Description
This is a stellar example of a pure regulation Civil War Confederate Medical Officer kepi likely manufactured in Richmond, Virginia, in 1864. The body is made of regulation “cobalt” broadcloth grade wool and the base is trimmed in black (for Medical Officer). The lining is an off yellow silk and has been heavily nibbled on by insects, but the body is in remarkable condition overall. The cap has bullion braided brass quatrefoil on the top and sides and one original button remains, which is a script “I” Infantry type. The chinstrap is decorative and made of brass braided bullion, as is typical on regulation officer caps. Very, very few of this pattern are known to exist and this one came directly from a family member many decades ago. Absolutely a museum and investment grade item. The family provided copies of photographs of Lewis and his wife as well as transcriptions of many of his wartime letters, but wanted to keep the originals. All copies are included with the cap. Below is a general history on the service of Dr. Lewis but much more research can be done on this man! The image of him in later life was found on the internet while doing research.
Residence Richmond, Virginia ; Enlisted on 12/15/1864 at Richmond, VA as Assistant Surgeon.
On 12/15/1864 he was commissioned into Field & Staff CS Medical Staff .
He was listed as: POW 4/3/1865 Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond, Virginia
Other Information: Died 11/17/1917 in Washington, DC ; Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA; Gravesite: Confederate Section SITE 40-A
(Post war, commissioner for marking Confederate graves in the North). Author of “The Treatment of Prisoners-of-War 1861-1865”. “Over 12% Confederate soldiers died in Northern prisons. Less than 9% Federal (Unionist) prisoners died in Southern prisons, the South held 270,000 Federal (Unionist) soldiers as prisoners-of-war.” Washington, DC, Samuel E. Lewis, MD, Late Ass’t. Surgeon, CSArmy. Richmond, Va., Wm. Ellis Jones, 1910. 8vo, 16pp. Head: The Confederate Memorial Literary Society, Richmond, Virginia. After the War he lived in Richmond, VA & Washington, DC
Location: Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, Va.)
Background, Capt. Samuel Lewis:
Assistant Surgeon with the Army of the Confederate States of America. After the War, he resumed his medical practice in Washington, D.C. He was elected Commander of Charles Broadway Rouss Camp No. 1191 of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV).
Contents of records on file in archives:
Correspondence, notes, real property records, and other papers relating to Lewis’s service in Medical Dept. of Confederate Army, practice as a physician and pharmacist in Washington, D.C., and activities as member and officer of various Confederate veterans’ organizations, including local and national societies of United Confederate Veterans and Association of Medical Officers of the Army and Navy of the Confederacy; together with materials concerning the reburial of Confederate dead in Arlington National Cemetery, identification and marking of Confederate graves in northern cemeteries, and the history of Confederate battle flags and official seals.
