US Victory Museum Posted May 14, 2019 Share #1 Posted May 14, 2019 A trio of some of the better conditioned 1898 enlisted khaki cottonservice coats that I own.No specification was issued for this article of clothing; instead,its genesis was found in General Order № 39 on May 09th, 1898. It was refined by General Order № 51 May 23rd, 1898 which proscribedit for enlisted men in addition to the officers to whom it had alreadybeen authorized.The enlisted khaki cotton service coats feature a garrison belt ofidentical cotton twill material. A pleat runs along the center rearthe entire length.The color yellow appears black on old CDV photographs; moreover, itis difficult to distinguish between red and blue since both appear adark tone in black and white film. Absent the presence of insignia,identification of branch of service in old photographs is questionable,at best.On August 6th 1898, the army dropped the branch facings on the collar,cuffs and pocket flaps leaving only the service designation (color) onthe epaulets, which were required to be detachable. Many times these enlisted coats are found by collectors without theirbelts; in the attached photo, only two of the eight soldiers wearingtheir khaki cotton service coats are also wearing the coat's clothgarrison belts. In a higher resolution scan, exceeding the USMForumsize limits, cavalry insignia can be identified on the hats of threeof the recuperating soldiers in the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted May 14, 2019 The blue faced infantry cotton service coat is marked in the sleeve"REC'D Jul 24th 1898 Q.M.D." in the center of the oval. It is toofaded to read the letters around the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted May 14, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted May 14, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #5 Posted May 14, 2019 The earliest appearance of the red faced artillery cotton servicecoats were those provided to the Astor battery of mountain artillery;the eponymous battery was financed and equipped by Col. John JacobAstor, and comprised of seventy-three men. They served in thePhilippines, returning state-side in 1899. This artillery cotton service coat is inked in the collar, and hasbeen uniquely identified by name to a soldier in the 1st Pennsylvanialight artillery, aka the Keystone battery. Their overseas duty duringthe Spanish-American War was at Ponce, Puerto Rico; however, they sawno combat as they struggled to keep up with the fast moving skirmishes.Photos of this coat have been posted here in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted May 14, 2019 This yellow faced cavalry cotton service coat is without oral history. The use of a camera flash washed out the color of the khaki cotton,so this photo is captured without it; however, the absence of the flashreduced the facings to a mustard appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #7 Posted May 14, 2019 I have included a photo of Kurt H.'s (USMF Dragoon) cavalry khakicotton service coat. His photo accurately captures the color ofthe cavalry facings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #8 Posted May 14, 2019 Additional historical context:Reuben Griffin, Company L. 6th Massachusetts Voluntary InfantryImage is property of the Worcester Art MuseumEND POST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skypilot6670 Posted May 14, 2019 Share #9 Posted May 14, 2019 Great post. Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 14, 2019 Share #10 Posted May 14, 2019 Nice tutorial, thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted May 14, 2019 Share #11 Posted May 14, 2019 The earliest appearance of the red faced artillery cotton service coats were those provided to the Astor battery of mountain artillery; the eponymous battery was financed and equipped by Col. John Jacob Astor, and comprised of seventy-three men. They served in the Philippines, returning state-side in 1899. This artillery cotton service coat is inked in the collar, and has been uniquely identified by name to a soldier in the 1st Pennsylvania light artillery, aka the Keystone battery. Their overseas duty during the Spanish-American War was at Ponce, Puerto Rico; however, they saw no combat as they struggled to keep up with the fast moving skirmishes. Photos of this coat have been posted here in the past. Nice presentation of 1898 Enlisted uniforms, thanks for putting it together. This is my Gr. Grandfather's 16th PA Infantry uniform from the "Porto Rico" campaign in 1898. He served at Ponce, Coamo and Aibonito Coamo and Aibonito, Puerto Rico After the battles in the south around Ponce, the Spanish took up positions in the elevated mountain passes along the Ponce--San Juan road. Generals Brooke and Wilson were sent to attack en route to the capital. By August 9, Wilson's troops had reached the area and General Ernst was able to dislodge the Spanish troops from their positions. Six Americans died and 36 were wounded at Coamo. This was followed by an attack on Aibonito, which was also heavily fortified. This battle was halted when news arrived of the peace agreement. The infantry blue is sun faded and the pants are stained from field use in Puerto Rico. This is sometimes referred to at the 'first pattern' uniform. Note that it does not have colored lower pocket flaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted May 21, 2019 Author Share #12 Posted May 21, 2019 I found this while looking around on the I-Net From the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everforward Posted May 21, 2019 Share #13 Posted May 21, 2019 Beautiful uniforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airwolf Posted June 5, 2019 Share #14 Posted June 5, 2019 wonderful looking tunics, thanks for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayg Posted June 12, 2019 Share #15 Posted June 12, 2019 Great looking 1889 tunics and in great condition. I also like that photo as it shows a mix of the period clothing/jackets worn at the time. Sorry to say, but because of my advancing years I have been selling off my large collection of almost 70 years, At lot has been sold but I still have a couple of 89 hats, sword belts and other related stuff left to sell off. Never thought I would get to that time where I would have to do that. ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottG Posted June 16, 2019 Share #16 Posted June 16, 2019 Here is one that we recently received at the Michigan Military Heritage Museum. It is well used and it has mostly Michigan buttons (4 out of 5 down the front and the two upper pockets). The remaining buttons are the eagle style. Is this common on these? I actually posted in the wanted section for a matching set but perhaps its not necessary as we really like the state connection. I would love to find a set of used blue shoulder straps. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayg Posted June 23, 2019 Share #17 Posted June 23, 2019 US Victory Museum, I've been attempting to contact you but you have been off line for a while. If you see this please contact me, Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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