Original Item. Only One Available. This is one of the scarcest pieces of Civil War militaria we have ever offered, an original Officer’s single breasted frock coat with original Infantry Captain shoulder boards. This coat is a strong example of a rarely encountered piece of clothing from the Civil War, Federal service. This example is marked below the collar:
CAPT.
H.H. BINGHAM
140 P.A. INF.
This would name the frock coat to Captain Henry H. Bingham, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of the Wilderness. We have absolutely no provenance on the signature, but it did come out of Pennsylvania.
The coat is constructed of a fine grade of English, broadcloth wool, in a deep, indigo-dyed blue. The front retains 7 of its 9 original buttons, featuring an I in the shield, for Infantry. There are 4 of these on the back, and two on each cuff, although one of the 4 has been replaced with a normal Federal button. There are two gorgeous Infantry Captain’s shoulder boards stitched into the shoulders, which appear original to the coat. The boards are both in good shape with service-wear, and some of the bullion is loose or torn. The buttonholes are hand-whipped and corded. The coat is only missing two buttons overall.
Please note the correct bowed sleeves, which is seen on most examples of wartime manufacture officer’s frock coats. The coat is padded and there is a large vertical breast pocket on the left side, with a small horizontal pocket on the right interior. The interior lining is in great shape for its age but does show damage as is expected. There is a deep pocket in each coattail. The lining of the coat is in fair shape overall with multiple tears and rips, but nothing terribly serious. The exterior has the expected wear and staining, but it really displays like a dream.
Most of the buttons are marked to Connecticut and Massachusetts makers. The coat exhibits a combination of treadle machine and hand sewn construction, with most of the buttons having been resewn after falling off. This is a superior example of a Federal, Civil War, Cavalry officer’s frock coat.
Bingham enlisted in the Union Army and received a commission as a first lieutenant in the 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on August 22, 1862.
During the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1–3, 1863, he was serving as captain and Judge-Advocate on the staff of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock's II Corps. During the battle he witnessed Pickett's Charge, and was near The Angle where the Confederates reached the high-water mark. He received the personal effects from the wounded Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Armistead and carried the news to General Hancock, Armistead's friend from before the war. Bingham was a Mason (Chartiers Lodge #297, Canonsburg, PA), and the story of how he provided assistance to the dying fellow Mason, General Armistead, was used in Masonic literature, and commemorated with the Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial at Gettysburg National Cemetery. On the other hand, recent scholarship in 2010 by Michael Halleran shows that while Armistead and Bingham were both Masons, Bingham's encounter with Armistead occurred while the mortally wounded Armistead was being carried from the field by several men and happened purely by chance not because of any appeal of Masonic significance. Bingham never claimed otherwise. Bingham did take Armistead's personal effects and forwarded them to Major General Winfield S. Hancock as Armistead had requested because Hancock was a pre-war friend. Bingham also was wounded on July 3, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg.
In 1864, Bingham became aide-de-camp to Major General Gouverneur K. Warren. During the Battle of the Wilderness during the Virginia Overland Campaign, on May 6, 1864, as captain of Company G, 140th Pennsylvania Infantry, he "rallied and led into action a portion of the troops who had given way under fierce assaults of the enemy." He was awarded a Medal of Honor on August 26, 1893, for these actions.
Bingham was wounded again at the Battle of Spotsylvania, May 12, 1864. On September 25, 1864, Bingham was discharged from his company for promotion and appointed Major and Judge Advocate of the First Division. Bingham was captured at Dabney's Mill, Virginia on October 27, 1864 during the Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road but escaped the same day.
Bingham was wounded a third time during his service at Farmville, Virginia in 1865.
Bingham was mustered out of the service on July 2, 1866 and returned home to Philadelphia. On December 3, 1867, President Andrew Johnson nominated Bingham for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from April 9, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14, 1868.
This is the scarcest Civil War uniform we have ever offered, named on the interior to a Medal of Honor Recipient. We have no provenance on the name, but it does not glow under a blacklight. Comes ready for further research and display.
Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 15"
Chest width: 17.5”
Waist width: 17"
Hip width: 21.5"
Front length: 36.5"
