Name/Title
UniformEntry/Object ID
2003.64.1Description
Confederate shell jacket worn by Private* John M. House, 19th Tenn. Infantry, CSA.
* "Private" used by Maj. Gen. Alex P. Stewart ,12/14/1863, regarding "Report of Affair on Missionary Ridge, 11/25/1863" [House having been sent for ammunition.] Details on file. However, "Lieutenant" used in typed caption, which appears to have come from owner. Also on file. Johnson's Island uses 2nd Lieutenant.
Provenance:
A native of Knoxville and an East Tennessee University student, the 16-year-old House enlisted in the "Knoxville Grays," Co. E, 19th Tennessee Infantry (Capt. John W. Paxton's company) in the spring of 1861. With the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, he was captured at Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863, while serving as a member of Major Gen. A. P. Stewart's staff. According to family tradition, when he was released from the Johnson's Island prison camp after 20 months, House weighed 90 pounds (with a 6-foot frame). He wore this jacket when released, June 13th, 1865 [per Johnson's Island records]. He died shortly after the war at the hand of Union bushwackers.Dimensions
Height
27-1/2 inWidth
17 inDimension Notes
Jacket body height: 22.5", w/sleeves 27.5"
Shoulder to shoulder: 17"w
Depth on current mannequin: 6"