|
PATTERN 1872 OFFICER’S DRESS
UNIFORM COAT – EXCELLENT CONDITION – BEAUTIFUL
SPECIMEN:
The Pattern 1872 Dress Uniform Coat was worn by all
officers during the Indian Wars as described in the
Regulations for the Uniform and Dress of the Army of the
United States, of 1872 “FULL DRESS FOR OFFICERS -
All officers shall wear a double-breasted frock coat of
dark blue cloth, the skirt to extend one-half to
three-fourths of the distance from the top of the hip to
the bend of the knee.”
The only differences in these coats
among the various ranks were the manner in which the
uniform was trimmed, and the number and placement of the
buttons. General officers’ dress coats aside as they
had their own scheme of trimming their uniforms,
officers between the ranks of 2ND Lieutenant
and Colonel were divided into two distinct groups for
the purposes of trimming their coats.
Such as seen on this coat, the coats of
Majors through Colonels, the field grade officers, were
fastened with nine buttons in each vertical row and the
sleeves were each trimmed with three stripes of gold
braid, pointed on the upper end, and with a small button
sewn just below the point of each stripe. This is the
dress uniform coat worn by such luminaries of the Indian
War army such as Custer, McKenzie, Otis, Sturgis, and
Reno.
The coats of 2ND Lieutenants
through Captain, the company grade officers, were the
same style coat except that they were fastened with
seven buttons in each row and the sleeves were trimmed
with two stripes of gold braid.
The only departure from the description
in the 1872 regulations for the field grade officers’
dress coat that this coat incorporates is a dark blue
velvet collar which was a feature reserved in the
regulations for general officers. That being said, the
way in which the regulations were written, there was
enough ambiguity in the wording to allow those officers
who so desired to avail themselves of a velvet collar –
which would have been much more comfortable than a wool
cloth collar.
The coat presents in as close to “like new” condition as
is possible and still have been worn. The wool is very
solid and clean with no mothing, wear spots, weak
points, and no open visible seams. There is no wear to
the collar, arm holes, cuffs, or bottom edge of the
blouse - unusual to find on these original uniforms.
The entire coat exhibits a high level of
expertise in tailoring, and it was definitely one of the
higher grades of uniforms available at the time.
The coat is decorated with the original
matching regulation US Army Staff Officer buttons – two
rows of nine down the front, four on the coat tails, and
three smaller buttons at the points of the stripes of
gold braid on the cuff of each sleeve. All the buttons
are present and all of them are full form with no
depressions or other damage.
This frock coat is in very good
condition with the dark blue wool material retaining its
strength and integrity. All of the seams are intact and
the wool is very clean with no damage or mothing except
the points noted as follows: there are two holes less
than 1/16” in diameter on the left breast, neither of
which are particularly noticeable. There is no wear or
fraying to the velvet collar, cuffs or bottom edge of
the skirt. Overall, this coat is in excellent
condition, and it presents very well.
The body of the coat is fully
lined with dark green polished cotton cloth which is
intricately quilted on the front, sides, and back areas
of the torso area. The lining of the body is complete
with no damage or wear.
There is an inside horizontal breast
pocket on left side of the coat, and directly adjacent
to that pocket is a second shallow pocket set at an
angle in the cloth which over-laid the right side when
the buttons were fastened. This second pocket, an
unusual feature, is positioned and of such a size that
it must of held a small item which the officer wanted
immediate access to without having to unbutton the coat
– perhaps a handkerchief. The split tail of the coat is
very nicely detailed and includes two deep slash pockets
– one in each of the two rear tail pieces – that are
accessed by finished vents in the edges of the tails.
The sleeves are fully lined with pin
striped polished cotton cloth which is fully intact in
both sleeves and shows no wear or soiling. Both of the
inner arm holes are solid with the exception of one ˝”
section of opening stitching where the lining was tacked
down – easily repaired should you decide it was
warranted. There is none of the common tearing or
material weakness in the armpit area.
The shoulder-knots required a two piece
set of hardware which was sewn to the crest of the
shoulder to provide the anchor points to attach the
heavy shoulder-knots. This coat shows evidence of
stitching and some wear where these pieces of hardware
were attached at one time. The mounting hardware was
likely removed at the time the uniform was placed into
storage as they were made of metal and perhaps the
officer was concerned they would corrode and damage the
wool.
None of the described faults are
significant issues and in spite of the risk of
discouraging a perspective buyer, I want to provide you
with a fair and complete description.
This is a very attractive Indian
War officer’s Pattern 1872 Dress Frock Coat,
trimmed as worn by the well
known senior officers of that period, and as it presents
in such excellent condition it would be almost
impossible to upgrade.
SOLD
|
