PATTERN 1883 5 BUTTON ENLISTED MAN’S BLOUSE OR
UNIFORM COAT – AN EXCELLENT MAKER MARKED AND INSPECTED
SPECIMEN: Examples of the Indian Wars era
original five button US Army Blouses are not
particularly common, and those that have survived in the
condition of the one offered here are almost
nonexistent. Due to the environments in which they were
worn, and that the relatively few which did survive were
poorly stored, finding an example of these blouses in
decent condition is notable. In the case of this
blouse, it was obviously issued, but could not have been
worn on more than a few occasions. This specimen
genuinely ranks in the cream of the crop when it comes
to Indian War era blouses.
Due to the several changes in pattern and features to
which the standard blouse was subjected in a short,
three year period – 1883-1886 – several features ordered
in the earlier pattern such as button or pocket
placement bled over into subsequent patterns. This was
the result of the Quartermaster’s efforts to exhaust the
quantities of existing stocks of clothing before
producing a newer pattern. Where possible, the new
changes ordered for the blouses were incorporated in
those currently in the manufacturing pipeline or those
which had not yet been issued.
In
the best of circumstances, there were no distinct lines
of demarcation in the issue or use of any of the
clothing, weapons, or equipment during the Indian War
era, as is documented in period photographs. Driven by
limited finances and huge stocks of material left over
from the Civil War, the army made every effort to use up
any stocks in inventory prior to even manufacturing new
material, much less issuing it. So when the army came
to the point of manufacturing new uniforms such as these
five button blouses, and the pattern changed as often as
it did from 1883-1886, it is no surprise that some
combinations of features of the different patterns is
often encountered in surviving examples of these Indian
War period uniforms. This characteristic is well
documented and described in John Langellier’s More
Army Blue – The Uniform of Uncle Sam’s Regulars
1874-1887 (both of these volumes are highly
recommended).
This blouse most closely follows the Pattern 1883, with
the addition of the cuff buttons as ordered in 1886, but
without the three exterior pockets as ordered in 1884.
That this blouse was made to the specifications of the
regulations and was the product of the regular army
clothing supply system, there can be no doubt, as it is
well marked with the ink stamps identifying the
Quartermaster Depot that accepted the blouse and the
maker’s name. That these ink stamps survive is further
testimony to the lack of wear to which the blouse was
subjected, as these ink stamps were prone to fade or
wash away with only minimal wear when subjected to the
body heat and perspiration of the soldier.
This blouse was certainly issued, but as noted above it
was worn very gently and well cared for over the years.
It presents in as close to “like new” condition as one
can reasonably expect.
The material is overall very clean and the color is
consistent without any fading, stains or discoloration.
The wool is still supple and has not hardened as is
often seen when these woolen uniforms are exposed to
poor storage.
There is no significant damage or evidence of wear, and
all of the seams are intact. There are two small snags
(less than 1/8”) in the material above the left breast
and just below the crest of the left shoulder. The two
snags are aligned in an angle running from the point of
the shoulder down towards the centerline of the body of
the coat. The positioning of these two snags strikes me
as being in the very area and along the same line that a
cavalry soldier’s carbine sling would lay across his
shoulder and chest, and chafe against his blouse, and
these snags would be the sort of wear caused by the
sling buckle or the rivets used to assemble the sling.
The body of the blouse is full lined with a polished
black cotton material. The lining is fully intact and
shows no evidence of wear and no damage. The collar is
full form without any wear to the edge or where the
collar folds over, and the loop provided for hanging the
blouse on a hook is still intact and in excellent
condition.
There is a single breast pocket with a “slash” finished
opening in the seam between the lining and the wool
facing which also has the button holes. On the inside
edge of the pocket, there is a period applied label
bearing the soldier’s name and what may be tailor or
laundry notations.
There is one feature which was not regulation, but is an
example of the sort of additions the individual soldiers
made to their uniforms. On the lower left front of the
lining is a 6” square, open topped pouch or pocket sewn
onto the lining and made of the same material as the
lining. This pocket may have held the soldier’s
handkerchief, a note book, a pair of gloves worn during
guard mount, or any number of other necessities the
soldier needed close at hand.
The sleeves are both lined with patterned cotton
material which is clean and shows no tearing or wear.
The edge of each cuff has a minor (less than 1/8”) snag
which was apparently repaired during the period of use.
Interesting that both cuffs have this same snag and it
suggests that they were in some way associated with the
soldier’s daily routine. Both arm holes where the
sleeve joins the body of the blouse are fully intact
with no loss of stitching and no staining.
The interior lining of the right sleeve is ink stamped
“THE W.H. HORSTMANN CO.” and the interior of the lining
of the left sleeve is ink stamped “U.S. QMD” in an oval
and “PHILA” indicating this blouse was accepted into and
issued from the Quartermaster Department’s Philadelphia
Clothing Depot.
All five of the US General Service buttons are present
on front of the blouse and each sleeve cuff is decorated
with three of smaller version of that same button. The
buttons are apparently original to the blouse, as all
the buttons bear the HORSTMANN back mark.
Examples of Indian Wars era Enlisted Man’s Blouses are
not particularly common, and specimens in this excellent
condition are virtually nonexistent on the market. This
is a superb example of the desirable Indian War Enlisted
Man’s Blouse worn by the men who wrote much of the
history of the Western Frontier, and it would be very a
very special addition to your collection which would
never need to be upgraded.
(1107) $975
NOTE: To say that photographing
dark blue wool is a challenge is an understatement. In
normal lighting, it appears black and none of the finer
features or condition details can be seen clearly in the
photographs. In order to highlight the features and
provide you with an accurate view of the material, I
have to lighten the contrast of the photograph which in
turn causes the even colored dark blue wool to appear
faded or discolored when such is not the case. This
coat is an even dark blue color with no fading or
discoloration, as is seen in the photographs of the
larger areas of the coat.
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