Overcoat

Object Name:

Overcoat

Object ID:

2013.017

Date:

1862

Description:

Civil War uniform overcoat, worn by Benjamin F. Parker (1842-1928) of Whitefield, NH, private in Co. D, 13th New Hampshire Regiment. Blue wool coat with attached shoulder cape. Brown cotton lining in upper half. Two brass eagle buttons on cape (four missing). All five buttons are missing on main part of coat. Rectangular cotton label sewn on back lining, with stenciled black lettering: "B. F. PARKER. / CO. D. 13' N.H. V."

Material:

Textile
Wool
Cotton

Dimensions:

H-42 W-26 inches

Provenance:

This overcoat was worn by the donor's ancestor, Benjamin F. Parker (1842-1928) during Civil War service. Benjamin Franklin Parker, the son of Asa and Lucy (Noble) Parker was born September 27, 1842, in Whitefield, NH. Parker enlisted in the 13th New Hampshire Regiment Volunteers on August 14, 1862, at Littleton. The 13th New Hampshire served in defense of Washington, until December 4, 1862. He participated in active service, confronting the Confederate army at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 12-15. After General Ambrose Burnside's defeat at Fredericksburg the New Hampshire troops participated in the Second Campaign "Mud March" across Virginia on January 20-24, 1863. They moved to Newport News, Virginia, on February 9. Parker served as a private in Company D, and was probably wounded, because he was discharged at Washington, DC, on March 12, 1863. Returning to the life of a farmer in Whitefield, sometime after 1870 Parker moved to Stockton, Wisconsin, where he farmed. He later moved to Stevens Point, and finally settled in Plover, where he lived from 1911 until his death in 1928. Parker was a town justice of the peace, notary public, and an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Masonic order.

Credit Line:

Gift of William Ayscue, in Memory of Bette J. Ayscue

People:

Parker, Benjamin F. (1842-1928)

Subjects:

Civil War