Compatriot Gray of Camp 2160 in Australia has a photo of a uniform that he wants to identify. He is not sure if it is a CSA uniform -- some unusual uniforms were worn by units on both sides of the war, e.g. the Zouaves. If you can identify this uniform, please leave a message in the comments section of this post.
Compatriot Gray writes:
IDENTIFY THIS UNIFORM
In researching a new Confederate veteran, with the help of a descendant, I acquired several photos from her family album. The one shown here we are not sure about, but he looks like her ancestor at an earlier age.
Can you tell me anything about the uniform he is wearing?
James Gray
Commander
SCV Camp 2160
Australia
Update: I googled British army uniforms and the uniform appears to be British, circa 1870. I found some photos of British soldiers wearing very similar hats and a photo of some British reenactors wearing a similar type of uniform. See these photos below the fold. Hat tip Ken Koch of California Division, who identified the uniform as British.
Update 2: The uniform jacket has been identified as a fur-lined "hussar's pelisse." See photos below the fold for a color photo example. The uniform is definitely British.
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| British Soldier, 19th Century |
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| Reenactors, British Soldiers |
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| A Hussar's Pelisse (British fur-trimmed uniform jacket) |
The uniform jacket in the photo provided by James Gray has been identified as a "hussar's pelisse," which were often fur-lined. Google research shows these jackets varied substantially among regiments and time periods, but were most often red or dark blue.
R W and Irene,
ReplyDeleteThought you might be interested in Jim Gray's reply.
Qte:
We have identified it as a British uniform. Some of the Brit's wore them as 'observer's' with the Union Army, but our man is a definately a Confederate veteran; though he did also serve with the British army. He is buried here in Queensland.
Commander Gray, it looks like a British Hussar's uniform from probably the Crimean War. The fur-trimmed jacket is definitely a hussar's pelisse, and if you look closely, you can see the "hussar knots" braiding on the front of it. The pillbox hat was commonly worn for undress wear in the British army during the 1850s and early 1860s. He does appear to be wearing a red jacket underneath, which would go to reinforce this identification.
Robert Perkins, Adjutant and Past Commander
Col. Sherod Hunter Camp 1525
Jim Gray
Unqte
Warmly,
Beth
Beth, is kin folks of of Irene & R. W. Moore She has lived in Melborne Austrakia for 38 years she is still a USA cirizen.
R W. Moore
Thanks for the reply. I googled "hussar's pelisse" and found examples of this fur-lined jacket. I do believe the uniform has been correctly identified: definitely British.
ReplyDeleteDear Sir,
ReplyDeleteThe jacket, although inspired by the Hussars, was commonplace in all branches of the British army particularly in Canada,the northwest Frontier of India, and Afghanistan. It was commonly called a "Napier Coat" after the General who made it popular. Hussar pelisses' were shorter and had much more braid, but never in black wool as this one seems to be. The braid on the cuff is common to all branches by the 1861 regulations and shows the rank of Leftenant or maybe Captain.
Unfortunately, much of the uniform is obscured but it is most likely Royal Engineers, judging from the style of collar, dark facings, and waistbelt. The belt clasp is almost defiantly Royal Engineers.
There are no Cavalry accouterments and infantry officers never wore a crossbelt. The Royal Artillery never wore red coats.
The sword seems to be the 1847 pattern Artillery Officer's sword but bear in mind that Engineer sword is identical but has different etching.
Further scrutiny shows that the trousers are standard officer's "underbuckles" but not cavalry pattern. They "mounted service pattern" for other branches. The strip is red(?) but is a single band. All light cavalry, as all hussars are, have double stripes.
As to dating, the rank on the collar shows it to be between 1856 to around 1867. It looks to be a single crown which places him as a Leftenant before 1863 or a Major after 1863. Taken with the cuff, I'd say you have a 95% chance of having a great study of a Leftenant of Royal Engineers, 1860's. Great pic!!
Yours in a common interest,
Rev. David C. Coe
Camp 1608 SCV
(once Capt. D. C. Coe,
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards)
Thanks for the additional info, David!
ReplyDelete