MARTIN LUTHER SMITH’S HEATHERED BLUE/GRAY MAJOR GENERAL’S FROCK COAT.
inv # 02-13232

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This double breasted coat of heavy wool must have been made for the field. This coat was made without insignia or facings, but the buttons are made in regulation Major General specifications with three groups of 3 buttons stitched in 2 rows. It was not uncommon for generals to have coats without rank insignia for use on the battlefield. Sharpshooters loved to zero in on high ranking officers. General Smith was often at the front as he was chief engineer in charge of defensive positions for both Robert E. Lee and later John Bell Hood in 1864 and this no doubt was a coat he wore in the field.