After participating in the filming of a Sharpsburg documentary in 1997
I developed a greater interest in the quality of my impression. As
a result I began researching period materials and sewing garments for myself.
Several members of the unit have asked me for information, advice, or opinions
about uniform materials and colors over the past few months. Those
conversations prompted me to write this article in the behalf that what
I have learned may be useful to many in the 47th.
I
will discuss the subject of uniforms in two parts. In part 1 I will
examine period fabrics, colors, and clothing styles to see what they tell
us about Confederate uniforms. In the second part I will use photographs,
paintings, and contemporaneous descriptions of Confederate troops to see
how these can be used to improve a historical impression. I will
end this article by drawing a few conclusions based on the information
from Parts 1 and 2.
Part 1
In
my opinion some understanding of period fabrics and dyeing methods is required
when trying to make or acquire historically accurate uniforms. Some
fabric terms used generally by reenactors and sutlers had a specific meaning
in the 19th century. For example, the terms jeans, twill, kersey,
and broadcloth denote weave only. The terms have no relation to fiber
content or color. Thus, jeans could be red, or blue, or grey and
woven using wool-wool, wool-cotton, or cotton-cotton fibers. The
same is true for the other fabrics mentioned. Surviving garments
confirm that most jeans material for uniforms was a wool-cotton blend and
most uniform kersys were all wool fabrics.
There
is a widely held but erroneous belief that in the 19th century jeans cloths
was considered to be inferior and that it was cheaper to produce that all
wool fabrics. In fact, jeans woven goods had been known for centuries
to be sturdy and long wearing. The Confederate government and state
quartermaster operations ordered jeans for uniform cloth as much for its
durability as for any other reason. Some manufacturers may have turned
out poor quality material, but the jeans weave was not inherently inferior
to other fabrics. jeans cloth has telltale "right" and "wrong" sides.
This trait can be used to identify jeans in period photographs by observing
the wrong side on turned up trouser cuffs, for example.
Fabric
weave nomenclature is one of the few things that can be used with some
precision when examining Confederate uniforms. When questions of
uniform color, cut, quality, and distribution arise definitive answers
are harder to come by. Here the researcher must rely on types, trends,
and probabilities rather than specifics. Sometimes, as with uniform
colors, there can be wide variations.
During
the war rebs and yanks both spoke of Confederate troops as "butternuts"
and "greybacks" in reference to their uniforms. In my opinion, neither
term applies to a specific color but to a range of hues and shades.
Of the two "butternut" is open to the widest interpretation, and it encompassed
a variety of earth tones from greyish brown to coffee-with-cream (Confederate
Ersatz Latte?) to dusty white. Much of this variety is directly attributable
to the use of natural dye materials and to weak mordants which did not
make many fabrics colorfast. Some reenactors, I think, associate
butternut colors with jeans woven goods and medium, blue-grey, and dark
grey with kersey material. I have not found any evidence that a link
between color and weave existed in the 19th century. Color was a
function or malfunction of dyes not of weave.
As
Arnie and Connie Krochmal point out in their The Complete
Illustrated Book of Dyes from Natural Sources, "...a variety of
shades and sometimes different colors may be obtained from one dye."
They also state that natural dyes are subject to severe fading and bleeding
unless effective mordant are combined with the dyes. Extracts from
the Butternut (Juglans cinerea) tree can be used to produce either grey
or brown dye, and the Krochmals note that it was used extensively in the
Confederacy to dye uniform materials. It is therefore easy to understand
how so many different colors and shades of cloth could be produced just
in the dyeing process. Careful examination of brownish uniform jackets
in the Museum of the Confederacy has shown that some of those garments
were originally grey and faded during the war or in the 135 years since.
The effects of sunlight, rain, and dirt on naturally dyed cloth with indifferent
mordants would result in all kinds of greys and browns and produce the
well know "butternut" appearance.
The
color we think of as "cadet grey" is also open to interpretation.
I believe that this color could be used to describe any medium-to-dark
grey cloth especially if there is a bluish or even greenish cast to the
material. I counted twenty-two different shades of grey fabric in
the pages of Time-Life's
Echoes of Glory: Arms and
Equipment of the Confederacy, and any of them could be called cadet
grey. This shows not only a variation in shade, but it also shows
that much of the fabric obtained by the Confederacy was of very good quality
which held its color.
Uniform
styles were every bit as variable as uniform color. Everyone researching
period uniforms should realize that the system devised to categorize depot
issue uniforms is a modern one and was unknown in the 1860's. In
1987 a former curator of the Museum of the Confederacy organized Confederate
uniforms into broad types based on style, place of issue, and time of issue
to establish point of reference for modern scholars. Designations
such as "Richmond Type 1" or "Richmond Type 2" were not used during the
war. Confederate uniforms were not even made to official patterns
or distributed specifications, according to the Museum of the Confederacy.
The Confederate government purchased uniform fabrics from whomever could
supply the goods and had uniforms made by whomever could cut and sew them.
Obviously manufacturers produced uniform garments based on recognized contemporary
styles. The "roundabout" or shell type jacket, for example, was known
in the War of 1812. Ultimately, the Confederate government was able
to satisfactorily clothe most of its troops, and did manage a uniformity.
This explains why garments issued from the same depot differ in color,
fabric, number of buttons, shape of collar, stitching and so forth.
In
Part 1 I have shown how terminology commonly used in the reenacting community
has a different meaning or was unknown in the 19th century. The separation
of period usage from modern usage is important in the quest for historical
accuracy. Understanding how Confederate uniforms were produced and
procured and how variable these garments tended to be aids the historical
impressionist. Within certain strict limits almost anything goes.
I will present historical evidence that underscores that point in Part
2.
Part 2
Source
materials such as period photographs, contemporaneous descriptions, illustrations,
and paintings are invaluable guides to anyone trying to recreate 19th century
appearance. These materials show Confederate soldiers wearing the
kinds of garments discussed in Part 1 and provide a graphic reference for
those interested in rebel uniforms.
The
Confederate government's struggle to field an army and simultaneously create
the facilities needed to maintain that army is well known. The system
of reimbursement called "commutation" rapidly proved to be a failure, and
uniform procurement in the spring of 1862 was at best uncertain.
The arduous Seven Days, Second Manassas, and Sharpsburg campaigns took
their toll on already worn garments and equipment. By October 1862
Lee had marched his army away from the suburbs of Richmond to western Maryland
and back. It was not until all of this grand maneuvering had stopped
that quartermasters had any hope of adequately resupplying their men.
The Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) in the summer and fall of 1862 was
as ragged as it would ever be in the war. The living historian should
take this into account when developing an 1862 impression. The "Rosenstock"
photograph is an excellent reference source. It shows weary looking
Confederates on the march through Frederick, Maryland, very likely in 1862.
The troops wear frock coats and various shell jackets. Almost all
of them wear slouch hats, and many have bedrolls or knapsacks.
In
three views of the battle of Sharpsburg, Union veteran Captain James Hope
painted rebel infantry and artillerists in butternut uniforms as discussed
in Part 1.
Military
efficiency improved as the ANV got a well earned rest between Sharpsburg
and Fredericksburg. The Confederate government abandoned commutation
and instituted the depot system for central uniform issue at this time.
By the spring of 1863 most units in the ANV received replacement garments
from the Richmond depot, and British Col. Arthur Fremantle's description
of Pender's brigade would be valid for most of the army. Seeing those
troops just before Gettysburg he wrote, "...their clothing is servicable,
so also are their boots. But there is the usual utter absence of
uniformity as to color and shape of their garments and hats; grey of all
shades, and brown clothing, with felt hats predominate."
The
majority of Lee's men would maintain the appearance noted by Freemantle
until the final months of the war. This generic impression is found
in period photographs such as the often reproduced picture of the three
soldiers captured at Gettysburg, and in a superb image of rebs captured
at Cold Harbor. Les Jensen analyzes the Cold Harbor photograph on
pages 74 and 75 of his book about Confederate uniforms. The troops
are seen in frock coats, sack coats, and jackets in many styles, colors,
and materials.
Evidence
related more directly to the units of Field's (Virginia) brigade shows
that the appearance of the 47th and it's sister regiments conforms to the
rest of Lee's army. Photographs of soldiers in the 40th and 55th
Virginia Regiments show everything from over shirts and civilian sack coats
(early war?), to light or medium grey or butternut jackets with or without
darker collars. Allen Redwood, who served in the 55th, left a fine
Richmond depot, cadet grey kersey jacket and blue trousers in the Museum
of the Confederacy. Redwood became a well known artist after the
war. His drawings of the Confederate fighting man found in Battles
and Leaders of the Civil War are worth careful study by anyone
seeking to perfect his impression.
Photographs
of original members of the 47th exhibit the same variety found generally
in the ANV and in Field's brigade. Pictures of four men show four
different uniform styles. Privates G. Newton, W. Hart, and J. Watson
served at least through May, 1864, but there is no indication as to when
their photographs were taken. Newton wears a medium grey or butternut
jacket and vest. Hart appears in a dark, tight fitting, long waisted
jacket or coat and light trousers. Watson wears a medium colored,
grey or brown jacket with a darker collar. His trousers resemble
the jacket in color and fabric. Private Wiley Schools' photograph
shows him in a loose jacket of light cloth with darker collar and cuffs.
His trousers seem to match the jacket.
Reverend
Wayland Dunaway wrote about his war service with the 47th and the 40th
Virginia Regiments in Reminiscences of a Rebel
published in 1913. He made only one comment about uniforms in his
short, but interesting book. Early in the work, prior to the Seven
Days battles, he refers to his company's "neat grey suits." Incidentally,
Dunaway states that his company, L of the 47th, was issued .69 caliber
muskets early in the war, and he mentions the use of knapsacks at least
twice in the book.
The
mass of source material shows that the ANV and most of its regiments were
variously clothed during the course of the war. The information provided
in Parts 1 and 2 is mutually supportive. Surviving uniform examples
exist in a variety of materials and colors. We find Confederate soldiers
wearing exactly those types of garments in period photographs or in contemporaneous
descriptions.
Conclusions
Based
on the information provided in Parts 1 and 2 it is reasonable to state
that the men of the 47th Virginia, like most of the ANV, wore a great variety
of clothing during the course of the war. Many formed with the regiment
in civilian attire until they obtained more military looking garments for
which they were to be reimbursed under commutation. Broadly speaking,
as usual, from summer 1861 to spring 1863 the men of the 47th would likely
be outfitted in uniforms of various materials including jeans, kersey,
and satinette. Probably most of these garments were intended to be
grey but much of the fabric would have faded to shades of butternut.
With the advent of the depot system, the burden of clothing himself was
lifted from the average infantryman and shifted to the government.
Chris Sacash's research has uncovered regular clothing distribution records
for the regiment starting in the spring of 1863. The regiment probably
began to assume a more standard appearance at about this time, but as has
been shown, Confederate standardization allowed for a whole lot of variety.
The
variety, however, should be maintained in a historical context. Synthetically
dyed, poorly cut, modern weave garments do not stand up well when compared
to uniforms made from period materials and patterns. In my opinion,
period style is more important than color or fabric. This stands
out more than any other factor in the period photographs I discussed in
Part 2. It is not the color but the cut of 19th century cloths that
defines Confederate uniform types. As we have seen, just about any
period fabric and color could be used for an individual impression.
A final note on color. I have found no 19th century references to
specific colors such as "Richmond," "Tuscaloosa," or "Confederate," grey.
These sound to me like modern designations hatched when the first reenactors
wiggled from under a rock and began to roam the earth. See y'all
round the fire.
References
Part 1
1. The Watchdog Vol. 7 No. 2 1999, "Jeans? Satinette? Cassimere? What kind of Cloth is It?" Chris White
2. Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy. Time-Life Books. Alexandria, VA 1998
3. Museum of the Confederacy - Uniform Seminar, March 1999
4. The Complete Illustrated Book of Dyes from Natural Sources. A and C Krochmal. Doubleday and Co. 1974
5. Johnny Reb: The Uniform of the Confederate Army. Leslie Jensen. Stockpole Books. 1996
Part 2
1. Johnny Reb: The
Uniform of the Confederate Army. 1861-1865. Les Jensen. Stackpole Books,
Mechanicsburg,
PA.
1996
2. "Dirty, Ragged, and
Ill-provided For", K. Bohannon. The Antietam Campaign. G. Gallagher,
ed. UNC Press,
Chapel
Hill. 1999.
3. The Army of Robert E. Lee. Philip Katcher. Arms and Armour Press. London
4. Echoes of Glory, Time Life
5. The Fremantle Diary. A.J.L. Fremantle. New York. 1954
6.
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War - vols 2 and 3. R. Johson and
C. Buel eds. Thomas Yoseloff. New York.
1956
7. The Virginia Regimental History Series. 40th, 55th, 47th Infantries. H.E. Howard Inc. Lynchburg. VA.
8. Reminiscences of a Rebel. Rev. W. Dunaway. The Neale Publishing Co. New York. 1913.
Conclusion
1. "47th VA Inf. Co. I Uniform Jackets", Chris Sacash. The Wisdom of Sacash Press. whenever.
