Spaulding jacket/Illinois Infantry Jackets

[ScottCross]

Well,

I will go ahead and start a different thread on this subject, since the one that exists is about 'Chevron Placement'. I'll kick the subject off with a circa October 1861 image of a member of the 13th Illinois Volunteer infantry, wearing a New York style infantry jacket. Note the piping, shoulder tabs, exterior breast pocket, and the single belt loop (sorry, not visible in this image). Let's get some other imformation concerning Illinois State issued jackets. Image is care of the Rock Island Arsenal/J. M. Browning Museum.

[Brian Baird]

Scott,
Are you sure it is the 15th Illinois? When you showed us this pic and others while working at RIA you said the unit was the 13th Illinois?
Brian Baird
Older than Scott Cross!

[Dan Wambaugh]

Scott,

It is funny you should bring this up as this weekend I am working on a prototype of the Spaulding jacket for Terry Sorchy and basically seeing how feasible a reproduction would be to offer for widespread sale.

Last spring at the invitation of the Krausz brothers and Riley Ewen, Brian White and myself traveled to Geneva Illinois and were able to examine and photograph the jacket out of the case. Though no flash was allowed in the taking of pictures, we were able to get some decent ones, and after the visit prepared a document that we shared with the brothers, Riley, and sent a copy to the historical society that now owns the jacket.

The previous summer Brian and I had the chance to make a cursory examination of a NYS jacket in the Troiani collection, and were in a unique position to compare that jacket to the one in Geneva. If I remember correctly Riley mentioned that the first 15 regiments from Illinois received the NYS jacket, whereas the rest received state produced jackets.

The Spaulding jacket itself had a few basic similarities to the NYS jacket: eight button front, left belt loop, and functional epaulets. Unlike the NYS jacket, however, the jacket seemed more streamlined, and was definitely the product of assembly line work (basic hand stitching was very poor, while the buttonholes were superbly made. Also, interior stitching was done with brown thread, while exterior topstitching and such was done with black thread!) Other differences include the jacket being fully lined, the complete lack of trim, and the use of poor quality eagle "I" buttons instead of state buttons.

I strongly suggest anyone who is interested in the jacket take a trip over to Geneva Illinois and check out the museum there. They can definitely use some patronage, and the Old Town pub and eatery has some damn good food as well!

Hope this you find this information interesting.


Best,

[tr17]

I'll throw my two cents in this discussion. I don't have my notes in front of me but I am positive Illinois contracted with clothing firms in New York to produce jackets for them very early on, perhaps Fall of 1861. Randy Jackson and I used to argue about Illinois soldiers wearing New York state style all the time. To me, there are too many images of Illinois soldiers wearing this style jacket in the Logan Collection in the Illinois State Historical Library to ignore. Speaking of Randy, he and Joe Covais (New Columbia) used to produce a copy of a state jacket they viewed and noted in Southern Illinois from a private collection. It had an 8 button front, functional cuffs, belt loops and shoulder tabs. The really interesting thing about the jacket was it was made out of dark blue cassinet. Maybe over spring break I;ll go down the the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and see what I can dig up. Illinois ahd their own state buttons?

Tim Ruyle
Not as old as Scott and Brian but close

[Brian Baird]

Tim,
Illinois also had a contract for jackets with Cole and Hopkins out of Cincinnati.
When the pics of the Spaulding jacket came out last year, there was a fury of emails among us that have studied Illinois jackets for years. According to Tom Arliskas, the 52nd Illinois received frock coats when the regiment was organized.
So did this jacket get issued by the state or from the St. Louis QM Dept?
Like you, my research is in storage. Beside the state of Illinois issuing jackets, Fremont was contracting jackets from out east and the QM Dept in St. Louis was making them. Back in 2001 John Sarver posted info that while Fremont was in commanded of the St. Louis Department, his QM, McKinstry was having jackets made by the QM Dept. in St. Louis and he was also purchasing clothing (the testimony of Fremont, McKinstry and the others, are in the Serial Set Index of the Records of Congress). To give you an idea of the manufacturing Mr. Sarver stated in the 2001 post: “Child, Pratt, and Fox (a company in St. Louis) purchased 53,000 yards of dark blue satinette form a firm in New York. Three establishments were set up in St. Louis where the manufacture of clothing commenced. They employed some 1,500 hands to do this business. According to the their head of production (this again is in the Congressional Record,) a Mr. Nathanial H. Clark, they produced "both jackets and trousers for the Army." They turned out this clothing four months straight.
Brian Baird

[Iceman]

Here's a photo of Tilghman Jones of the 59th Illinois Infantry (formerly the 9th MO Inf.). The 59th were issued two uniforms in 1862; one right before the Battle of Pea Ridge and a second following the Pea Ridge Campaign. So, I'm not sure when this photo was taken, but it also mirrors the NY State jacket, but this regiment is far beyong the first 15 regiments.

I know of another image of a soldier in the 22nd IL Inf. that is wearing a non-trimed jacket; i.e. a so-called Illinois made jacket. I lost the photo when my computer crashed, but I know where to find it again. Maybe I'll get motivated enough to go back and copy that image again for the sake of posting it.

[CJDaley]

From Scientific America April 1864

Not sure where these jacket are headed, but if they don't have NYS buttons, they may have been exported to another state...or not.

[ScottCross]

Scott,
Are you sure it is the 15th Illinois? When you showed us this pic and others while working at RIA you said the unit was the 13th Illinois?
Brian Baird
Older than Scott Cross!

Dyslexics Untie! Yes, it was the 13th Illinois.

[ScottCross]

From Scientific America April 1864

Not sure where these jacket are headed, but if they don't have NYS buttons, they may have been exported to another state...or not.

Colonel David H. Vinton was Deputy Quartermaster General for the US Army, so I would assume they were purchased by the Federal government. Interesting. I wonder if they were issued to NY troops?

[ScottCross]

Here's an image, courtesy of Bill Tomitich, He is identified as S. J. Hazelbaher, Company K, 8th Illinois Infantry. No trim, no exterior pocket, and apparently no belt loop.