Montgomery Depot Jacket 1863-1865

The Montgomery Depot jacket was issued to forces within the Department of Alabama during the period of 1863 through the end of the war. Sometimes referred to as the “Mystery” Depot Jacket, the series of jackets that have now been identified is significant enough to aid in its identification.

The jackets are all six piece body, one piece sleeves, outside pocket, and closed with a mix of wooden, civilian and miliary brass buttons. There are two basic styles of construction seen amongst the jackets. The first being the mor famous “double-topstiched” style. This is not true double-topstitching, but rather the jacket’s ling being felled into place with that stitch being driven through all the layers of the garments (in contract to most construction only going through a single layer of facing). The result is the appearance of a “second row” of topstitching. This method is seen on the majority of the surviving jackets. The less common method is consistent with the style used at Richmond and Columbus, whereas the garments is sewn and then turned right-side out and pressed.

Overlapping pockets with the buttonhole line is based on several known examples with this "error". The "double topstitch" example is similar to the other known ones without the pocket overlap, but with the pocket protruding into the buttonhole line. The "single topstitch" example is unusual in that is both protrudes into the buttonhole line, but also causes the top three buttons of the jacket to be "miss-spaced" with the lower four buttons. 

Additional historical information can be found here.