6 button sack coat

[Sailorjerry45]

Good evening gentlemen,

 

Another item my friend down in Texas picked up is a Spanish American War 6 button sack coat  which doing some digging it seems that the standard pattern for these was a 5 button construction. Is this possibly a later modification or private purchase? It also came with a similar era belt which seems to be in pretty good shape. As always any further knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you, 

USN

 

 

 

 

[CAC1901]

Most likely for coast artillery, their use in that branch is well known.  After the 1902 regs went into effect that branch was authorized continued use of the 'no longer regulation' 5 button sack coat. In practice however an adaptation to a 6 button pattern was commonly used.  It became a sort of 'undress' complement to the new 6 button 1902 dress coat. Some 6 buttons were made from the stock of unmade 5 buttons, or tailoring of an existing coat. And eventually from 1902 dress coats since they just needed the piping removed and a roll over collar. 

[Sailorjerry45]

Why is it that only coastal artillery is known to have used these?

[Pointedcuffs]

The Secretary of War selected two engineer battalions and most of the coast artillery to wear the old uniforms. There were stock piles of the pre 1902 uniforms.

[Sailorjerry45]

So what era would the uniform officially be worn in, in its 6 button configuration. Is it technically post Spanish American War? And in terms familiar to me would it be more of a service uniform or field uniform?

[Sailorjerry45]

Also there is evidently something unique about the buttons on this uniform?

[CAC1901]

The reason the coast artillery wore these is because they were, as a branch, approved to deviate from the standard uniform regs and keep the deleted blue sack coat. And the other main branches were not. The CAC were in this regard like army band units, having approved deviations from the standard uniform regs.  The buttons on yours are the enlisted staff buttons.  Yes these were post Span Am war coats.  Their use was mainly on the post as a service uniform for daily duty.  For field use the old 5 button was used for a few years before the regulation OD or khaki uniforms. At gun emplacements they had brown duck and denim overalls or fatigues. 

[Slobo]

Are there internal pocket(s) -- 1 or 2? If so, internally hung or is there stitching visible on the outside securing the pockets to the shell?

 

[Sailorjerry45]

6 hours ago, Slobo said:

Are there internal pocket(s) -- 1 or 2? If so, internally hung or is there stitching visible on the outside securing the pockets to the shell?

 

2 internally hung pockets

[ILM]

Hi, i know its been a while since this posted but i have a six button just like the one pictured but with light blue sgt stripes O-2 pattern any ideas not coastal artillary for sure.

[CAC1901]

I've seen plenty of early 1900s uniforms over the decades with chevrons - both right and wrong - added by someone for whatever purpose, much later & well after the fact. Veterans did it, movie / theater /  costume houses, of course a dealer, a collector etc.  Presuming they are period applied there are plausibilities; a post or local commander authorized it, a small unit did it and no one raised an issue, and theres always 40-some state NG units that may have authorized officially or unofficially a 6 button fatigue or undress. I've seen a couple of the 6 buttons with what looked to be correct and period applied infantry chevrons. 

[ILM]

Yes i agree, however this one does look correct the style of stitching and the thread used are of the time. you are probably right with the national card theory I too believe that is the case as i have seen picture of the AZ national guard mobilized for the Poncho Via expedition wearing blue and khaki mixes as late as 1916.

[ILM]

hi, folks what is the best way to identify a possible time period for a five button sack?

 

[CAC1901]

Let a true expert see it. Not a collector, someone who has examined numerous ones in national museums and 'good' collections and is intimately familiar with the specifications, cloth and patterns, manufacturing history, the messed with / unmessed with aspect of the piece itself, and so on. 5 buttons are my favorite military item after nearly 50 years. Most states were using them by the 1890's, emulating the US Army. I would say that 95% of those existing are the classic 1890 'pattern' and date from the 1898 war to the early 1900's, and of that 95%, more than half were made by private uniform companies for use by state or national guardsmen, officers, bands, and so on. The other half are mostly Spanish War period ie 1898-1902 era examples made under contracts for the US and various states. Maybe 5% of those existing were made by the quartermaster dept for the Army from the late 1890s to the early 1900's for issue to soldiers and veterans homes / hospitals etc. A lot of existing ones of all types have been gussied up by collectors over the decades with the addition of original easy to get chevrons, replacing buttons with older buttons, and even fake ink stamps and writing inside to give them a jazzy fantastic much earlier history. With an emphasis on cavalry of course. Then theres the sincere collectors who are just positive their Span Am era coat is really from a much earlier era and its difficult to be straight with them so a nod in agreement is appropriate. Overall,  the probable most likely time period for most is going to be 1898-1902ish 

[ILM]

 

[CAC1901]

From what can be seen it looks good and regulation; likely regular army and dating from 1898-1902 period, Tailored for an artillery corporal which was not uncommon.

[ILM]

Okay so its not 1880's period? how can you tell the difference?

 

[ILM]

Sorry the pictures are so crappy they looked good on the phone. As for the six button did they or did they not used during the Span am war or the Philippine expedition i also have a khaki I believe 1904 tunic it has no grommet holes in the collar and has appropriate collar insignia for the time. I have seen some of these with Span Am campaign hats listed as Span Am war but I've never seen any pictures and all Khaki uniforms I've seen have the stand collars and coloured epaulettes. There is allot of stuff from this time period i have with it very confusing as i only collect WWI before this.

[CAC1901]

9 hours ago, ILM said:

Okay so its not 1880's period? how can you tell the difference?

 

Cut, fabric, pattern. lining. Not close at all. 

 

As for Span Am / Philippines war time use of 6 buttons, no - none. The 6 buttons were not adopted in any uniform regs nor made by the QMD. They appear as an informally / locally approved undress version of the new 1902 blue dress coat which had 6 buttons. Soldiers took unmade 5 button coats or 1902 dress coats and had them tailored to the 6 button fatigue coat.

 

The collar grommets seen on later khakis were for the adoption of the collar disc and date 1910 and later.  Khaki uniforms underwent almost yearly or bi-yearly 'official' changes from 1898 through 1917. I can think of 9 significant pattern changes off hand. Throw in contract variances esp. for the earlier types and the numbers of coats one could collect with visible differences will number in the dozens.  

 

The common practice in old militaria long perpetuated by many dealers (as well as casual and fantasy collectors) is to back date items in order to associate them with some famous or iconic event or period. It helps sales and increases value and 'wows' the inexperienced / unknowledgable perceiver. Knowledgable collectors know that a lot of in-between wars stuff is often scarcer or rarer than war time stuff.  The 6 button fatigue coat is a good example of a somewhat scarce item that has only moderate value and a limited fan base. They are not associated with a sexy specialty or service branch, or a war period. They're basically a post war, peace time uniform piece.

[ILM]

Okay thank you so would it be safe to say the five button pictured would have been in service about the time of the Spanish American war?

[CAC1901]

On 3/13/2026 at 11:27 PM, ILM said:

Okay thank you so would it be safe to say the five button pictured would have been in service about the time of the Spanish American war?

Yes. Squarely in the 1898-1902 period. Its a nice one. 

[ILM]

Thank you as i have a back[ack, canteen, blue cartridge belt and the pants are re enforced seat for horse drawn artillery, I now just need the hat. Thank you for all your help.