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MODEL 1898 OFFICER’S TROPICAL INFANTRY UNIFORM –
FULL SET OF BLOUSE AND TROUSERS COMPLETE WITH ALL THE
PROPER INSIGNIA – SCARCE EARLY PATTERN IN KHAKI TRIMMED
WITH BLUE COLLAR, SHOULDER STRAPS, AND CUFFS – VERY GOOD
CONDITION: Approved at the start of the Spanish
American War, these khaki colored, cotton blouses were
adopted with the issue of General Order No. 39 on May 9,
1898 and were to be trimmed with the color of the branch
of service (G.O. 51, May 23, 1898) - dark blue for the
staff departments and general staff, yellow for cavalry,
red for artillery, and sky blue for infantry. The
blouses for the enlisted men were to have the trim
colors on the collar, shoulder straps, breast pocket
flaps and cuffs, while these officer blouses were
trimmed in the branch color on the collar, shoulder
straps and cuffs. The absence of colored trim on the
pocket flaps identifies this uniform as a Pattern 1898
Officer’s Blouse and Trousers.
Providing a very identifiable uniform for each branch,
unfortunately it was this very same distinction that
resulted in a very short service life for these
uniforms, making them quite scarce today. As the
uniforms were subjected to wear in the field, the army
quickly discovered that the wear out period for cavalry
and infantry soldiers and officers in the field was
considerably shorter than it was for artillery and staff
department soldiers, resulting in a serious shortage of
replacement uniforms for the mounted and foot troops
while an overabundance of artillery and staff uniforms
sat unissued in storage. Due to the way in which this
pattern of coat was trimmed, changing the color of the
facings in order to meet the need for uniforms was not
practical.
As a result, less than two months later, on July 15,
1898, the Secretary of War issued a circular directing
that the colored facings be eliminated and replaced with
colored detachable shoulder tabs that could be issued
with the later pattern all khaki coats as appropriate
for the soldier’s particular branch of service.
Nominally made for less than two months - and then most
of those that were made being subjected to the severe
use and wear of combat soldiers in a tropical
environment - it is not surprising that these early
Pattern 1898 Tropical Blouses survive today in
relatively low numbers and when found, often show
evidence of hard use in the field. Further reducing the
likelihood of survival of these early pattern blouses
was the common practice of issuing new uniforms to
troops returning from the tropics and requiring that
their old uniforms be burned to prevent the introduction
and spread of disease within the continental United
States.
Given the numerical proportion of officers to enlisted
men, and then factoring in the smaller number of senior
officers to junior officers, this Pattern 1898 Officers
Blouse which was worn by a colonel of the U.S. Volunteer
Infantry is a very scarce offering.
The rank and assignment are indicated by the colonel’s
silver eagles and the 1898 National
Eagles badges on both shoulder straps, and by the
individual “USV” letters affixed to the collar on each
side. All of the insignia is full form, firmly
attached, and all appear to be original to this
blouse.
This khaki cotton blouse follows the pattern introduced
by G.O. No.’s 39 and 51 for officers, being trimmed with
sky blue facing on the collar, shoulder straps, and
cuffs.
The blouse shows the typical evidence of issue and use,
as well as the typical fading to the trim which resulted
from wear in the tropics. All of the facings are intact
and show very little wear. There is a wear spot on the
left cuff, and some wear points around the rim of the
collar.
The khaki fabric is in overall very good condition, with
no holes or tears, and no wear along the bottom edge of
the coat. The coat shows the appropriate stains and
soiling that is expected with these uniforms which saw
wear in the field, but nothing which dramatically
detracts from the uniform. The largest stain on the
front waist area appears to be where the dye or oil from
colonel’s pistol belt bled into the sweat soaked fabric
where it would have been constricted against his body.
There is some minor soiling to the lower sleeves, but
nothing significant. All of the matching original
General Service Infantry (each bearing the correct “I”)
buttons are present on the shoulder straps, front, and
pocket flaps.
The trousers match the blouse in both color and
condition. The trousers are of the mounted pattern,
with the reinforced seat and inner leg surfaces being
covered in a second layer of matching material. All of
the fly, suspender, pocket flap, and lower leg buttons
are present and matching and all appear to be original
to the period of wear of the trousers. There are a few
minor, expected stains, but nothing dramatic, and all
the seams are intact, save for a ¾” section of the seam
along the edge of the seat reinforcement material.
There is no damage at this spot and no hole, just a
place where the stitching failed and something that
could be easily restored if you so desire. The waist
adjustment belt at the back of the trousers is present,
full length and the original claw buckle is present and
functional. All of the waist band liner and all of the
interior pocket material is present and intact with no
damage.
One interesting feature is the set of four oversized – 3
½” – belt loops, two in front and two at the rear. They
are made of three layers of material and attached with
heavy stitching, and I suspect the colonel had the loops
added so that when he wore his pistol belt on those
occasions when he was not wearing his blouse, the heavy
belt would be supported. That these matching trousers
survived with the blouse, is certainly an added value.
Introduced as our army was deployed to far away lands
and subjected to the sweltering tropical heat, this 1898
uniform set of blouse and trousers shows some evidence
of the colonel’s overseas service, but nonetheless, it
has survived in very nice condition and given the
scarcity of these color-of-branch trimmed uniforms, it
will be a particularly nice addition to a Spanish
American War display.
SOLD
NOTE: To say that photographing
uniforms is a challenge is an understatement. In
normal lighting, the cloth absorbs the light and none of the finer
features or condition details can be seen clearly. 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 even
colored cloth to appear faded or discolored
when such is not the case. This coat is has an
even khaki color throughout as is seen in the close up
photographs of the light blue trim, and the close up
photos of the blue trim accurately depict the true
color. |
