Front

     This coat belonged to a Lieutenant Colonel of Infantry in the United States Army. He was a resident of New York, as can be seen by the two State of New York Ribbons on the chest. Although the coat is the M1895 Undress Tunic, this coat, as it is, dates from after World War One, as dated by the World War One Victory, the State of New York World War One Service and the French Croix de Guerre ribbons. As both Branch of Service Insignia (Gilt Crossed Rifles with the Regimental Number) are missing, I am unable to determine which Infantry Regiment he was in.

    The front is closed using 11 sets of large hook and eyes. Each set faces the opposite direction of the set above and below it, this helps keep them from coming undone. These are a different type of hook and eye than is used on the collar.

    The coat is a size 42 Tall, which is an unusually large size for this time period.

Back

    Each side of the coat is slit part way up. The split on the left opens higher than the slit on the right to allow for the sword hangers to come out from under the coat and suspend the sword. These side slits have buttons, so that they can be buttoned closed or left open. The coat is well enough fitted that the side slits need to be opened for free movement, including to be able to sit down.

Shoulder Boards

    These Lieutenant Colonel's shoulder straps are very nice and are in excellent condition. They are sewn on to the coat and do not have clips. They, of course, have the light blue background for Infantry.

    They measure 1-3/4" by 4" each.

Collar

     The "U.S." has four (4) loops on the back that were used to sew the insignia to the collar. It measures 9/16" by 1-1.8". This type of attachment implies that the coat may have been made prior to about 1909.

    I assume that the Branch of Service Insignia that were originally on this coat were also the four (4) loop type.

    The "U.S." that should be on the left front of the collar and both the Branch of Service Insignia that should be at the center of the sides of the collar are missing. They were probably given to family members upon the officer's death, as a remembrance.

    They collar is kept closed by 3 large hook and eyes.

    The shiny items seen on the inside of the collar are metal studs sewn onto the inside of the collar, presumably to hold a false white (shirt) collar.

Purple Heart

Silver Star

World War 1 Victory, with 5 Stars

N.Y. State Conspicuous Service Cross

N.Y. State World War 1 Service

French Croix de Guerre with 1 Star

Unknown

Unknown

Ribbons

    Each of these ribbons is individually sewn on to the chest. They each measure 3/4" by 1-3/8", and are much larger than modern ribbons.

    The ribbons are not in the proper order by today's standards, but at the time they were attached, there may not have been a standard order.

Lining

    The lining is both padded and quilted. The silver items on the inside of the collar are metal studs sewn onto the inside of the collar, presumably to hold a false white (shirt) collar.

   This coat has NO pockets, either inside or out. There is no makers label or other markings anywhere on this coat.

    The lining is in excellent condition and seems to be a moderately heavy polished cotton. It is not smooth, as it appears in the picture, but has a striped texture running diagonally to the material.

M1902 Full Dress Cap

    The M1902 Dress Cap, also known as the M1902 Bell Crown Hat / Cap, is the appropriate hat for most of the service life of this coat. For more information on this hat, see: IW_Hats. There was no cap/hat with this particular coat, what is pictured is just the standard M1902 Infantry Full Dress Cap with Insignia.