The Early Wartime Sash of General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson - possibly worn by him at 1st Bull Run!... (Total: 2 Items)

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The Early Wartime Sash of General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson - possibly worn by him at 1st Bull Run! For all of its complexities, one novel element of Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Maryland campaign was that, during the course of it, he gave away (or allowed to be souvenired) several parts of his uniform. At the very beginning, while on his way to Maryland, he was greeted by an enthusiastic band of young women in Martinsburg, Virginia, who with both charm and boldness, liberated the General's coat of all of its buttons in very short order (a phenomenon that was destined to recur on occasion). At the conclusion of the Maryland campaign, as a warm gesture of camaraderie, General Jackson presented to one of his line officers the revered "old gray cap" that had been made for him by his wife. However, sometime in between, as he passed through Frederick, Maryland, in early September of 1862, Thomas Jonathan Jackson apparently gifted his war-torn Mexican War vintage red worsted officer's sash to the great-grandfather of a fine Southern lady by the name of Katharine Grove Sailer.

Awarded prestigious listings in several editions of Who's Who in American Women, largely for her accomplishments and notoriety as a nationally recognized 1940s era portrait artist and educator, Ms. Sailer on April 22nd, 1983, penned the history of her family's treasure upon a piece of her mother's writing stationery from the Pratt Mansion in Queen Anne, Maryland, the ancestral home:

"This sash belonged to General Stonewall Jackson as he marched through Frederick, Md. From the collection of J. R. Grove's grandfather, Andrew Jackson Delashmutt of 105 South Market St. (later changed to 133) Frederick, Md. Mr. Delashmutt collected sabers, guns, etc. from the Civil War (Battle of Monocacy) and Mr. Grove used to play with these things in the attic as a child..."

John Robert Grove, per above, was Katharine Grove Sailer's father. His grandfather, Andrew Jackson Delashmutt, was born in 1825 and at the time of General Jackson's approach to Frederick in 1862 was a 36-year-old successful and well-to-do farmer and shoemaker. An outspoken Confederate sympathizer (he would later that year name a newborn son after General Robert E. Lee and, in 1864, be arrested by the Federal Provost Marshall in Frederick, seemingly on suspicion of conspiring to send monetary aid to the Confederacy), A. J. Delashmutt nonetheless ranked as one of Frederick's most prominent and respected townspeople until his death in 1896 and throughout the remainder of his life celebrated his love of the Confederacy by collecting its artifacts. Curiously, he rests in the same cemetery as Barbara Fritchie, who would have been his adversarial Unionist counterpart and contemporary.

Though the exact circumstances of how Delashmutt came to be in possession of the sash have been lost to history, it is probable that he was one of the citizens, who as a token of esteem and admiration, bestowed Stonewall Jackson with the infamous "large gray horse" the day he arrived at the outskirts of Frederick. If so, Jackson's characteristic reciprocity might easily be the answer to that question. Interestingly enough, in January of 1888, Andrew J. Delashmutt's daughter, Virginia, married one John R. Grove (his surname being a point of note here, as a Grove family had graciously interacted with General Jackson throughout his stay in Sharpsburg). John R. and Virginia Delashmutt Grove produced a son, John Robert Grove, who in turn fathered Katharine Grove on November 20th, 1921.

Katharine's written testimonial then continues: "The red wool sash was worn over the shoulder, tied at the waist. It has 2 tassels, each with some wire (gold/copper) decoration. About 4 inches wide and mended long ago, it is 6 feet, five and a half inches long...history told to me by my Father...J. R. Grove." [signed] "Katharine Grove Sailer."

To amplify her description a bit, the circa 1840s to 1850s sash is manufactured of blood red worsted wool that has been woven in a method commonly known as "sprang-work," a flexible style of net-like weaving that allows the material, though made of wool, to achieve a considerable stretch for the sole purpose of the comfort of the wearer. Though otherwise fairly typical of U.S. army regulation line and field officer sashes of the period, this specimen is further enhanced by a pattern of gold bullion coiled threads within the worsted wool balls of the tassels, a unique feature possibly inspired by the French influence on American uniforms of the day. Most telling, however, are the numerous old repairs found throughout the sash, being so consistent with General Jackson's reputation for frugality and practicality, personal qualities nearly as legendary as his brilliance as a military strategist.

A truly important relic, linked to one of the most significant figures of the Civil War and documented in clear linear descent by a very credible Maryland family. In 1925, the granddaughter of Thomas Jonathan Jackson presented to V.M.I. the dark blue frock coat and trousers worn by him at 1st Bull Run and thereafter. No cap or red sash accompanied them.