Uniform Study: Confederate Sack Coat
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The Rosensteel Collection was started by John Rosensteel who was a 16 year old Gettysburg resident at the time of the battle. Around the end of the end of the 19th cent John Rosenteel would create the Round Top Museum (no longer in existence) to house his collection at the time.

John Rosenteel's collection would eventually be taken over by his nephew George Rosensteel. The Rosensteel Collection was composed of other collections that had been purchased intact from others as well as items purchased from individuals and even farmers in Gettysburg who had masses of relics stored in their barns. In 1921 George Rosensteel opened the Gettysburg National Museum. He had opened this museum on a piece of ground that his Uncle had sold him on Ziegler's Grove next to the Nation Cemetery.

The interesting thing about the artifacts in the Rosensteel museums is that the family worked hard to find artifacts that were identified to the Battle of Gettysburg vs. just a general Civil War artifact. The artifacts were either battlefield pick ups, donated by veterans of the battle or items firmly connected to the Gettysburg campaign.

One item that was found on the battlefield after the battle that ended up in the collection was an officer's sack coat.  The coat has a 4 piece body and 2 piece sleeve with a 2" fall down collar. There are three rows of 1/4 metallic braid on the collar indicating the rank of captain. All the coat and cuff buttons originally on the coat are now missing, but there is a single row of five 1" buttonholes which closed the coat.

The coat is primarily machine sewn with some hand sewn details like setting in the lining and the buttonholes. The are no outside pockets, but there is one inside vertical pocket on the left side. The coat is cut from finely woven wool broadcloth and has a cotton sateen lining.

The coat has just come back from conservation, but is heavily damaged. Many seams have opened up, there is mold damage and moths have made a meal of the rear of the coat. While we will never know who wore this coat, there is firm documentation thanks to the Rosensteel Family that the coat was a battlefield pick up shortly after the Confederates retired from the field in July 1863.

I'd like to thank the staff at Gettysburg National Military Park
for allowing us to use the photos in this article.