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PATTERN 1898 TROPICAL KHAKI UNIFORM BLOUSE BELT –
RARE FIRST PATTERN KHAKI UNIFORM COMPONENT – NEVER SEEN
ON THE LOOSE ACCESSORY IN EXCELLENT CONDITION:
Approved at the start of
the Spanish American War, khaki colored, cotton blouses
were adopted with the issue of General Order No. 39 on
May 9, 1898. Ordered to be trimmed with the color of
the branch of service (G.O. 51, May 23, 1898), the
collar, shoulder straps, breast pocket flaps and cuffs
of the blouses were made in dark blue for the staff
departments and general staff, yellow for cavalry, red
for artillery, and sky blue for infantry. Providing a
very identifiable uniform for each branch, unfortunately
it was this very same distinction that resulted in a
very short service life for these uniforms, making them
quite scarce today.
 
As those first pattern uniforms were subjected to wear
in the field, the army quickly discovered that the wear
out period for cavalry and infantry soldiers in the
field was considerably shorter than it was for artillery
and staff department soldiers, resulting in a serious
shortage of replacement uniforms for the mounted and
foot troops while an overabundance of artillery and
staff uniforms sat unissued in storage. Due to the way
in which this pattern of coat was trimmed, changing the
color of the facings in order to meet the need for
uniforms was not practical.
As a result, less than two months later, on July 15,
1898, the Secretary of War issued a circular directing
that the colored facings be eliminated and replaced with
colored detachable shoulder tabs appropriate for the
soldier’s particular branch of service that could be
issued with the later pattern all khaki coats.
When this change was made in the design of the blouse,
apparently the army also eliminated the separate khaki
waist belt that was issued as part of the first pattern
blouse. It is likely that the army realized that as
this was a field uniform, and when dressed for field
operations the soldiers wore their leather waist or
sabre belts, or their Mills woven pistol and rifle
cartridge belts, the separate khaki uniform waist belt
was redundant and unnecessary, so it was eliminated for
the following pattern blouse.
As the first pattern khaki uniform was nominally made
for less than two months - and then most of those that
were made being subjected to the severe use and wear by
combat soldiers in a tropical environment - it is not
surprising that the early Pattern 1898 Tropical Blouses
survive today in relatively low numbers and when found,
often show evidence of hard use in the field – and not
surprisingly, are missing the waist belt. The chances
of finding one of these matching waist belts on the
loose to complete an early blouse runs against
unimaginable odds.
Further reducing the likelihood of survival of these
early pattern blouses, much less a loose component such
as this belt, was the common practice of issuing new
uniforms to troops returning from the tropics and
requiring that their old uniforms be burned to prevent
the introduction and spread of disease within the
continental United States.
This original Pattern 1898 Khaki Belt is full length and
form, as issued. The fabric is in overall excellent
condition, with some minor soiling from age and
handling, but no wear or fraying. Both of the original
eagle buttons are present, mounted with the original
split rings.
That this belt has survived at
all, much less in this excellent condition, is a true
stroke of fortune. No doubt, this is probably a once in
a lifetime opportunity to complete a Pattern 1898 Khaki
Blouse – I know I’ve never seen one on the loose.
(0598) $250
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