Longstreet Gray/Blue Uniform in movie Gettysburg

ferrissteve1

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Oct 5, 2018
So I've been a fan of the movie Gettysburg since I first saw it as a kid. I've always been a fan of the look of Longstreet's uniform throughout the film. I was hoping to get some insight as to what shade of gray or maybe even Federal 'Sky Blue' would be the closest match that I could order a jacket in? OR is this a somewhat of a grail hunt for an elusive color that may or may not exist or I would just have to get lucky? My other initial thought was that it was overly color corrected in post-production, however, even production photos indicate a heavy Bluish color of the uniform. It also seems to be a color used throughout in Gods & Generals as well. I do apologize if this has topic has been beaten to death elsewhere....I'm brand new here...so be gentle. :smile:
Thanks to all that reply.
 
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Interesting question, but why do you think Longstreet's uniform is not the shade of gray favored by many or most senior Confederate officers? Grays come in many shades and some tend to be light gray, some are dark gray, and some shades of gray have a blue tint. To understand the shade of gray worn by Confederate officers one need to get beyond Cadet gray.
 
Interesting question, but why do you think Longstreet's uniform is not the shade of gray favored by many or most senior Confederate officers? Grays come in many shades and some tend to be light gray, some are dark gray, and some shades of gray have a blue tint. To understand the shade of gray worn by Confederate officers one need to get beyond Cadet gray.

I don't think its a common shade of Gray but perhaps a limited edition color made exclusively for the film. But that aside I'm trying to determine what the closest color recommendation would be from those of you that are familiar with the Wools used within the industry (reenactment, film, theatre etc). I've checked out the wardrobe/costume managers from the film, but wasn't able to find any tangible leads, and I'm currently having an email exchange with Fred Adolphus regarding this as well. So I'm certainly trying to find out as much as I can. I've been out of the 'scene' as it were for nearly 20 years hence why I'm trying to obtain some additional information through this forum.
 
That looks pretty good !! I found the following picture on the General Longstreet Headquarters website. The gentlemen on the Right has the color of gray that seems to be the closest I've seen to what I'm looking for? Any idea what shade or color it might be? I compared it the screenshot posted earlier and man its close !!
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Hello @ferrissteve1.
Welcome to CivilWarTalk.

The color of the Confederate General Officer's uniforms in that movie was authentic.
But I can't say that for the fake Hollywood facial hair.

:D

All officers were responsible for purchasing their individual uniforms.
Both Union & Confederate.

With that said, the ranking officers had access to much higher quality material than what was available
to the average private, waiting on a mass produced uniform.


 
I see. Well its look I'm on the hunt for a French Light Blue Wool. Does anyone have an idea of a custom shop/tailor and or sutler that might have this particular color (or close too it) ?
I really appreciate all the help everyone has been with trying to track this down.
 
Welcome to the forum @ferrissteve1 Are you looking to make an officer's uniform? The officer's jackets were a blue/gray high grade wool that was privately purchased. If you are looking to make one I'd try contacting Dave Wambaugh at wwandcompany.com or B&B Tart. They are about the best in the business for uniforms and fabrics.
 
Update: Just thought I'd let you know that I managed to track down the color and shade I was after. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Very much appreciated.
 
If your ever in Gettysburg, I believe I saw Longstreet's ( Tom Berenger ) frock coat at the Farnsworth Tavern in the case with all the other movie props.
 
Thanks for the heads up....its been years since I've been up that way. But next time I make the sojourn I'll certainly keep an eye 0pen for it.
 
A sidenote. At Gettysburg, Longstreet wore a kepi, not a hat as portrayed in the movie. The hat was Tom Berengers idea. Renowned kepi maker Greg Starbuck made a correct Longstreet kepi for the movie, and got somewhat offended when Berenger insisted on wearing a hat. At least so I was told by some reenactors who participated in the movie.
 
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