a narrow band of black twill tape encircling the cuff about five inches from the bottom of the sleeve (very similar to one in the most recent posting of a "spies and scouts" image posted on this site, see the man standing at the left of the group wearing a beat up farmer's style slouch hat). In full disclosure this coat was a "one of" but South Union Mills does have a few other sack coats of a slightly different style (noticeably the cut of the lapel) but evidently made by the same maker.
Ryan Thornton
I am very pleased with the coat. The wool is a very nice broadcloth in a dark grey that is almost black in color. The coat closes with four four hole buttons (I may change these out for cloth covered buttons after I do some research). The length of the lapel matches those seen in numerous period photographs and the collar lays down just as smoothly as a modern suit jacket. In fact the workmanship is superb throughout. The coat has one interior pocket, one exterior breast pocket and two pockets in the front with flaps. In studying period photographs I see civilian sack coats with and without pocket flaps. The button holes are hand stitched. The sleeves flare slightly wider at the elbow and are narrower at the cuff. There are no buttons on the cuff but there is a narrow band of black twill tape encircling the cuff about five inches from the bottom of the sleeve (very similar to one in the most recent posting of a "spies and scouts" image posted on this site, see the man standing at the left of the group wearing a beat up farmer's style slouch hat). In full disclosure this coat was a "one of" but South Union Mills does have a few other sack coats of a slightly different style (noticeably the cut of the lapel) but evidently made by the same maker.
Ryan Thornton
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