Jeff,
You fail to take heed of the evidence of how many became shod along the way. Frederick was cleaned out of clothing and shoes. Only half of Lee’s army was on the field due to straggling, so 100 bodies of 50% is certainly not indicative, not to mention that 20% of those bodies are artillerists, who did not have to walk.
At least three of those bodies are wearing federal gear and most of the bodies, the footwear is not available to view. A very small sample size overall.
Your Northern ragged soldier comparison proves my point, if Northern troops were ragged and barefoot in their own backyard with secure lines of supply, imagine a Southern Army with very tenuous lines of supply. They fought and marched continuously the Spring and Summer of ‘62.
The shoes on the troops in the photos are military and almost identical to each other and certainly not all shop bought. In fact I have documentation that many Southern soldiers bought female shoes from the shops in Frederick, I'm assuming for the loved ones at home.
Very few of the bodies in the photos would be artillerists. The soldiers near the caissons are from Kershaw's Brigade as they fought in this exact area and most are wearing the dark English cloth jackets provided by the Richmond Depot in July and August.
Only one body wears a Federal sack coat,while two others might be wearing Federal overcoats, which was common place, usually worn ove their Confederate issue uniforms, and as for 'a small sample' the evidence provided is for 100% of the photographed bodies. It's surely not a coincidence that nearly all the soldiers are wearing Confederate military clothing, or did the cameraman knowingly only focus on well uniformed bodies?
My point on the 'ragged Yanks' was to prove that, the generally well attired Northerner, could also be mis-identified as 'ragged' by poor civilian observations or were these typical soldier complaints.
Virginia lads certainly looked smart.....
"…We passed through Frederick city on the morning of September 12th 1862, and the Twelfth Virginia made a handsome spectacle…"
Private Philip Francis Brown. Company 'C' 12th Virginia Infantry Regt.
And maybe an answer to the shoeless Reb...
"while our feet were tortured by the heat and dust to such an extent that we were forced to walk in barefeet with shoes tied together, and thrown over our rifle"
Private Philip Francis Brown. Company 'C' 12th Virginia Infantry Regt.
The following list is a small sample of ANV regiments which received 'top up' clothing issues in the few weeks before Antietam, having already received fresh uniforms in June.
8TH ALABAMA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY, AUGUST 1862
ISSUED…89 jackets, 265 pairs pants, 182 pairs shoes,180 cotton shirts, 182 pairs
socks, 260 drawers, 11 caps.
3RD SOUTH CAROLINA INFANTRY
AUGUST 12TH 1862
ISSUED… 296 jackets, 210 pairs pants, 96 pairs shoes.
2ND MISSISSIPPI INFANTRY BATTALION
AUGUST 4TH 1862
ISSUED…160 jackets, 328 pairs pants, 250 drawers
53RD VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY 23RD 1862
ISSUED… 140 jackets, 190 pairs pants, 87 pairs shoes, 190 shirts, 82 pairs socks
8TH FLORIDA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE, JULY 1862
ISSUED…1,005 jackets, 1,005 pairs pants, 892 pairs shoes, 500 linsey shirts, 270 drawers.
22ND GEORGIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY 22nd 1862
ISSUED…100 coats, 250 pairs pants, 90 drawers, 83 shirts.
28TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT )
JULY, AUGUST 1862
ISSUED… 88 jackets, 182 pairs pants, 78 cotton shirts, 34 wool shirts, 36 pairs
socks, 135 drawers, 55 caps, 92 blankets.
56TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY 25TH 1862
ISSUED… 413 jackets, 350 pairs pants, 22 shirts, 12 drawers.
SOUTH CAROLINA PALMETTO SHARPSHOOTERS
JULY 21ST, AUGUST 9TH, SEPTEMBER 4TH/9TH 1862
ISSUED…378 jackets, 37 uniform coats, 420 pairs pants, 8 pairs shoes, 4 pairs boots, 51 shirts, 44 drawers,1 overcoat.
8TH GEORGIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY 17TH – AUGUST 27TH 1862
ISSUED…30 jackets, 46 pairs pants, 276 pairs shoes
3RD ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY, AUGUST 1862
ISSUED…154 jackets, 377 pairs pants, 263 pairs shoes, 441 shirts, 104 pairs socks, 424 drawers, 30 caps.
25TH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE 8TH- AUGUST 23RD 1862
ISSUED…934 jackets, 891 pairs pants, 1,108 pairs shoes, 1,084 shirts, 994 drawers, 934 caps, 48 overcoats, 77 blankets, 40 ponchos.
60TH GEORGIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY 30TH 1862
ISSUED… 141 jackets, 166 pairs pants, 94 pairs shoes, 139 shirts.
2ND VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY 13TH, 30TH, AUGUST 14TH 1862
ISSUED… 13 jackets, 143 pairs pants, 126 pairs shoes, 47 overshirts, 3 undershirts, 87 drawers.
27TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY 11TH – JULY 31ST 1862.
ISSUED…43 jackets, 211 pairs pants, 180 pairs shoes, 22 cotton shirts, 98 overshirts, 138 drawers, 26 pairs socks.
42ND VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY 11TH / 31ST, AUGUST 1ST 1862
ISSUED… 66 jackets, 206 pairs pants, 195 pairs shoes, 115 shirts, 159 pairs socks, 192 drawers, 1 overcoat
37TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER 1862
ISSUED… 34 jackets, 213 pairs pants, 226 pairs shoes, 146 shirts, 246 drawers.
1ST LOUISIANA INFANTRY REGIMENT
AUGUST 14TH 1862
ISSUED...177 jackets, 207 pairs pants, 217 shirts, 213 pairs drawers, 118 caps.
20TH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT
AUGUST 17TH 1862
ISSUED… 361 jackets, 359 pairs pants, 294 pairs shoes, 341 shirts, 339 drawers, 319
caps.
23RD NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT
AUGUST 12TH - 20TH 1862
ISSUED… 355 jackets, 347 pairs pants, 5 pairs shoes, 227 shirts, 240 drawers, 332 caps.
Surely, these uniforms would not have worn out in a few short weeks?