IT IS A PLEASURE TO HAVE BEEN ASKED TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION TO THIS latest volume featuring the artwork of America’s leading military artist, Don Troiani. Once again, working with recognized Civil War uniform and equipment experts Earl J. Coates and Michael McAfee, Troiani has produced a detailed look at the soldiers who served with the Union and Confederate armies. Here, along with the familiar fighting men, are illustrated soldiers whose duties and service at times set them apart from the core of both armies. Mounted pioneers, Confederate Cherokees as well as a veteran volunteer of Hancock’s unique corps are a few. In each case, meticulous research, for which Troiani is known, has brought to life those whose sacrifice and spirit are part of our national heritage.
Both museum and private collections have been searched in an effort to illustrate actual examples of the accoutrements and uniforms that were an integral part of the life of these men. Many items shown here have been viewed only by a select few collectors and historians who have devoted years to their study.
It is with great pride that I point out that many of the uniforms and artifacts shown in this volume are from the extensive Smithsonian Collection. In many cases these items provide a direct link to the depots that manufactured them or to the families whose generosity made them part of the national collection at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. A very special part of this story is the fact that the United States uniform manufactory located in Philadelphia, known as Schuylkill Arsenal, put forth a concerted effort in 1865 to gather examples of each type of uniform and all equipment carried by the Federal soldier during the war. A museum was created there and served as what was likely the first of its kind in America. The care and preservation of this collection eventually became the responsibility of the Smithsonian Institution. Over the years most of the uniforms and other artifacts remained in storage with only a few on display at any time. With the coming of the Civil War centennial in 1961, interest in items relating to the war began to grow. It was during this period that the care of these collections fell to the responsibility of Mr. Donald Kloster. Don Kloster’s determined efforts to outreach to both uniform collectors and historians brought the collection into its own as a primary research source. With Kloster’s retirement and passing, this responsibility has been passed on to me. I am both humbled and proud to help assure this collection is preserved and available to those who appreciate its importance. I am equally pleased to share these treasured collections more broadly through this follow-up to Don Troiani’s Regiments and Uniforms of the Civil War, and continue to forge a relationship with its authors and their audiences.
Jennifer Locke Jones
Chair and Curator, Armed Forces History and Numismatics
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian
The remains of a label with a red wax seal indicate this was a sealed pattern piece for the U.S. Quartermaster’s Department. This engineer enlisted man’s dress coat would have been a sample used by government and private manufacturers to insure uniformity. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION