On the eve of the American Civil War, the entire source of sack coats for the regular army was the Army Clothing Establishment at Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Schuylkill Arsenal. When President Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 volunteers it became apparent that Schuylkill by itself could not supply the wants of a large volunteer force so more depots began producing. The Federal issue sack coat of the American Civil War is a paradoxical garment. In its day it was inexpensive to manufacture, common in numbers produced, utilitarian, and entirely lacking military panache; in fact, it was rather boring and homely. The jacket was used hard until the fabric was literally worn out, issued out as a second-rate clothing during the Indian Wars.
