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ca. 1880 CAVALRY ORDNANCE
SERGEANT’S 5 BUTTON BLOUSE OR UNIFORM COAT – EXCELLENT
CONDITION WITH ORIGINAL CHEVRONS: A true
veteran of the Indian Wars Cavalry, this original 5
button Blouse features original Cavalry Ordnance
Sergeant Chevrons on both sleeves. Due to the
environments in which they were worn, and that the
relatively few which did survive being poorly stored,
finding any of the Indian Wars era blouses in decent
condition is notable. In the case of this blouse, while
obviously issued and worn, it could not have been worn
heavily, perhaps being reserved by the senior NCO for
special occasions or for special assignments. This
specimen definitely rates as genuinely one of the cream
of the crop when compared to available Indian War era
blouses.
Due to the several changes in pattern and features to
which the standard blouse was subjected during the
Indian Wars era, several features ordered in earlier
patterns 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 patterns changed as often
as they did, 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. Further fogging the identification of
distinct patterns, there were issues of uniforms issued
to the soldiers as kits, with local company level
tailors assembling them, and this led to the known
practice of soldiers tailoring their own uniforms, and
in the process, combining features of different
regulation patterns. These characteristics are 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 closely follows the general patterns for the
Unlined Blouses adopted by the Quartermaster Department
during the 1880’s. It features the collar, five button
front, and three button trim on the cuffs that was
consistent with the styles adopted starting in the
mid-1870’s and continued through the 1880’s. Upon close
inspection, this blouse was obviously tailored for a
close fit for the Ordnance Sergeant. There are slimming
seams running the length of the front and back of the
blouse which resulted in a much sharper blouse than the
normal “feed sack” fit of the standard issue blouse.
The bottom of the blouse is hemmed, however
interestingly the cuffs are not, rather been cut along
the bias and leaving a raw edge. This is not a
particularly unusual treatment, seen on the bottom edges
of enlisted and officer uniforms alike. The interior of
the cuff is lined with a three inch wide strip of dark
khaki cotton to reinforce the cuff and provide some
shape. The remainder of the sleeve is unlined as is the
body. The final feature which departs from the usual
regulation pattern is a single open top “slash” pocket
over the right hip. The pocket is nicely fashioned,
with a finished, hemmed edge around the opening. The
pocket body is made of the same type of wool material
and lays flat long the interior surface of the body
front. The blouse is unlined, probably worn in one of
the warmer climates such as Texas or the Desert
Southwest, so there are no inspector’s stamps or other
marks that might have been applied to the cotton
material used to line other patterns.
This blouse is in unusually excellent condition, showing
little sign of wear and none of the aging or
deterioration so often suffered by these pieces of
frontier uniforming. The only sign of wear is a few
small nips (¼” or less) located primarily around the
area of the waist where the sergeant’s belt would have
worn against the material. None of these small nips are
particularly noticeable when the blouse is displayed.
Otherwise the wool is very solid with no weak points, no
open seams and no stains or moth damage. All of the
original buttons are intact – five down the front and
three on each cuff.
The scarce Ordnance Sergeant chevrons are bright and
clean with no mothing or other damage and are securely
sewn to the sleeves. Given that the positions of
Ordnance Sergeants were fairly limited army wide, this
is a fairly rare offering.
From the outstanding condition of this blouse, and the
fact that it is unlined, I am inclined to think that
this blouse was reserved by the sergeant for parades and
other special occasions within the garrison, and not the
uniform he wore in the field, hence the condition. This
is an extremely attractive, relatively scarce, and very
desirable Indian War Cavalry Non Commissioned Officer’s
uniform blouse and one that would be a fine center piece
for any Indian Wars Cavalry collection. As a Cavalry
Ordnance Sergeant’s blouse, this would be the perfect
uniform to display with a grouping of carbines,
revolvers, accoutrements, horse equipment, and
cartridges – all of which would have fallen under the
responsibility of the regiment’s Ordnance Sergeant.
SOLD
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 order to highlight the
features, the even dark blue wool appears to have faded
or discolored. This coat is an even dark blue color as
is seen in the overall full views, the odd coloring
coming out when the smaller details of the coat are
photographed so as to be visible.
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