Accompanied by a handwritten note as found within the jacket's pocket that states: "Hunters Rebel/coat he wore in Morgan Command/for [remaining text absent]." The jacket was identified to Hunter B. Swager (1840-1873) and was originally sold by Swaggers descendants. Morgan would be General John Hunt Morgan, famous for his over 1,000 mile raid into Ohio and Indiana in June and July of 1863 striking fear into the entire Northern population. An identical jacket is seen in the image of the portrait of Kentuckian Thomas Bronston Collins of F Company, 11th Kentucky Cavalry at the Kentucky Military History Museum. Collins also participated in the legendary Morgan Raid, one of the most well-known events of the Civil War. An article in the Daily Ohio Statesman the day after Swager's capture at Canton, Kentucky, on August 22, 1864, suggests he was captured with a group of men under Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson who commanded a brigade under Morgan and was not captured during Morgan's raid unlike Morgan and many of the other raiders. The provenance along with much of Swager's biography is laid out in the included research file (based largely on period records including copies of NARA files) which provides the following information; He was the brother of the great-great-grandmother of the women who sold the jacket. (it being acquired and sold by a well-known Civil War Dealer some years ago). Swager served initially with Co. H of the 1st Kentucky Infantry as a private starting on June 2, 1861 until he mustered out on May 14, 1862. He is also recorded in Co. H of the Virginia 1st State Line, which was organized in late 1862 and consisted of both infantry and cavalry companies. He is then listed as in Co. D of the 45th Virginia Infantry Battalion in Logan County, West Virginia, on July 9, 1863. He is listed as sick in Tazewell Country, West Virginia, since December 9, 1863, per an April 1, 1864, roster. He was listed as a member of Company H of the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry when he was captured at Canton, Kentucky, on August 22, 1864, and initially sent to Louisville, Kentucky, and then on to Chicago in late November 1864. He took the oath of allegiance at Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois on March 11, 1865. Swager is recorded as having claimed to be loyal to the Union in December 1864 and to have been forced into Confederate service. He died from heart disease on April 26, 1873, at the age of just 32. His uniform may have been given to his father and then to his sister. His brother, Charles Moore Swager (1842-1871), served in the 1st and 2nd Kentucky Infantry as well as the Confederate Retributors Infantry and was wounded multiple times, captured, escaped upon arrival at Camp Douglas, joined the Confederate Secret Service in Canada and participated in the famed St. Albans raid into Vermont. He later studied law, served as a consular agent in France for the U.S. after the war, then went into banking in Louisville before returning to France during the Franco-Prussian War during which he was severely wounded by a shell that hit his bedroom, and died from complications from the wound. The basic design of this shell jacket is similar to other jackets worn by Confederate troops during the war but is of higher quality construction and better design than a standard issued uniform and most surviving examples. Note that both the fancier pocket and the brass stud "battle beads" on the sleeves are essentially identical to the example in the portrait noted above. Battle bead jackets (of which there are very few known to exist) are among the most desirable and distinctive of Confederate cloth. Higher quality uniforms like these were issued earlier in the war and were also privately purchased by some men and units. As the war went on, uniforms became more spartan and were quickly and cheaply made, making high quality examples like this especially desirable and extremely rare. It is approximately 19 inches long in the front not including the short stand collar and has approximately 24 inch long sleeves that are rather wide, gray woolen fabric exterior, 18 brass balls/studs on the outer edge of the bottom of the sleeves, white trim, a rather fancy scalloped pocket on the left side with a fabric covered button, hook and eye closure at the collar, nine button holes down the left, brass front buttons with anchors and "C&C BEST QUALITY" on the back, black internal canvas with numerous lines of brown stitching, and tan linen sleeve lining.

Very fine with faint staining and fading of the fabric, a few small tears on the lining, minor moth holes, two front buttons absent, loose pocket button, and surprisingly little wear. This is a very attractive example of a rare Confederate jacket identified as worn by a soldier from the border state of Kentucky who was captured during guerrilla warfare between Union and Confederate soldiers in his home state. Museum quality. One of the finest Confederate Uniform pieces known.