Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Coat, Frock |
Catalog Number |
1972.3.9 |
Date |
ca. 1860 |
Material(s) |
Wool/Cotton |
Dimensions |
H-37 W-16.5 D-12 inches |
Description |
This single breasted men's frock coat is made of dark blue jeans cloth. The cloth has brown cotton warp and dark blue wool weft with a twill weave. The piece is hand-stitched. It was originally lined with brown polished cotton. The lining has fractured and is unstable. Much of the lining is missing. There are four button holes. Two buttons are missing. The frock has two hidden pockets in the coat tails. There is extra padding under each arm. |
Notes |
According to the family, this homemade coat belonged to Elijah Woodward. Elijah Woodward served in Company C, 9th Kentucky Infantry, CSA. His sister, Fanny Woodward, donated the coat to the J.C. Breckinridge Chapter of the UDC in August, 1944. Elijah Woodward (born 1838) and his brother John A. Woodward (born Sept. 1839) joined the Confederate Army at Hopkinsville, Kentucky and served in Company C, 9th Kentucky together. They fought at the battle of Shiloh in April 1862. They deserted together at Murfreesboro, Tenn., in November 1862. In July 1863, Elijah and John both registered for U.S. Federal service in McLean, Ky. They were both listed as being farmers, single and having no military service. Most experts assumed this coat was worn before the Civil War. A November 15, 1862 letter with attached memo from their commanding officer, Thomas H. Hunt to the commanding general, General Forrest, about the desertion contradicts this. The memo includes a description of them both, "J. A. Woodward is about 5 Ft. 4 inches high & of a stout build - dark hair - 20 years old - had on a brown pants & Gray Pea jacket & Gray cap / Elijah Woodward is about 5 ft 6 or 7 inches high stout build - dark hair - & about 23 years of age had on gray Pants - blue jeans frock coat & black wool hat." This document confirms that Elijah Woodward wore this frock coat during the Civil War, and that John Woodward wore the short jacket (1972.3.10) also donated by their sister, Fanny Woodward. The Confederate First Kentucky Brigade, nicknamed the Orphan Brigade, included the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 9th Kentucky Infantry regiments and Cobb’s, Byrne’s and Graves’s batteries of artillery, and, at times, the 3rd and 5th Kentucky Infantry. |
Collection |
United Daughters of the Confederacy Collection |
People |
Woodward, Elijah Woodward, J.A. |
Subjects |
Coats Clothing & dress War |
Search Terms |
9th Kentucky Infantry Confederate States of America Confederacy Confederate Confederate Army Confederate soldiers Men's Fashion Clothing Orphan Brigade |
Physical Holder |
Kentucky Historical Society - KHS |