The Alabama in the Civil War Message Board - Archive

Re: 4th AL Cav. Co.E(Roddey's)
In Response To: Re: 4th AL Cav. Co.E(Roddey's) ()

In the "for what it's worth" category, American Military Equipage says that all AL volunteer cavalry, mounted infantry, and partisan ranger units wore CS clothing, "so far as can be determined." That would mean regular clothing issues from the Confederate government, gray uniforms trimmed with yellow (collars, cuffs, and pants stripes). Alabama issued uniforms for some of its units up until early 1862 (generally sewn by local soldiers' aid societies with state-supplied cloth, and printed instructions). But, as Alan indicated, as time progressed and the supply system and old uniforms deteriorated, it's anybody's guess...

You can get descriptions of "regular CS clothing issues" from any of the Civil War uniform books. From American Military Equipage again, it says that there was neither "uniformity [nor] variety in Confederate military dress. Instead there grew up a sort of homogeneous informality and often raggedness among which it was possible to distinguish only the men of one state from those of another, and not always to do this. It should be stressed at the onset that the Southern soldier did not think in terms of 'uniforms' as much as of 'clothing'.... A Confederate regiment drawn up in line in early 1861 would have presented a bizarre appearance by today's standards -- each company with its own uniform and flag.... This variety within a single regiment is why, most probably, so little data on Confederate uniforms has come down to us.... By the time standardization had set in, shortages of supply had also arrived and the variety continued for other reasons."

"The cut and color of Confederate clothing were being determined, first by the companies as they formed individually, next by the several Southern states as they took over the burden of clothing procurement for their own regiments, and finally by the Confederate War Department. The tardiness of publication [of CS dress regulations], the expensive character of the uniforms prescribed, and the fact that the general government could not take over any serious issue of clothing until late in 1861 makes it difficult to believe that many Southern enlisted men wore th[e] official uniform.... On the other hand, the [CS] regulations did accomplish several things. They established branch colors, insignia of rank, and the patterns of buttons. They set the style of the uniform of the Confederate officer and, above all, they made gray the official color of the upper garment in contrast with the dark blue being specified about the same time in the North."

"As the war drew on and as the blockade tightened, the South was forced more and more to resort to emergency measures. One such as the increasing use of a dye made of copperas and walnut hulls, producing a color called 'butternut.' With this was stained much of the woolen and cotton clothing worn by Confederates, until the men themselves came to be called 'butternuts.' In some units the wearing of butternut jackets and sky blue trousers became accepted as the official uniform."

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4th AL Cav. Co.E(Roddey's)
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