Chuck

I had seen that jacket but do to it excellant condition I had assumed that maybe it was a late war jacket (1865) and had not seen severe usage.

However, this article causes me to rethink that position and that these jackets may have been use much earlier (1862) in the war and for a different reason than the lack of materials. I am sure that lack of materials played a part in the usage of cotton for these jacket. But, now we are presented with other possibilities, such as soldiers comfort and the realitive availability of secondary materials.