The Federal sack coat — the loose, four-button, dark blue blouse this figure wears — was made at Schuylkill Arsenal in Philadelphia and four other Federal clothing depots through the war. It was the utilitarian opposite of the frock coat: shorter, cheaper, looser, easier to fit, and unimpressive on parade. Soldiers preferred it for marching and field service because the long frock skirt was hot and snagged on brush. Quartermasters preferred it because it required less cloth and less tailoring. By 1862 the sack coat had become the everyday field uniform of most Federal volunteer regiments, and unused postwar stocks were issued out as second-rate clothing on the Western frontier through the 1870s.

This W. Britain figure depicts a Federal infantryman in the regulation kneeling-fire position, sack coat and forage cap — the everyday Federal field uniform from 1862 onward. Right knee on the ground, left knee raised to support the left elbow, rifle musket leveled and steady. The four-button sack coat, light blue trousers, and dark forage cap were the most common Federal infantry uniform of the second half of the war, replacing the longer frock coat for most volunteer regiments by 1863. The cartridge box and brass U.S. plate are visible on his belt. The figure works as the front rank of a two-rank firing line for a diorama, paired with the brigade's standing figures. Pair this figure with Federal in Frock Coat Standing Firing No.3 for a frock-coat-and-sack-coat firing line; with Col. Henry A. Morrow as the regimental commander; or with Maj. Gen. Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker, the army commander who restored uniform discipline across the Army of the Potomac.

Scale: 1/30 (60mm). Matte-painted metal. W. Britain model 31433. From the American Civil War range. Single foot figure, supplied painted and ready for display.