College Acquires Rare Confederate Field Jacket

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Emory & Henry College’s collection of Civil War memorabilia has grown by one Confederate field jacket, a gift from the children of a 1932 E&H graduate.

The gray jacket, which is considered a rare historical artifact, was worn by Thomas Brown, a member of the 2nd Battalion of the South Carolina Sharpshooters. The battalion was formed in June of 1862 and disbanded by December of that year.

The jacket was given to the family by the children of Lynn W. Whiteside, Brown’s grandson, and his wife Mildred Katherine Skeen Whiteside, who also attended Emory & Henry.

Family members are not certain how Brown, who was born in 1839 in Pennsylvania, came to serve in the Confederate Army. “He may have moved South at some point or he may have just been a Southern sympathizer,” said his great granddaughter, Linda Blue of Gainesville, Fla.

“He was very proud of that jacket, as was my father, and we felt that Dad would have wanted us to give it to the College,” Linda said.

According to Robert Vejnar, Emory & Henry’s archivist, Brown served at James Island, S.C., with his sharpshooter battalion. “James Island overlooks Charleston harbor and Ft. Sumter, so he was there as the Union navy was blockading Charleston,” Vejnar said.

Brown was approximately 22 years old when he wore the small, gray jacket at James Island. According to family members, the sleeves of the jacket became worn as Brown, posted in treetops, leaned forward on his arms to take aim at the enemy.

After the battalion disbanded, the soldiers were sent to their original units. Brown survived the war and died in 1920 at the age of 80.

The field jacket will be added to a growing collection of Civil War artifacts at Emory & Henry, which include a collection of Abingdon Virginian newspapers published in the region during the war and a collection of Civil War letters written from battlefields.