Photo Courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.
Sgt. Major Edward D. Robinson
Walter’s Company
1 st Regiment South Carolina Artillery
“Washington Artillery”
Confederate States Army
Edward Robinson, born 1828 in Connecticut, moved to Charleston, South Carolina before the War and worked as a sales clerk for J. E. Adger & Co, Wholesale Hardware Dealers. Residence 54 E. Bay Street, Charleston. Edward had three brothers, each of which served in Connecticut Infantry regiments of the Union Army. Edward enlisted as a private in 1862 in the 1st Regiment S.C. Artillery, “Washington Artillery” . Surrendered with his unit in Greensboro, N.C. as a part of Johnston’s Army of Tennessee. After the war he returned home to Charleston and died in 1904. He is buried at Magnolia Cemetery.
Photo courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.
The uniform appears to resemble the” Charleston pattern” frock coat. Double rows of fourteen union General staff buttons, with ‘Waterbury Button Co” backmarks. The cuffs have the small cuff size general staff buttons. An extremely well conserved , and rare N.C.O. Confederate uniform sewn with federal buttons as opposed to South Carolina state seal or “palmetto” buttons.
Special thanks and credit to The Charleston Museum, www.charlestonmuseum.org , for their kind assistance in providing the photographs and biographical information for this uniform. Jan Hiester was especially helpful in locating the uniform and telling it’s story. Generalstaffbuttons.com thanks you for your interest and willingness to share this priceless piece of history.