TO RESCUE FROM OBLIVION SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF THE OLUSTEE UNION DEAD
$16.99
Our Catalog
Updated
8/18/2026
Make a choice from any of our categories below
An outstanding and completely original Confederate enlisted man's butternut jean cloth shell jacket exhibiting the honest wear and untouched appearance sought by today's advanced collectors. Constructed of coarse homespun butternut jean cloth with a plain standing collar and short six-button shell jacket configuration, the garment shows the practical simplicity of Confederate wartime manufacture. The jacket has never been restored or altered and remains exactly as it survived from the nineteenth century. The front originally closed with 6 buttons. Five buttons remain, three turned wood buttons and two federal enlisted eagle buttons showing evidence of having been resewn. The body is constructed of coarse diagonal-weave butternut jean cloth, now mellowed to a pleasing light tan color through natural aging. Numerous small moth nips and Several areas of wear and damage are present, particularly around the cuffs, with some cloth missing or torn. The garment is entirely consistent with period use and age rather than restoration or artificial distressing. The cuffs exhibit significant period wear with fraying and material loss, exposing the underlying lining in several locations. These areas remain completely untouched and vividly illustrate the hard service such garments often endured. The interior is fully lined in natural unbleached cotton osnaburg and retains
Although the jacket does not display sufficient diagnostic characteristics to confidently attribute it to a specific Confederate depot, it possesses a distinctly Western Theater or Lower South character. The coarse jean cloth, simple construction, natural osnaburg lining, turned wooden buttons, and overall utilitarian appearance are consistent with garments produced by smaller Confederate clothing bureaus or local contractors outside the more standardized Richmond Depot system. It may well represent production from the Trans-Mississippi or Lower South, although such an attribution should remain appropriately cautious in the absence of documented provenance.
What is beyond question is the jacket's remarkable state of preservation as an untouched wartime artifact. Unlike many surviving Confederate uniforms that have undergone restoration, button replacement, or conservation, this example retains the honest appearance of a garment that has simply survived the passage of time. The combination of original turned wooden buttons, period Federal eagle buttons, complete interior lining with twin breast pockets, and untouched butternut jean cloth make it an exceptional study piece for the serious student of Confederate military clothing.
Original Confederate enlisted jackets rank among the rarest and most desirable artifacts of the American Civil War. Examples retaining their original cloth, lining, wooden buttons, and evidence of documented wartime repairs seldom become available for acquisition. This jacket represents an exceptional opportunity to obtain a completely original Confederate shell jacket that remains exactly as it emerged from the war—a tangible reminder of the hardships, ingenuity, and perseverance of the Southern soldier.
Another exceptional Civil War collectible proudly offered by Richard Ferry Military Antiques, Florida's largest dealer in quality Civil War collectibles.
If you have ordered an antique weapon or artifact from our website please be advised that these guns are sold strictly as collectible antiques.
FloridaConfederate.com strongly recommends that these artifacts be enjoyed and appreciated for their historical significance and not ever fired. By ordering you are acknowledging these facts, warnings and assume full responsibility for your personal actions with regard to them.
We DO NOT sell modern guns, all our inventory will be pre 1898 and are classified by the ATF as antiques and require no government paperwork to own.