Help ID uniform believed to be Confederate

[danimal03]

hello,

Great pick up.  I cannot say with certainty on the first image one way or the other.  However, when I first saw the man in grey, my hunch was a militia man from New York, and this was before I saw the other comments and other pictures.  Several New England state troops wore grey for whatever reason.  

 

I once purchased an image of a 'Confederate officer' from a well-known and respected dealer.  When I got home with it something just didn't sit right with me.  The ghosts of remembering New England units sometimes did wear grey haunted me.

 

The image was unique enough to 'google' terms that lead me to a 'hit'.  It turned out the man was a famous officer in a Massachusetts militia.  It fooled a well know dealer, and myself (and I am not a slouch in this category).

 

Because the other man is wearing a NY plate it causes me to at least suggest this.  These grey New England uniforms are really tricky.  Not saying it is not CS, but if it were mine, I would also search New England regiments and soldiers to see if you can match up a known uniform.

 

As far as the ribbon he is wearing, it could be anything, i.e. a society type ribbon, etc.

 

Below are a couple of New York militia guys wearing grey uniforms, note the same black stripe on pants.  Not to stir the pot but just adding other possibilities.  Good luck in research and great find regardless!

[manayunkman]

22 hours ago, danimal03 said:

hello,

Great pick up.  I cannot say with certainty on the first image one way or the other.  However, when I first saw the man in grey, my hunch was a militia man from New York, and this was before I saw the other comments and other pictures.  Several New England state troops wore grey for whatever reason.  

 

I once purchased an image of a 'Confederate officer' from a well-known and respected dealer.  When I got home with it something just didn't sit right with me.  The ghosts of remembering New England units sometimes did wear grey haunted me.

 

The image was unique enough to 'google' terms that lead me to a 'hit'.  It turned out the man was a famous officer in a Massachusetts militia.  It fooled a well know dealer, and myself (and I am not a slouch in this category).

 

Because the other man is wearing a NY plate it causes me to at least suggest this.  These grey New England uniforms are really tricky.  Not saying it is not CS, but if it were mine, I would also search New England regiments and soldiers to see if you can match up a known uniform.

 

As far as the ribbon he is wearing, it could be anything, i.e. a society type ribbon, etc.

 

Below are a couple of New York militia guys wearing grey uniforms, note the same black stripe on pants.  Not to stir the pot but just adding other possibilities.  Good luck in research and great find regardless!

That’s exactly why I posted the picture because I’ve seen a lot of gray cadet and militia uniforms but none of them had anything close to a slouch hat.

 

As far as the cockade pinned to his breast is concerned it certainly looks like a variant of the many variants of the Secessionist badge which was worn on the uniform.

 

In most cases the Secessionist cockade often has a homemade craft look to it which coincides with the one I posted.

 

Something else notable about the photograph are what look like books on the table which initially led me to think this was a cadet but under a loupe they are photo cases with one being a gutta percha. 

 

 

[MAW]

The CDV in the original post is likely a federal soldier in a VRC uniform - Veteran's Reserve Corps.

 

Note the Veteran Volunteer stripes on his lower sleeves, signifying a previous 3 years service.  

 

Is there a backmark on this image?

[manayunkman]

3 hours ago, MAW said:

The CDV in the original post is likely a federal soldier in a VRC uniform - Veteran's Reserve Corps.

 

Note the Veteran Volunteer stripes on his lower sleeves, signifying a previous 3 years service.  

 

Is there a backmark on this image?

No backmark nothing to help ID it.

 

Would they use a slouch hat?

[MAW]

1 hour ago, manayunkman said:

No backmark nothing to help ID it.

 

Would they use a slouch hat?

Sure - civilian hats are common in the Federal army.  See if you can read the insignia on the hat under good magnification.  It looks like either a 3 digit number, or perhaps 2 digits with a company letter below.  He also has an acorn hat cord on his hat - which is ostensibly for officers, but common for other ranks to use as well.  Those were privately purchased, and used to dress up your hat.  

[MAW]

Veteran Volunteer stripe example.... 

 

awarded to soldiers who reenlisted after expiration of their original 3 years service.

 

 

[manayunkman]

They didn’t wear service stripes in the Confederate army?

[MAW]

8 hours ago, manayunkman said:

They didn’t wear service stripes in the Confederate army?

No - they could have a sleeve decoration on a militia style uniform, but that hash mark is definitely the style of a Veteran Volunteer chevron.

[VMI88]

I agree with the VRC assessment.  As I posted on the original thread containing this image:

 

The regulation uniform was a sky blue jacket cut like the cavalry uniform jacket, but trimmed in dark blue tape.  This one lacks the tape but otherwise meets the description.  The soldier is also wearing veteran stripes on his lower sleeves.

 

You can visit http://www.cjdaley.com/vrc.htm for more information on VRC uniforms, including a photo of what appears to be an untrimmed jacket like your photo.

 

Slouch hats were commonly worn by both armies, so that doesn't really tell us anything.  I'm not sure what the cockade is - it certainly looks like a secession cockade but could be anything.  The lower sleeve stripes are unlike anything I've ever seen on a Confederate uniform.  The 12 small buttons on the front are what you would find on a Federal cavalry jacket, but also not typical for a Confederate uniform.  None of this is to say it isn't a great image though!  VRC photos aren't common, and if that's what this is you have a great image of a veteran soldier who was wounded in battle.

 

 

[manayunkman]

1 hour ago, VMI88 said:

I agree with the VRC assessment.  As I posted on the original thread containing this image:

 

The regulation uniform was a sky blue jacket cut like the cavalry uniform jacket, but trimmed in dark blue tape.  This one lacks the tape but otherwise meets the description.  The soldier is also wearing veteran stripes on his lower sleeves.

 

You can visit http://www.cjdaley.com/vrc.htm for more information on VRC uniforms, including a photo of what appears to be an untrimmed jacket like your photo.

 

Slouch hats were commonly worn by both armies, so that doesn't really tell us anything.  I'm not sure what the cockade is - it certainly looks like a secession cockade but could be anything.  The lower sleeve stripes are unlike anything I've ever seen on a Confederate uniform.  The 12 small buttons on the front are what you would find on a Federal cavalry jacket, but also not typical for a Confederate uniform.  None of this is to say it isn't a great image though!  VRC photos aren't common, and if that's what this is you have a great image of a veteran soldier who was wounded in battle.

 

 

Did all the VRC jackets have shoulder straps?

[VMI88]

2 hours ago, manayunkman said:

Did all the VRC jackets have shoulder straps?

 

Most I've seen did, but it's possible there were variations.  The cavalry jacket didn't have shoulder straps, so by the wording of the regulation the VRC jacket shouldn't either.  However, it seems like in practice the government-produced jackets followed a modified pattern more like a French chasseur jacket.  IF the soldier in your photo is wearing a VRC jacket -- and we'll probably never be able to say definitively -- it's probably a tailor-made one.  Notice that the collar is also lower than either a Federal cavalry jacket or a typical Confederate roundabout.

 

Whatever it is, it's a great image.  The only way to identify it for sure would be to identify the soldier, or to luck up on an identified image wearing an identical uniform.

[manayunkman]

1 hour ago, VMI88 said:

 

Most I've seen did, but it's possible there were variations.  The cavalry jacket didn't have shoulder straps, so by the wording of the regulation the VRC jacket shouldn't either.  However, it seems like in practice the government-produced jackets followed a modified pattern more like a French chasseur jacket.  IF the soldier in your photo is wearing a VRC jacket -- and we'll probably never be able to say definitively -- it's probably a tailor-made one.  Notice that the collar is also lower than either a Federal cavalry jacket or a typical Confederate roundabout.

 

Whatever it is, it's a great image.  The only way to identify it for sure would be to identify the soldier, or to luck up on an identified image wearing an identical uniform.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, I think the service stripe pretty much makes it a Union jacket?

 

How do you know he was wounded in battle?

[MAW]

20 hours ago, manayunkman said:

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, I think the service stripe pretty much makes it a Union jacket?

 

How do you know he was wounded in battle?

You cannot know that he was wounded...

 

The Veteran's Reserve Corps or as soldier's called it - "The Invalid Corps" - consisted of men who were no longer fit for service in the field, but still wanted to serve in the Union Army.  Members may have been suffering or recovering from illness, wounds, or other infirmities that would limit their activities in active service. 

 

 

[manayunkman]

Under a loupe, I keep looking at this over and over, the three letters on the hat appear to be VRC.

 

Under a loupe the image is not as blurry and the shapes are slightly more distinguishable.

 

 

 

[manayunkman]

1 hour ago, MAW said:

You cannot know that he was wounded...

 

The Veteran's Reserve Corps or as soldier's called it - "The Invalid Corps" - consisted of men who were no longer fit for service in the field, but still wanted to serve in the Union Army.  Members may have been suffering or recovering from illness, wounds, or other infirmities that would limit their activities in active service. 

 

 

Thank you for the clarification.

 

They had sensor of humor, funny song.

[manayunkman]

On 3/17/2025 at 11:08 PM, MAW said:

No - they could have a sleeve decoration on a militia style uniform, but that hash mark is definitely the style of a Veteran Volunteer chevron.

I read on line that the service stripe is for 5 years service?

[VMI88]

53 minutes ago, manayunkman said:

I read on line that the service stripe is for 5 years service?

 

Soldiers who reenlisted after their original 3 year enlistments had expired could be designated "Veteran Volunteers".  In many cases entire units reenlisted and the units were officially designated as Veteran Volunteers.

 

Also, MAW is correct that members of the VRC were disabled in some way, not necessarily from wounds received in battle.

[MAW]

1 hour ago, manayunkman said:

I read on line that the service stripe is for 5 years service?

That isn't accurate...it was for 3 years' service, and reenlisting as a "Veteran Volunteer".  Technically, if you survived the war, you would have been in for 4 years or perhaps a little more under certain circumstances, depending on the unit.

[manayunkman]

Thank you both