This dark blue frock coat was worn by David Moore; it has fourteen brass eagle buttons on front and three on each sleeve. Epaulettes on each shoulder have an embroidered eagle, which denotes the rank of colonel, and light blue backgrounds, denoting infantry.
Colonel Moore organized the First Northeast Missouri Home Guards in 1861 by order of General Nathaniel Lyon; Moore was elected its colonel, and led the command at the Union victory at Athens, Missouri on August 5, 1861. That fall Moore was engaged in recruiting in northeast Missouri, near Memphis in Scotland County, and Keokuk, Iowa; his regiment was also involved in several skirmishes with guerrillas and rebel groups throughout the area. In February 1862, the First and Second Northeast Regiments were merged into the 21st Missouri Volunteer Infantry under the command of Colonel Moore.
During the Battle of Shiloh, Colonel Moore was wounded three times and lost his right leg. After recuperating for 90 days Moore returned with a wooden leg to command of the 21st Missouri Infantry until his enlistment expired on February 11, 1865.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30146
