The Blue Jacket of Gettysburg

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

This cloth is shown on so many images that deal with the US Federal Army of the nineteenth century: illustrations, photographs, movies, comics. It is interesting to consider now a true copy of the blue shell jacket, whose provenance is well documented.

It is a short jacket, suited to enable the soldier with the best freedom of movement. On sale at Cowan's on November 4 in Cincinnati, it is joined by a letter written by the sergeant to his mother when he sent her the cloth in 1864.

He had worn it in five major battles of the Civil War, and considered it as the symbol of his luck to have survived. It kept a scratch on the left sleeve from the Battle of Gettysburg (1863), and is still adorned with the sergeant's chevrons (but the buttons have disappeared).

The authentic memories of historic events are highly sought after at auction. This one is estimated 40 K$. Here are the pictures of the lot and its description in the catalog, kindly shared by the auction house.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The price remained below the estimate, but I consider it is a good result: 40,2 K $ including premium.