Winsor B. French of the 77th New York Infantry wore this unusual jacket. It is tailored in a short length not regulation size for infantry officers. Fourteen large "Eagle I" buttons on the breast and 6 cuff sized buttons are backmarked "SCHOVILL MF'G CO. WATERBURY." The generous sleeves, 9½" at the elbows, and narrowing to 5" at the cuffs are set off by black mohair galloons, five strands in a trefoil pattern. The design is skillfully sewn into place, with no stitching evident, giving the appearance that it is woven into the coat's fabric. The two piece standing collar is lined with dark blue velvet, showing some wear. The functional lapels may be worn open, as illustrated, or fastened closed at the neck.

A remarkable feature of this coat is the Colonel's rank insignia sewn into the shoulders. Each matched insignia is a silver braid Colonel's eagle on a dark blue wool patch, but absent any border. Instead they are an abbreviated shoulder rank insignia, showing only the Colonel's eagle. This is consistent with General Orders 286 of November 22, 1864, which permitted officers to dispense with shoulder straps and wear only their "marks of rank" on the shoulders. Another unusual aspect of the coat is the presence of two 2" tapered bolsters at the back, similar to those sewn into enlisted shell jackets. The coat is lined with a worsted cotton fabric, green and brown twill. Inside the collar is a loop made of the same fabric but backed with white cotton and bearing the original inked inscription, "Lt Col W B French."

French fought with the 77th New York and the Army of the Potomac in 76 actions during the war. He received his colonel's commission in July, 1863. He led the 77th's assault on Marye's Heights above Fredericksburg, and later, as they made a defensive stand with the VI Corps at Cedar Creek, where he commanded his brigade. Wounded twice during the war, French's service ended in 1865 with a Brigadier General's brevet for gallantry as his unit mustered out and returned home to New York.

Worn by Captain Thomas Hickey of Company A, 164th New York Infantry, this is an example of a Zouave officer's jacket from the noted "Corcoran Legion." Soldiers of this regiment are pictured on pg. 138, "Echoes of Glory–Arms & Equipment of the Union." In the photograph, two unnamed captains wear coats nearly identical to this pattern.

The sleeves are adorned with an intricately woven captain's trefoil of gold piping. A detailed trefoil also ornaments the back of the jacket at the waist. Matching gold piping trims the collar and edges of the coat. The fabric of the garment is finely woven broadcloth, slightly lighter blue than the typical officer's frock coats of the period. Both sleeves are widely tapered at the elbow, narrowing at the cuff, and nicely gathered at the shoulder seams. The inside lining is green polished cotton; the sleeves are lined with white cotton. An interior pocket is sewn into the left breast. All sixteen matching eagle "I" buttons bear "Scovill Mfg. Co." backmarks. The captain's shoulder straps are on a dark blue field, with dead bullion gold borders, interspersed with bright bullion strands.

Captain Hickey mustered into the Irish 164th New York on August 26, 1862, accepting a commission with company A. He was twenty-four years old, and married with one young daughter. Hickey saw service with the Irish regiment through the early years of the war. In February, 1864 he was granted a furlough home, visiting his young family for 10 days. Three months later, on June 3, 1864 he received five bullet wounds, one of which shattered his right arm, during the second assault on Confederate works at Cold Harbor. Captain Hickey died after surgery at Armory Square Hospital in Washington D.C., his wife Joanna having come down from New York to be with him. She gave birth to their second daughter that November.

General John Cook wore this frock coat, after his promotion to Brigadier General in March 1862. Cook is pictured in "General's In Blue" by Ezra J. Warner, wearing what may likely be this same uniform.

The coat exhibits all the characteristics of a Civil War pattern frock, including its comparatively long skirts and broadened sleeves, well gathered at the shoulders. The fabric is indigo blue broadcloth with black velvet facings at the cuffs and collar, both velvet areas showing use at the edges. The coat’s interior has the typical green body lining and white polished cotton sleeve lining. The breast is heavily padded, the pockets in both tails are lined with brown cotton. The original shoulder straps are a large triple border pattern with dark blue velvet field. Each has an applied German silver brigadier's star bordered by bullion wire wraps, with alternating dead bullion and bright bullion strands . Sixteen breast buttons and four skirt buttons are all eagle staff, high convex buttons, backmarked "Extra Quality."

Cook served as Colonel of the 7th Illinois Infantry, then rose to brigade command in the Fall of 1862. At Ft. Donelson, he directed an assault by his regiment on a Tennessee battery of guns, under the view of Ulysses S. Grant. The bold assault won General Grant's praise and a brigadier's star for Cook. A few weeks later, on the morning of April 6, 1862, General Cook was seated in a stateroom with Grant on the steamboat Tigris. While chatting over breakfast, a messenger burst in with news of artillery fire at Pittsburgh Landing. The Battle of Shiloh had begun.

General Cook rose to serve as commander of the Department of Illinois, and survived the war.

Regulations for these coats were established in 1851 and remained unchanged for 20 years. They were issued in large quantities, with the federal government purchasing 1,486,000 greatcoats from federal and private contractors in 1864 alone. The coats were produced in two versions, for mounted and dismounted soldiers, each bearing slightly different characteristics.

Attributes found on the mounted greatcoat, and visible on this example, are a functioning stand-and-fall collar, a double breasted 10-button interior, the longer cape which reaches to the wrists, and the larger 22½” length of the slit at the rear center seam.

This is a size 2 mounted coat and cape, stamped in both sleeves with pairs of ink dots. A smudged maker’s mark exists in one sleeve that appears to be SA for Schuylkill Arsenal. The body lining is the standard coarse weave brown flannel and the sleeves are lined with the standard white cotton. The buttons on the cape and body are all matching federal general service buttons and are all on the original thread. The backmark of the cape buttons are Schovilles & Co. and the body buttons are unmarked. The cape and coat body are a perfect Kersey wool fabric match in texture and color, and have never been apart. This coat appears unissued, but it seems to have been in the inventory of a costume company at one time. Two areas of the lining have small rectangular sections of fabric removed, likely where the costume company’s marks were placed.

Unlike enlisted men, Civil War officers were required to provide their own uniforms. The result was a wide variety of design and manufacture of coats that actually appeared in the field. This natty jacket was made for a cavalry officer, the galloon on the sleeve sewn with three strands of fabric into a trefoil, indicating the rank of major. All twelve breast buttons are high convex, two-piece cavalry buttons, with "*D. EVANS & CO.*/ATTLEBORO, MASS” depressed mark backmarks (Tice’s CV215A5). The cuff buttons are "*D.EVANS & CO.* SUPERFINE" depressed mark (Tice’s CV222As1).

The collar is velvet, originally black but now faded to a glossy brown. The body of the coat is a fine weave broadcloth. The inner lining, unlike the tailored frock coats of the day, is a cotton fabric, heavily padded with quilted stitching, and showing field use with wear around the edges of the two interior breast pockets. The sleeve linings are white cotton. The three strand trefoil is a fine woven fabric with each strand individually sewn into place, machine stitched. The rear seam of the coat is 20¾”, the sleeves are 5½” at the cuff, increasing to 9½” at the elbow. Functional lapels may be buttoned below the collar buttons to close the coat, or buttoned at the breast to leave the center of the collar open.

This is a nice example of a privately tailored mounted officer's jacket.

Very few Civil War major general’s frock coats are held in private hands today. Although the identity of its first owner is unknown, this coat displays all of the desirable attributes of a Civil War frock coat, with the added bonus of the high rank of its wearer.

The dark indigo blue fabric of the coat is ornamented by a cobalt blue velvet collar and matching regulation 2½" cuff facings, the edges of which show very slight wear. Eighteen breast buttons are correctly arranged in double rows and in groups of three, indicating the major general rank. Each cuff bears three functional buttons, the last of which is located within the velvet facing. All four buttons remain on the rear waist and tails. All buttons are on original thread; the breast and tail buttons are backmarked "*Evans & Hassall, Phila*” and the cuffs, "*Evans & Hassall*.”

The shoulder straps are of the lace-on variety with dark blue velvet field. The ¼” dead bullion border is regulation with bullion wire wraps and two sewn dead bullion stars on each strap.

The coat’s interior has the typical green body lining and correct white cotton sleeve lining. Pockets in both tails are lined with brown cotton. A 1½" brown Russian leather inner belt rims the inside of the coat at the waist, terminating with a pair of metal clasps at the front/center. The breast is moderately padded above the waist with angled quilt pattern stitching. Both button falls are reinforced at the buttonholes with the same indigo fabric.

The velvet collar is 1”, the back seam from the base of the collar to the waist is 18½" and the tails are 18½" in length. The sleeves are 5½" at the cuff, and increase to 8½" at the elbow.

Accompanying the coat are a pair of trousers, tailored from a fine blue fabric that matches the coat. The waist is 34” and the inseam is 33”. The fly retains four metallic buttons, with additional metallic buttons at the waist, pocket closures, and suspender supports. A bone button rests at the inside waist closure. Both cuffs have two hard rubber buttons inside, intended to attach to cloth straps that pass under the foot, thus holding the trousers down in the wearer’s boots. All buttons are on their original thread, once black and now faded to brown. The waist and hips are lined with cotton, faded tan. The pockets and watch pocket are white cotton. A coarse wool fabric lines the inside of each cuff at the hem.

The waist adjuster is of the same indigo material, but is backed with brown cotton linen, and holds a japanned metal clasp which is marked with an 1855 patent date. The exterior seam of the trouser leg is plain and unmarked with any striping, correct for this rank of officer.

Pictured above is an image of General George McClellan wearing a major general's coat and trousers similar to those seen here.