November 17, 2020 Early Arms & Militaria: Age of Exploration, Empire & Revolution
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/17/2020
A handsome cavalry or light dragoon coat of the mid-to late 1820s that (unlike most American militia uniforms) shows wear from actual field service. The uniform has a body of scarlet, plain-weave cloth of domestic manufacture and is faced with buff cassimere (a twill-woven worsted) on its collar, integral “plastron-front” lapels, indented “dragoon” cuffs, and skirt turnbacks. The body is lined with glazed, twilled serge of buff. The cape or collar is edged or framed with 1/4" gold lace, and it trimmed with a centered, twisted, gilt wire, chain of interlocked loops running from the front edge on one side across the back and to the other front edge. Each side of the cape has two 3/4", gilt buttons and gilt, twisted wire holes. The lapels each have seven similar buttons with gilt wire loopings in the form of button-holes running down them, set horizontal, while four chevron loopings are set on each sleeve, two on the cuff and two above, each with a gold button at the center of the chevron. The skirts have similar “dragoon” false pockets consisting of 4 chevron loopings and gilt buttons, with similar gilt buttons set at the hips and on the skirt plaits. All of the buttons are 3/4" diameter and are backmarked: ‘HAYDEN & CO. / DOUBLE GILT’ [an early Waterbury, CT button manufacturer]. The coat has one scarlet shoulder strap of 1" width, with buff innerfacing, and it is edged with twisted gold wire, ending at a button fixed on the lower portion of the cape. There is no sign that an epaulette was ever affixed to either shoulder of the coat. This strap was clearly intended to secure a swordbelt worn across the body, the hilt resting on the left hip. This uniform coat is probably that of a volunteer cavalry trooper; numerous volunteer cavalry units in many states favored scarlet and buff uniform combinations during this period, including New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Mississippi. CONDITION: Overall light soiling and some fading to the parts of the coat that would have been most exposed during period wear, such as the back, outer sleeves and shoulders; there are some repairs and patches to the coat, notably at the lower-left breast near/at underside of armhole seam; some loss and fraying to lace edging at upper collar in rear; fraying and loss to small areas of the buff serge lining near the armholes inside the coat. JLK