Pre WWI M1902 Mess Dress Uniform; 20th Regt, US Cavalry Corps • Border War 1916

Description

Pre WWI M1902 Mess Dress Uniform; 20th
Regiment,
U.S. Cavalry Corps;
circa 1916.
For your consideration is this U.S. Model 1902 Officers Mess Dress Uniform Coat & Vest.
This M1902 Mess Dress uniform is an extremely rare piece.
This beauty is a finely tailored tunic specially made for Major Edgar W. Burr of Missouri right after his appointment to the 20th U.S. Cavalry Regiment as a First Lieutenant.
Identified
Edgar W. Burr, 20th U.S. Cavalry Regiment. Edgar W. Burr was born 3 June 1886 in Missouri. He was appointed Second Lieutenant of the 9th U.S. Cavalry on 1 July 1916. He was appointed First Lieutenant of the 20th U.S. Cavalry on 25 August 1917. The 20th Cavalry was redesignated the 78th Field Artillery on 17 November 1917. Edgar W. Burr was a Captain at the time.
There are federal records that indicate Captain Burr was Unassigned Cavalry. January 1918 he was assigned to a Field Artillery replacement camp.
Edgar W. Burr retired as a Major from the U.S. ARMY.
He passed away 28 June 1926. He was laid to rest in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California.
M1902 Special Dress Uniform Description
:
This piece is made of a fine dark blue wool with a silk lining. There are 2 period bullion shoulder knots. This tunic has 7, 7/8”, rimless “Great Seal” buttons. There is a gold chain that hangs from one of the buttons. It’s supposed to connect to another button. The 8th button is missing, but easily replaceable.
This tunic has a 20 over 2 crossed sabers made of gold bullion wire on each cuff. This is representative of the 20th U.S. Cavalry Regiment. There’s also 2 Austrian Knots of each sleeve made of silk bullion.
The tunic includes a white linen vest that has 4, 5/8”, rimless Great Seal” buttons. This piece also has 2 white formal dress gloves.
Rarity
This piece is extremely rare due to several factors.
1) This is a 100+ year old wool piece without mothing.
2) The US ARMY was extremely small during the US/Mexican Border War leading up to WWI. The Cavalry was only 1/5th of the US ARMY in 1916. The U.S. only had a combined total of 15,424 Cavalry men.
3) This particular type of uniform was very specialized and only used by a small amount of Officers during this period. Since Cavalry was only 1/5th of the Army means that this uniform type is extremely hard to find.
These 3 aspects combine together to make a rarity on this uniform. Adding that this tunic is identified adds an additional value.
Condition
This is truly museum quality. The only issues are that there is a 7/8” Rimless “Great Seal” button and 2, 5/8” Rimless “Great Seal” threaded buttons for the shoulder boards are damaged. The threaded piece is there, yet the button cap is missing from the threaded piece.
This Uniform includes
1) M1902 Mess Dress Tunic
2) M1902 Mess Dress vest
3) Gold Bullion Shoulder Boards
4) M1902 ARMY Dress White Gloves
20th U.S. Cavalry Regiment
Constituted on 1 July 1916 and organized 1 June 1917 at Fort Riley, Kansas, the 20th Cavalry was formed from elements of the 13th Cavalry. Such a lineage is enshrined in the unit crest, the numeral 13 in the blazing sun. In November 1917, the 20th Cavalry was re-designated and reformed as the 78th Field Artillery Regiment and assigned to support the 6th Infantry Division. On the crest's wreath of red and gold, the 6 pointed star charged with the number 78 represents the 6th Infantry's insignia and its relationship to the Regiment. Battle participation in Europe was limited and the regiment was inactivated following World War I. The field of the unit crest is red for Artillery. The gold billets are from the coat of arms of Franche-Comté, the area where the 78th Field Artillery Regiment was located during World War I. Beneath the crest is a Scroll with the motto SEMEL ET SIMUL meaning "At Once and Together".
In 1940 the unit was activated as the 78th Field Artillery Battalion, part of the 2nd Armored Division. Re-designated the 78th Armored Field Artillery Battalion in 1942, the unit participated in the campaigns for Algeria-French Morocco, Sicily, Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and the Rhineland.
In 1957 in Germany the regiment was relieved of assignment from the 2nd Armored Division and each of its six batteries were reorganized into separate battalions.
A Battery was re-designated as the 1st Battalion, 78th Artillery remained on assignment with the 2nd Armored Division.
B Battery was re-designated as the 2nd Battalion, 78th Artillery was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division and later the 1st Armored Division.
C Battery was re-designated as the 3rd Battalion, 78th Artillery was withdrawn from the Regular Army and allotted to the Army Reserve's 90th Infantry Division, later inactivated on 31 December 1965.
D Battery was re-designated as the 4th Battalion, 78th Artillery was withdrawn from the Regular Army and allotted to the Army Reserve's 102nd Infantry Division, later inactivated on 31 December 1965.
E Battery was re-designated as the 5th Battalion, 78th Artillery was assigned to 194th Armored Brigade, later inactivated on 18 May 1970.
F Battery was re-designated as the 6th Battalion, 78th Artillery was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division, later inactivated on 25 July 1968.
On 1 September 1971 the 78th Artillery was re-designated the 78th Field Artillery under the Combat Arms Regimental System.
In October 1988 1st and 2nd Battalion, 78th Field Artillery were inactivated, however shortly thereafter in February 1989 the 1st Battalion, 78th Field Artillery was reactivated and transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma under US Training and Doctrine Command where it continues a distinguished legacy in the conduct of Initial Entry Training