REGULATION CONFEDERATE MAJOR’S FROCK COAT OF JAMES RATCHFORD, ADJUTANT TO GENERAL JOHN BELL HOOD.

This is no doubt the most historic Confederate uniform we have had the pleasure to auction. This coat comes from direct descent of the Ratchford family. Major Ratchford had a wonderful history orig entering the war as a Lieutenant, being on the staffs of General D.H. Hill and General S.D. Lee until his final assignment in the Atlanta campaign with General John Bell Hood when this coat was worn. There is a published 1998 biography by a Ratchford descendant Memoirs of a Confederate Staff Officer – From Bethel to Bentonville by Evelyn Sieburg and James E. Hansen II. Book was based on Ratchford’s diaries and letters. Ratchford, born in South Carolina attended Davidson College where he met Daniel Harvey Hill, a man that would profoundly change his life. When Hill left his position as Mathematics professor at Davidson to become the head of the new North Carolina Military Institute nearby, Ratchford followed. War was declared one year later. The newly appointed Confederate General D.H. Hill appointed Ratchford at age 21 a Lieutenant and Hill’s aide. “On June 10, 1861, Ratchford participated in one of the first official battles of the war (Big Bethel), when Confederate troops moving south from Yorktown clashed with advancing Union forces. In this engagement Ratchford received a slight head wound. Following the Battle of Big Bethel, Daniel Harvey Hill was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and Ratchford, at age twenty-one, became a first lieutenant and hill’s aide. They remained in Yorktown until late September 1861, moved briefly to New Berne, North Carolina, then returned to Virginia, where the general assumed command of troops wintering at Leesburg. Here Ratchford’s duties included carrying flags of truce across the Potomac while opposing generals, sometimes former classmates and friends, met in military parley, and on occasion for breakfast. The spring of 1862 began a period of almost continuous combat for Ratchford. For the next three years he participated in an extraordinary number of military engagements – no less than thirty-five major battles, and a host of smaller skirmishes. He fought with Hill during the 1862 Peninsular Campaign, including the Siege of Yorktown (April-May), the Battle of Seven Pines (May 31-June 1) and the Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond (June 25-July 1). Hill’s troops accompanied Robert E. Lee’s invasion of the North, the Antietam Campaign (September 14-19) and later helped to thwart another Federal move against Richmond, the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 13). the year 1863 began with Ratchford serving as Hill’s adjutant in North Carolina, where the general directed regional coastal defensive operations that included the Battle of New Berne (March 13-15) and the Siege of Washington, North Carolina (March 30-April 15). Then, when Lee’s second invasion of the North (the Gettysburg Campaign) left Richmond vulnerable to attack, Hill’s troops moved to provide necessary protection in skirmishes near Bottom’s Bridge (July 1). Service in the West ensued that featured campaigning around Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Battle of Chickamauga (September). The latter engagement found General Hill wrongfully accused of incompetence by his superior, General Braxton Bragg – an accusation angrily refuted by Ratchford. This incident did, however, result in Ratchford’s separation from Hill and assignment to staff duties with other generals. In February 1864, he became adjutant to John Bell Hood and participated in the retreat from Dalton, Georgia to Atlanta (May-July) and the Siege of Atlanta (August-September 1). He also served under General Stephen D. Lee and accompanied him in the desperate Franklin and Nashville Campaign (November-December), which essentially obliterated the Confederacy’s Army of Tennessee. After this disaster, Ratchford, along with other exhausted Confederate survivors, made his way to Tupelo, Mississippi, rested for a few weeks, then moved out again – this time for Augusta, to make a last stand against General William T. Sherman, advancing north from Savannah. Here Ratchford found his old friend and commander D.H.Hill, and again became his adjutant. In the face of overwhelming enemy forces, the Confederates, including Hill and Ratchford, continued to retreat, engaging in a series of holding actions across North Carolina and fighting pitched battles at Averasboro and Bentonville. The end came on April 26, 1865, when General Joseph E. Johnston signed final surrender terms at Durham Station, North Carolina – seventeen days after Robert E. Lee’s capitulation at Appomattox.” Ratchford moved to Texas after the war & was active in Confederate Veteran’s activities through the rest of his life, dying in Paint Rock. His obituary in the Galveston Newspaper in 1895 dedicates most of its text to his exploits during the war. General D.H. Hill is quoted “I was glad to hear from one of the most efficient Staff Officers in the Army and one of the bravest in an Army of braves”. This regulation frock is trimmed in white buff for denoting staff, single embroidered stars are sewn on each collar. Double breasted coat has rare, imported Confederate staff buttons, back marked “W. Dowler – Superior” and the cuff buttons are pre-war South Carolina state seals. Accompanying the coat is a buff leather saber belt that is missing its buckle. PROVENANCE: Direct family descent. CONDITION: Good to very good overall. Coat is sound and solid with areas of insect damage, largest on front being about a 2″ x 1″ hole on left skirt. Reverse of coat has numerous small holes as can be seen in photos that do not affect esthetics. Both cuffs are worn and frayed with loose stitching . Lining is heavily frayed and missing in tails. There is some restitching internally to reattach one button and some added stitching to reinforce collar internally. Buff cord trim is frayed in areas, especially collar but is overall 90% intact. One cuff button is missing; three coat buttons missing on face and one on tail. Accompanying saber belt is sound and solid, though dry and misshapen. Adjustment hook is broken. Short leather hanger missing. 4-54471 JS (20,000-30,000) – Lot 1402

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Auction: Firearms - March 2015

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	1402	$31,050.00	REGULATION CONFEDERATE MAJOR’S FROCK COAT OF JAMES RATCHFORD, ADJUTANT TO GENERAL JOHN BELL HOOD. This is no doubt the most historic Confederate uniform we have had the pleasure to auction. This coat comes from direct descent of the Ratchford family. Major Ratchford had a wonderful history orig entering the war as a Lieutenant, being on the staffs of General D.H. Hill and General S.D. Lee until his final assignment in the Atlanta campaign with General John Bell Hood when this coat was worn. There is a published 1998 biography by a Ratchford descendant Memoirs of a Confederate Staff Officer – From Bethel to Bentonville by Evelyn Sieburg and James E. Hansen II. Book was based on Ratchford’s diaries and letters. Ratchford, born in South Carolina attended Davidson College where he met Daniel Harvey Hill, a man that would profoundly change his life. When Hill left his position as Mathematics professor at Davidson to become the head of the new North Carolina Military Institute nearby, Ratchford followed. War was declared one year later. The newly appointed Confederate General D.H. Hill appointed Ratchford at age 21 a Lieutenant and Hill’s aide. “On June 10, 1861, Ratchford participated in one of the first official battles of the war (Big Bethel), when Confederate troops moving south from Yorktown clashed with advancing Union forces. In this engagement Ratchford received a slight head wound. Following the Battle of Big Bethel, Daniel Harvey Hill was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and Ratchford, at age twenty-one, became a first lieutenant and hill’s aide. They remained in Yorktown until late September 1861, moved briefly to New Berne, North Carolina, then returned to Virginia, where the general assumed command of troops wintering at Leesburg. Here Ratchford’s duties included carrying flags of truce across the Potomac while opposing generals, sometimes former classmates and friends, met in military parley, and on occasion for breakfast. The spring of 1862 began a period of almost continuous combat for Ratchford. For the next three years he participated in an extraordinary number of military engagements – no less than thirty-five major battles, and a host of smaller skirmishes. He fought with Hill during the 1862 Peninsular Campaign, including the Siege of Yorktown (April-May), the Battle of Seven Pines (May 31-June 1) and the Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond (June 25-July 1). Hill’s troops accompanied Robert E. Lee’s invasion of the North, the Antietam Campaign (September 14-19) and later helped to thwart another Federal move against Richmond, the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 13). the year 1863 began with Ratchford serving as Hill’s adjutant in North Carolina, where the general directed regional coastal defensive operations that included the Battle of New Berne (March 13-15) and the Siege of Washington, North Carolina (March 30-April 15). Then, when Lee’s second invasion of the North (the Gettysburg Campaign) left Richmond vulnerable to attack, Hill’s troops moved to provide necessary protection in skirmishes near Bottom’s Bridge (July 1). Service in the West ensued that featured campaigning around Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Battle of Chickamauga (September). The latter engagement found General Hill wrongfully accused of incompetence by his superior, General Braxton Bragg – an accusation angrily refuted by Ratchford. This incident did, however, result in Ratchford’s separation from Hill and assignment to staff duties with other generals. In February 1864, he became adjutant to John Bell Hood and participated in the retreat from Dalton, Georgia to Atlanta (May-July) and the Siege of Atlanta (August-September 1). He also served under General Stephen D. Lee and accompanied him in the desperate Franklin and Nashville Campaign (November-December), which essentially obliterated the Confederacy’s Army of Tennessee. After this disaster, Ratchford, along with other exhausted Confederate survivors, made his way to Tupelo, Mississippi, rested for a few weeks, then moved out again – this time for Augusta, to make a last stand against General William T. Sherman, advancing north from Savannah. Here Ratchford found his old friend and commander D.H.Hill, and again became his adjutant. In the face of overwhelming enemy forces, the Confederates, including Hill and Ratchford, continued to retreat, engaging in a series of holding actions across North Carolina and fighting pitched battles at Averasboro and Bentonville. The end came on April 26, 1865, when General Joseph E. Johnston signed final surrender terms at Durham Station, North Carolina – seventeen days after Robert E. Lee’s capitulation at Appomattox.” Ratchford moved to Texas after the war & was active in Confederate Veteran’s activities through the rest of his life, dying in Paint Rock. His obituary in the Galveston Newspaper in 1895 dedicates most of its text to his exploits during the war. General D.H. Hill is quoted “I was glad to hear from one of the most efficient Staff Officers in the Army and one of the bravest in an Army of braves”. This regulation frock is trimmed in white buff for denoting staff, single embroidered stars are sewn on each collar. Double breasted coat has rare, imported Confederate staff buttons, back marked “W. Dowler – Superior” and the cuff buttons are pre-war South Carolina state seals. Accompanying the coat is a buff leather saber belt that is missing its buckle. PROVENANCE: Direct family descent. CONDITION: Good to very good overall. Coat is sound and solid with areas of insect damage, largest on front being about a 2″ x 1″ hole on left skirt. Reverse of coat has numerous small holes as can be seen in photos that do not affect esthetics. Both cuffs are worn and frayed with loose stitching . Lining is heavily frayed and missing in tails. There is some restitching internally to reattach one button and some added stitching to reinforce collar internally. Buff cord trim is frayed in areas, especially collar but is overall 90% intact. One cuff button is missing; three coat buttons missing on face and one on tail. Accompanying saber belt is sound and solid, though dry and misshapen. Adjustment hook is broken. Short leather hanger missing. 4-54471 JS (20,000-30,000) – Lot 1402 Click here to view provenance Auction: Firearms - March 2015 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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REGULATION CONFEDERATE MAJOR’S FROCK COAT OF JAMES RATCHFORD, ADJUTANT TO GENERAL JOHN BELL HOOD.