Lieutenant colonels

Military Images, May/Jun 2003

Both colonels and lieutenant colonels wore three stripes of lace on their cuffs, as did majors. By regulation the first star on the collar was to be placed three quarters of an inch from the front, and each star thereafter was to be equally spaced. Each individual star was to be one and a quarter of an inch in exterior diameter.

In fact, a wide variety of stars existed with such noted officers as E.P. Alexander even preferring metal stars that were pinned to the collar of his uniform rather then embroidered stars. Indeed, Lieutenant Colonel Minor Meriwether, an officer of engineers, had stars on the collar of the coat that his wife made him that were cut out of silver quarters by a local jeweler in 1862.