Uniform fragment found at San Jacinto!

[mustanggray]

List,

I spoke with a gentleman today who is an archeologist working digs at San Jacinto. He told me a fragment of uniform was recently taken out of the ground somewhere near the 1836 treeline. When I asked him if they thought it was Mexican or Texian he said they knew it was Mexican as it still had some buttons attached to it! I was surprised that a textile could survive in such conditions as was the gentleman I was talking to and he said the rest of the crew on the dig was just as surprised. I was told information would be coming out in regards fairly soon.

[VictoriaR85]

That's very interesting. I can't wait to see what they found.

[dimbo33]

I have been helping with the digs that you mention. We have found some fragments of cloth but they are very small. They are attached to some thin brass items of some sort. They could come from a uniform, shako or whatever. The brass is so mangled at this point we are not sure what the brass items are. We have found Mexican buttons very near by but there was no cloth attached to any of the buttons to my knowledge. We are hoping to get the cloth fragments analyzed by experts in that area. It seems as though the byproducts of the brass produce a chemical that keeps the cloth from being destroyed by bacteria. We have a lot of work yet to do but we hope to make this report public within the next year.

[tmdreb]

I'm sure I'll be thrilled once the shock wears off! Keep us appraised of this amazing find.

I've seen one or two of these things recovered from ACW battlefields, but I believe they were found not more than a few decades after the battle.

[marklemon]

Surprisingly enough, cloth does sometimes survive long periods in the ground. My family home was the headquarters for about 6 days for Genl Sherman and his staff (Civil War), and during some routine landscaping, I unearthed a fairly large fragment (about5 inches, by 4) of dirty cloth that turned out after cleaning to be dark blue, almost black, with an Illinois button attached. After doing some research, I found that a number of regiments from that state garrisoned the town during that period in 1864. So it does happen.
Mark

[Don Guillermo]

Hola Amigos! I'm speculating preservation might have to do with not only the biosource of the textile fiber, but the nature of the dye used in coloration. Some dyes are antimicrobiol. Exciting would be the prospect of survival of trace biomaterial from the soldier, e.g. blood, saliva, etc. for DNA testing of cultural or family origin. Dios y Libertad.

[tmdreb]

The usual dye for blue in the 19th Century was indigo. Others were used on occasion, but indigo tends to be the most fast (meaning it stays blue) when compared to the others. I am not sure if it has any antimicrobial properties.