1858 Blouse - John T. Martin Contract - SIZE 38 Ready to Ship

This United States Army coat is made from an indigo dyed flannel, closed with four general service US buttons, and has a pocket on the left side.

Despite official regulations, based on surviving examples and known issuances, only about one third of the blouses produced during the American Civil War were unlined. It would appear that the lined blouse was in fact issued for fatigue purposes, regardless of the original intent. 

This wartime production blouse is based on a surviving series of John T. Martin contract blouses. John T. Martin was the single largest contractor of blouses for the Federal army - producing approximately 892,000 blouses between 1862 and 1864. While the overall pattern remained relatively consistent within the production line, variations in details and materials vary amongst the surviving marked examples. One of the commonly seen variations amongst the John T. Martin blouses is the lining materials, which range from light weight jeans to wool plaid.