Notes on the Federal Issue Sack Coat

Notes on the Federal Issue Sack Coat Paul McKee FIG 1. Unlined federal enlisted issue sack coat (blouse) in the Royal Arsenal Museum, Copenhagen. Perhaps the earliest known example of the sack coat adopted in 1857 is this specimen, which was part of the exchange of military equipment with the Danish government in 1858. Because of the early date of manufacture, it is certainly an example of prewar Schuylkill Arsenal manufacture and would be entirely hand sewn. Note how the collar is wider and the cuff slits much deeper than sack coats associated with war-time manufacture. Also note the unusual double pocket stitching which is straight at the bottom and runs all the way to the top button. (Photograph courtesy of Frederick C. Gaede) HE Federal issue sack coat of ihe Civil War is a paradoxi- garments have been included as well as contractor produced Tcal garment. In its day it was cheap, common, utilitarian, pieces. However, a word of caution is in order. No matter how and entirely lacking in military panache; in fact, it was rather large a sampling is used for making such observations, the homely. It was used.hard until worn out, issued out as second number of remaining artifacts is dwarfed by the millions of rate clothing during the Indian Wars, given out to reservation sack coats manufactured between 1861 and 1865. For what- Indians, and finally ending up as moth fodder in great-great- ever reason they survived the ravages of time, extant sack grandfather's attic. Yet no other 'common' Federal Civil War coats are exceptional by the mere fact that they have survived. garment has generated such intense interest among 20th Centu~ycollectors or commanded such premium prices as the Origins humble fatigue sack coat.' In civilian dress, the pilot coat or "paletot" first appeared in It is the aim of this short article to describe the Federal issue the 1830s as a loose and comfortable alternative to the formal sack coat, drawing on observations of original. artifacts in frock coat, especially for casual or sporting wear. The Tailor's private and public collections. Care was taken to include only Guide by Compaing and Devere describes them as follows: enlisted sack coats which either bore Federal inspector mark- We term Paletot, or any other name you may prefer. a garment having ings or had a known Civil War provenance. Depot produced no seam across the waist, and in which the skirt is of one piece with the halfway down the thigh. and made loose, without sleeve or body lining, falling collar. inside pocket on the left side, four coat buttons down the front. 1 158. For Recruits-the sack coat will be made with sleeve and body lining, the latter of flannel. On the eve of the Civil War, the entire source of sack coats for the regular army was the Army Clothing Establishment at Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Schuylkill Arsenal. On 15 April 1861, when the President issued his call for 75,000 volunteers it had become apparent that Schuylkill by itself could not supply the wants of such a large volunteer force. On 23 May 186 1, the War Department had authorized the issue of less expensive clothing items to the volunteers, thus putting even more emphasis on the production of the sack coat.s The story of the rapid expansion of the Quartermaster Department under the capable hand of Colonel Montgomery Meigs during the first year of the War lies outside the intended scope of this article. Suffice it to say, that by February 1862 when the Federal government completely took over the issue of clothing from the states;sack coats were being produced in vast numbers not only at Schuylkill, but at a range of new depots such as Steubenville, Cincinnati and St. Louis, among others. Additionally, ample quantities of sack coats were also being FIG 2. Sergeant "Boston" Corbett, Co. L, 16th New York purchased from over a dozen private contractors such as J. T. Cavalry (the man credited with having shot John Wilkes Martin. William Deering, J. C. Ludlow, Joseph F. Page and Booth) in an image taken in 1865. Corbett wears a sack -James B. Boylan, among others. By War's end, the major coat whose extremely narrow cuff stitching and sharply tapering front facing resembles the late-war coats depots of Philadelphia, New York, Cincinnati and St. Louis manufactured under the contract of J. T. Martin, 18 reported having well over one million sack coats immediately October 1864. on hand for issue ... and this in addition to the stocks of forefront ... Even in summer, paletors are worn as over garments in the ni_rhtorincaseofbadweather, or, if worn alone. they are intended to leave the wearer easy in his motion^.^ Although the paletot grew in popularity for civilian use through the 1840s. the army continued to rely on variations of the tight-fitting uniform jacket and later the uniform coat for fatigue andcampaign purposes for all branches of the service.' Doubtless the rigors of western campaigning, as well as an eye to economy, moved Captain George B. McClellan (First Regiment U. S. Cavalry) in 1857 to write: For service on the prairies. the men should have a loose flannel coat, leaving their uniformcoat in garrison; [he ordinary dark bluesailor's shin, cut open in front. and provided with a lining and pockets is as good as anything that can be devised! Indeed, the War Department finally adopted a military version of the paletot known as the sack coat in the general uniform regulations of 1857. Originally intended for fatigue use in the mounted service, General Orders No. 3, 24 March 1858, approved its use for all branches. In either case, the fatigue sack coat was issued out along with (rather than replacing) the uniform coat for the infantry and the uniform jacket for the mounted arms. The "Revised Regulations for the FIG 3. Unidentified federal private in sack coat which has Army of the United States, 186 1" contains the widely familiar been field altered by adding extra buttons in between the description of this sack coat: four specified in regulations. Note the common sack coat collar and cuffs as well as the tapered facing stitch. (Scott I 157. For Fatigue Purposes-asackcoatofdark blue flannelextending Cross Collection) FIG 4. Unlined sack coat of unknown manufacture, front and back view. The body is of 4-piece construction and is entireiy hand sewn with hand felled seams and hand worked buttonholes. Traces of white paint were noted on the inside on the pocket piece. Note the squared-off corners on pocket stitching. (Smithsonian Institu- tion) numerousfesser depots and the millions of sack coats already compared to the 2,194 lined blouses requested that month. By issued out to troops during the four years of Civil War!" August 1864, only unlined blouses were being requested.1° Supply and Usage The daily reports of clothing issued and on hand at Chatta- nooga, Tennessee covering the period from March 1863 to Although uniform coats continued to be drawn by foot December 1864 also show greater quantities of lined sack troops throughout the War period, by far the sack coat was the coats both on hand and issued out during cold weathermonths.ll most commonly used outer garment by all branches. For each Many soldiers were prone to altering the issue sack coat to year of enlistment in the Regular Army an infantryman was suit individual tastes. Photographs exist showing sack coats allowed to draw two sack coats as opposed. to one uniform coat. If the soldier overdrew this allowance, the cost was deducted from his pay. With the cost of sack coats at $2.10 compared to $6.56 for the uniform coat (published costs varied throughout the period), there was certainly incentive for soldiers to opt for the lesser-priced garment, unless com- pelled by their commanders to draw specific uniform items.' When sack coats were requisitioned by commanding offic- ers for issue to troops, they arrived in bales of garments, bound together with iron straps with buckles. The sizes 1-4 were distributed in the following proportions per 100: twenty of size 1, forty of size 2, thirty of size 3. and ten of size 4 garment^.^ The men would draw their clothing without regard to size and were expected to get a proper fit by trading garments among themselves or by altering the ~lothing.~ The regulation specifying lined sack coats for recruits and unlined sack coats as fatigue uniforms for veteran troops appears to have been disregarded in actual practice. Reports from the various depots indicate nearly twice as many lined sack coats were purchased from contractors than the unlined variety. There is also evidence that there was a seasonal preference for the lined sack coat among veteran troops as well. According to clothing estimates filed for the XIV Army Corps between December 1863 and September 1864, only lined blouses were being requested for the entire corps during the winter months. It was not until March 1864 that unlined FIG 5. Photograph of felled shoulder seams on unlined sack blouses were again requested, and then only 395 of them coat in Figure 4, exterior view. FIG 6. Unlined sack coat of unknown manufacture. Identi- FIG 7. Schuylkill arsenal marked lined sack coat. Entirely fied to a member of the 20th Ohio infantry, who was hand sewn, this specimen is peculiar in its 2-piece body wounded in the arm at Atlanta, the coat bears repaired construction (no side seams; single seam up the rear), the holes in the sleeve, presumably the work of the rebel ball stylishly wide sleeves, the single row of top stitching on the which wounded him.

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