From the Averasboro Battlefield site.
On May 21, 2001, the Averasboro Battlefield Commission was presented a uniform worn by Colonel Thomas James Purdie while a junior officer in Confederate service. His nephew Thomas James Purdie made the presentation on behalf of the Purdie family.
The uniform was made by the Purdie family and had been in many different locations over the years, but now has a permanent home at Averasboro Battlefield in North Carolina.
It consists of a frock, trousers, vest and is accompanied by a medicine chest, valise, sword and a canteen with a bullet hole in it. The last item probably has an interesting story to go with it.
Colonel Purdie was in command of the 18th North Carolina regiment may 2, 1863, when General Jackson was wounded. The next day, he was killed in battle.
The uniform was at the Purdie home from 1861 to 1863, then to the North Carolina Museum of History. Then to Dunn and then Bladen County. In 1976, it was loaned to the Bladen County Historical Society where it remained until the 1990s. During this time it was not cared for.
The Purdie family has been in Harnet County for many years. Family members at the presentation: Thomas James Purdie, John Wesley Purdie, John Alexander Purdie, David Boyce Purdie, Elaine Pudie and Alice Purdie.
The article also has a picture of Col. Purdie, a picture of the uniform and a short history of him.
The Story of a Uniform. --B-R'er
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