Hi mccook,
Thank you for a very interesting question!
The Civil War Uniforms
http://www.newgenevacenter.org/america/civil_war/1861-2.htm
"At the beginning of the War, the American regular army was quite
small. There were however, numerous state militias. These were the
mainstay of the army in its first days--both North and South.
At the Battle of Manassas/Bull Run in July, considerable confusion
existed once the armies met in close combat--because of the diversity
of the uniforms worn by the various state militias. Most of the
regular Army remained with the North and its navy blue uniforms
continued as the identifying color of the regular Union army. But the
state militia uniforms were mixtures of navy blue, light blue, grey,
green, red--on both sides. Confederate militias tended to favor the
popular grey worn in the military academies by the cadets. But the
New York militia was also decked out in the same grey. The confusion
proved deadly.
As a result of this confusion, the South put the Dress Regulations
into effect in September, whereby all Confederate troops were to wear
the grey uniforms: jackets, trousers, caps and greatcoats. Soon
thereafter, the New York militia felt compelled to re-uniform itself
with the navy blue colors of the North's regular army.
In time, light-blue trousers began to replace the navy blue trousers
of the Union army--fairly widely so, although the superior officers
tended to stay with the all-navy uniform. At the same time these same
light-blue trousers made their way into the Confederate armies as the
Confederate soldier's trousers wore out and the only available
replacements were those seized in a raid on Union supplies--or even,
when things got truly desperate, those stripped off dead Union troops.
Indeed, the problem of resuppling new or replacment clothing became
critical to the South. The blockade had deprived it of imported
cloth--a major problem for a society that produced enormous amount of
cotton, but principally for export to clothing mills found in the
North or in England. Homespun uniforms, dyed with rust or acorn
juices to an earth-colored tan or "butternut," thus rather rapidly
replaced the imported grey cloth worn by the Confederate soldier in
the early years of the war. Indeed, by the end of the war, any
clothing that was still fit to wear became the "uniform" of the
Confederate soldier."
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Uniforms of the Civil War - by Wayne
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/civilwar/uniforms.htm
After the fall of Fort Sumter, the United States War Department was
unable to make enough uniforms fast enough. The northern states were
told to dress their own companies. Some states could not get enough
dark blue cloth. Some of the blue cloth faded to gray when the dye
washed out. Many soldiers were given gray over shirts until the blue
coats could be made.
New York was able to give all soldiers a dark blue woolen jacket with
8 state seal buttons. But when the war lasted longer than people
expected, the factories ran out of dark blue cloth. They gave out
7,300 gray jackets to the soldiers, but soon found that there was a
problem on the battlefields. Soldiers were being fired at by other
Union soldiers. By 1862, Maine, Vermont, and Wisconsin were told to
stop giving out gray uniforms. They could still design their own style
jackets but they had to use dark blue cloth. That is why there were
uniforms in many different styles.
It was in 1862 that the Union Army made strict rules about uniforms.
Uniform coats and jackets were made of dark blue material. Pants were
also dark blue. Later that year the government examined all uniforms
that came from the factories. They stamped them to make them official
before they were given to the troops.
When the Civil War started in 1861, the Confederate Army did not have
one style of uniform for all soldiers. A few states had dress
regulations but most governors let each company pick their own style.
At the start of the war many volunteers left home wearing their own
clothes. The army could not make enough uniforms. Some soldiers wore
dark blue clothes. That is the color the Union soldiers wore so there
was a lot of confusion. Their own men during the Battle of Shiloh
fired at some soldiers.
At first uniforms were made of undyed wool. When dye was used the
colors faded quickly because the vegetable dye was weak. Many uniforms
turned a light brown color.
Some states followed state regulations. They were Mississippi, North
Carolina, and Georgia. The Louisiana Brigade of 3,000 soldiers took
pride in their look. They wore coats and jackets made in England.
In Alabama, the governor had a factory make the first gray uniforms.
Their soldiers wore short gray tunics with green trim. Pants were
light blue for enlisted men and dark blue for high-ranking officers.
By the end of the war most southern states had their soldiers wearing
these gray uniforms."
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Best regards,
tlspiegel |
