CONFEDERATE ENLISTED MAN’S “BUTTERNUT” SHELL JACKET, ATTRIBUTED TO ALABAMA INFANTRYMAN

American South, c. 1863–65. Hand-sewn wool‑cotton jean dyed a warm brown (“butternut”); standing collar; five‑button front (four Confederate script “I” buttons and one period, non‑matching replacement); single external breast pocket; short waist; plain cuffs; no epaulettes. Numerous hand‑worked field repairs and patches throughout, especially at the elbows and front panels, evidencing prolonged service use.

This classic Confederate “shell” jacket, cut short at the waist and executed entirely by hand in coarse, dyed jean cloth, epitomizes late‑war Southern manufacture and supply conditions, particularly in the Western Theater. The butternut hue results from home or depot dyeing with natural dyes, a characteristic color seen on Confederate garments of the period. The mixture of original and replaced fasteners, together with extensive soldier repairs, is consistent with hard field service.

The attribution to John Manasco of the 22nd Alabama Infantry is by oral tradition, though its provenance is strong: it was reportedly once in the collection of historian and author William Albaugh and subsequently displayed at the Texas Civil War Museum.

Provenance: By family and collector tradition worn by John Manasco, 22nd Alabama Infantry; said to have been in the William Albaugh collection (per accompanying 28 December 1990 letter); acquired at the November 1990 Civil War Show, Richmond, Virginia; subsequently Texas Civil War Museum; thereafter private collection. Accompanied by the hand‑lettered display placard attributing the jacket to Manasco and the 1990 signed letter noting the Albaugh association, etc.