Detroit made uniforms.

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Aug 25, 2012
At the start of the war Michigan assumed the responsibility of providing her regiments with uniforms when those regiments muster in to federal service. No Michigan Militia uniforms were worn outside of Michigan, with the exception of a few militia companies that wore their old militia uniforms when the joined out of state regiments. Detroit tailors made up 37,598 uniforms for the first few Michigan regiments. By 1862 the Federal Government took over the responsibility of providing uniforms for Michigan regiments mustering in. George W. Lee the U.S. Army Quartermaster Department’s representative in Detroit contracted with Detroit tailors to provide 11,868 of those uniforms in 1861 -1862, with the remainder of the uniforms coming from out of state. I believe that once the Federal Government took over suppling uniforms that Detroit tailors made uniforms of the normal Federal styles. I would love to hear from anyone who knows anything different.
 
Major Bill, I think we touched on this before, but the 3rd Michigan Infantry was issued gray uniforms, right? Were these uniforms made by the same tailors who made the uniforms for the 1st and 2nd Michigan Infantry regiments?
 
No, the contracts for the uniforms for the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment was awarded to Lewis Porter. He was not only a local Grand Rapids clothing merchant but also politically well-connected being a former Senator. From what I can tell Porter was not a merchant tailor and may have sold clothing made by others (note he is referred to as a clothing merchant and not a merchant tailor). Lewis Porter apparently had the uniforms made in Cincinnati Ohio; the uniforms were also reported to have been made up in either Detroit or Grand Rapids. The Porter supplied uniforms included gray satinet roundabout jackets, gray pants and gray overcoats with ‘jaunty little’ gray caps. I have seen two photographs of these gray uniforms and a possible third photograph of them.

One of the photographs of Company I show three brothers in gray jackets which closed with ten gilt buttons. These jackets had shoulder epaulettes with small gilt buttons near the neck. The sleeve cuffs lacked either buttons or trim. The jackets had unadorned standing collars. Gray trousers were worn, apparently without seam stripes for sergeants and corporals The gray forage caps had a metal “I” for I Company centered at the front of the cap.

Another photograph shows a fourth brother in a very similar uniform. I am still up in the air on the number of buttons he wear but believe he had ten buttons. Because of his equipment I think he wears ten buttons, but this is not certain.

A third photo is of the regimental band in similar grey uniforms. The pre war Michigan Regimental band from that area wore gray uniforms, but their uniforms were said to be well rimed and the gray uniforms in the photo are very plain.

The federal government sent 25 cases of arms for the 3rd Infantry Regiment. They received 204 rifled muskets and 760 smooth bore muskets. It appears the flank companies were armed with the rifled muskets.

Their gray uniforms wore out quickly and before the 3rd Michigan participated in the Bull Run campaign their uniforms were being replaced. The regiment was said to wear uniforms of every color of the rainbow. In truth this was probably just gray, blue and black. But it is uncertain which items of blue or black they received. The federal government was issuing black, brown and other colors of trousers and this regiment may have received some of these.
 
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