1850 – 1860 U.S. Navy Seaman’s Pants

1850 – 1860 U.S. Navy Seaman’s Pants – These early, U.S. Navy seaman’s pants appear to be pre-Civil War era pants, as they are the broad-fall type, not the later iteration of navy pants with a button fly; all of the buttons affixed to these pants are bone, and the buttonholes are hand-whipped. Constructed by a combination of machine and hand work, these pants are made of a heavy, white cotton; the cloth remains strong with some obvious period, service related staining. The bottom, pant leg cuffs flare. The interior lining in the waist area is composed of a lighter weight, finer, white linen. The back size adjustment mode is the early, strands type, where cotton strands are threaded through hand-whipped holes, allowing the wearer to pull the strands to adjust the waist size. There is a more modern, tag affixed to the interior of the pants which appears to be from a costume house. These mid-19^th century, seaman’s pants are extremely difficult to find.