Although Confederate quartermaster records may show somewhat uniform issues of clothing items to soldiers in a company - that is, the records may show that most soldiers in a company were issued, say, a jacket and trousers on the same day or during the same week (the records for the Kentucky "Orphan" Brigade do indeed show this) - this does not necessarily mean that all these jackets and trousers came from the same source, or would all necessarily match each other.

However, I do agree with you that it seems logical that maybe *most* of such items issued at the same time would match, or at least be similar. Even though these items may not have come all from the same exact source, they would likely have come from the same depot or depots that supplied the area where the unit was located at that time. So, the clothing items may not have been exact match in pattern, but they would likely have been similar.

I also agree that the patterns made/issued by the Richmond Depot would more likely have been issued to units of the ANV and other units in the Eastern theater, and similar for the patterns that appear to have been made/issued by the Western depots, such as what we now call the Columbus Depot jacket, Atlanta, etc. Eastern theater reenactment units should generally wear Eastern pattern jackets, and same for Western units, with little or no mixing of the types (there would be a few very specific exceptions to this).

Of course, this all depends on the unit as well. In some units, soldiers could get and wear clothing from home, and apparently did so. This would certainly give the company a hodge-podge appearance!

Geoff