Should I get me a pair of Gaiters?

Nope.

Edited to expand on that...

Below are three Confederate soldiers who fought at Lone Jack, MO, Aug. 15-16, 1862. Not MS or TN, but western certainly. When you look like them, maybe you can stick a pair of gaiters packed somewhere in your gear, like I'm sure they do. They just have that look of "You never know when you might need gaiters. Better pack some."
But admittedly, they look a bit like bushwhackers, probably are.

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Source.

Below are some men who are also western, Arkansas soldiers. Maybe you want a dressier look. These guys have it. They apparently forgot to put on their gaiters for the photograph, but you can just tell they have them. They've got that "gaiters are so cool" look, just like long mustaches and carefully tilted hats.

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Source.

If you do a western impression and like gaiters, I'd recommend a Louisiana Zouave regiment, if you can find one to join.



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Then what's the point of having them? I could care less about looking dressy, it's war not a ball. Certainly they have some practical use, I see them worn a lot in WWII along with many other wars.
 
Then what's the point of having them? I could care less about looking dressy, it's war not a ball. Certainly they have some practical use, I see them worn a lot in WWII along with many other wars.
I'd say their major use is to hide anachronistic footwear. Little known fact: about 10 percent of the eastern Confederate army, 3 percent of the western and 1 percent of the trans-Mississippi were time travelers, trying to fit in. Period footwear was hard to get, so they tried to cover what they had as best they could. The other soldiers saw them, tried gaiters because they were curious about the advantages, and soon realized that their positives were: protecting the shoe laces from getting encrusted in mud, keeping mud from getting inside the shoes, preventing thorns from scratching the feet; while their negatives were: they were hot, their laces or fasteners got full of mud, mud got up inside them in the cracks between the shoe; and socks and trousers protected the leg from thorns. When no one else was wearing them, because the time travelers either got better shoes or left, the real soldiers felt silly, felt no need to continue the style, and quit wearing them. The cycle repeated for each subsequent war, the depth of the mud in centimeters in Europe or inches in the US equalling the percent of soldiers who wore them.
 
You shouldn't wear them because the typical soldier didn't. Unless they're appropriate to a specific context (zouaves, etc.).

Fancy dress was very important to Napoleonic tactics- remove close range bayonet charges and thundering Hussars and it no longer matters much how you look. Hence fanciness was considered important at the beginning of the war until they all realized things had changed.

There was also the factor of preparing for every contingency- they carried a good many "necessary" articles they eventually learned were an unnecessary hassle. If a lot of men are growing campaign beards to save time and effort shaving will they still be buttoning on an extra garment "just in case" they have to leave the road today and crash through the brush?

In later wars gaiters had a resurgence because war was more commonly conducted in skirmish fashion through heavy brush. Then they just decided to make army shoes taller.
 
Without knowing more specifics about your impression, the answer is No.

When it comes to gaiters, its all about unit, time and place.

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I can say Army of Tennessee at best, I switch between units, including Union. I just more commonly go with western Confederates. With the 155ths for 1862 battles coming up, I would say the time to be 1862-1865. But I think I have my answer.
 
The thing is the best thing to do is to look at original CDV's to get an idea what the soldier looked like. Gaiters in particular are a unit, time and campaign specific bit of equipment. Frankly, unless you are doing a specific unit that was known to wear gaiters such as a variety of Zouve units. 'Less is more' is a good mantra to go by as a re-enactor or living historian. A good hat, good comfortable brogans and a good firearm are the heart of any impression. Most important though is an understanding of the period. Knowing the difference between a farrier and a blacksmith is vital if that is your civilian persona. If a farmer knowing the crop yields the area you are supposed to be from etc, etc.

There is an entire sub forum titles Impressions: http://civilwartalk.com/forums/impressions-of-the-civil-war.140/

Along with http://civilwartalk.com/forums/period-civil-war-photos-examinations.94/

Some of us have been in the hobby for 15-20 years & more with runnig the gamut from the admitted FARB to self proclaimed campaigners and everything in between.

Go ahead and look through the Impressions sub forum then take some time to go through the period photos. Research, research and when done with that research some more.
 
Thank you all who took the time to explain to a relatively new reenactor.
And thank you for taking it well, as we had a bit of fun answering the question! The serious answer really is, unless you can document it to a specific regiment that you're portraying, it wasn't common in the western theater and you're better off spending your money on something else. Some reenactors used to, and maybe still do, wear them to cover inaccurate shoes. In that case, in particular, better to save up for better shoes.
 
Then what's the point of having them? I could care less about looking dressy, it's war not a ball. Certainly they have some practical use, I see them worn a lot in WWII along with many other wars.
They keep your pant leg from pulling up and exposing your ankle and provide an extra layer of material for you ankles when you're "walking the brush."
 
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