John L. Perkins enlisted in 1861 and was mustered into service on September 24, 1861 as a member of Company D, Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania. Perkins served with the regiment until December 29, 1862 when he was discharged from service for physical disability. Perkins’ jacket is well preserved and an excellent example of the first jackets provided the regiment, this one being most likely of Rockhill and Wilson origin. It differs from John Cook’s jacket in a few ways- there is more hand sewing present in the body and lining and the tail of the jacket has a slight point at the bottom center. The jacket has a three piece body with four piece lining made of a heavy twill material, similar to the satinette found of Cook’s garment. There is a pocket in the left breast between the padding and jacket body. Unlike Cook’s, the buttons are all present on Perkins’ jacket, 5/8″ dome buttons with 16 per lapel.

 CREDITS:

The source information on this page is from notes and photographs provided through the courtesy of Michael J. McAfee, Curator of History, West Point Museum, West Point, New York. 2008. I gratefully acknowledge the courteous assistance of Michael and his staff with this project.