Confederate uniforms at the fall of Vicksburg.

By the end of the siege they didn't have water to spare for washing uniforms and their daily rations were so short,they didn't have spare energy for washing clothes.
 
May I please ask what your source is for the statement "Waul's Texas Legion, while station at Fort Pemberton, were issued undyed wool uniforms in Feb and March 1863" ?

I am interested in Waul's Legion and would like to know the source.
In an article by Fred Adolphus in The Confederate Veteran, Sept-Oct 1992, "Drab: The Forgotten Confederate Color", he says the following, although he doesn't list a source:

"In Mississippi, in the area around Vicksburg, there were extensive issues of white uniforms. Waul's Texas Legion, stationed at Fort Pemberton on the Tallahatchie River near Greenville, was issued uniforms of undyed wool in February or March 1863. The uniforms were described as being '...a light greyish tan but would soon take the color of Mississippi mud.'"​

The article can be downloaded on his website.

He also has a more extensive article on undyed Confederate uniforms here, though no mention of Waul's Legion:
http://adolphusconfederateuniforms.com/the-souths-white-uniforms.html
 
Also to add, this jacket was worn by Pvt. Michael Jackson Jones in the 1st/4th Missouri Infantry when he was wounded at Champion Hill. His daughter later donated it to the Vicksburg NMP in 1956. It's believed to be a Columbus Depot jacket, though may actually be of Mississippi manufacture. Natural gray wool yarn on a brown cotton warp cloth.

tumblr_mmc9h6Mhxc1rd3evlo1_640.jpg

http://thecivilwarparlor.tumblr.com/post/49705918246/confederate-uniform-coat-of-gray-wool-with-blue
https://www.authentic-campaigner.com/articles/walden/cdjacket.htm

In his history of the 1st Missouri Brigade, Robert S. Bevier says that in December 1862 they were "clothed in new uniforms of gray striped by blue."

In his diary, Lt. George W. Warren, 5th Missouri Infantry, recorded that in January 1863 "there was a suit of uniform issued to every man in the Briggade [sic]. Grey Pants, grey Jackets & grey Caps. The collars & cuffs of the Jackets are trimmed [sic] with light blue."
 
In his diary, Lt. George W. Warren, 5th Missouri Infantry, recorded that in January 1863 "there was a suit of uniform issued to every man in the Briggade [sic]. Grey Pants, grey Jackets & grey Caps. The collars & cuffs of the Jackets are trimmed [sic] with light blue."

Thanks for this @AUG! How might one access Warren’s entire diary?
 
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Thanks for this @AUG! How might one access Warren’s entire diary?
His diary and letters are in the possession of one of his descendants, George W. Warren IV, but I don't think they've ever been published in their entirety. He is quoted extensively in Bevier's postwar history of the brigade, as well Gottschalk's and Tucker's modern brigade and regimental histories, which is where I got the above quote from.
 
I will dig up accounts and documents tomorrow but the supply at Vicksburg is misunderstood. Units in the MO Brigade were drawing uniforms at the CO level from May -July. There is also an account about their appearance as well. I will post more tomorrow.
 
I will dig up accounts and documents tomorrow but the supply at Vicksburg is misunderstood. Units in the MO Brigade were drawing uniforms at the CO level from May -July. There is also an account about their appearance as well. I will post more tomorrow.
Please do!! I look forward to it!!
 
The MO troops were received issues of clothing at the CO level during Vicksburg. They had also received uniforms as mentioned above. To understand the appearance of the troops you must understand what they were doing. They were not as destitute as one might think, more dirty than anything. Units inside the works were being rotated from positions and spending extended periods of time in the ditches, and digging and repairing works. This is dirty work, now add 40 + days of this, you will look dirty and worn because you would be. However the imagination of rags is a little misleading. Vicksburg was a large hub for the CS in Mississippi and was home to several storage depots before the siege. So supplies were there, however rationing was needed as they were attempting to hold out as long as possible with a unknown end date. So food was there just rationed. Below I will put some excerpts from a few sources. Then I will make a post showing unit requisitions.





Leach, John Miller Duay

CO A 6th MO Infantry



"June 6 - we have been in the ditches since the 28th Shooting all day and digging all night has been our employment.



Our rations ever since we have been in here have been reduced to one half.



June 8 Our rations have been reduced to one fourth which is quite small, though I hear no one complain.



June 10 I bought a very small piece of rice bread to day for one dollar and eat it with some sugar which is sixty cents per pound.



June 11 Another rain fell last night, I stretched my blanket over a pole and gathered some leaves for a bed and lay down and slept sweetly all night.



June 20 In the evening just as we received our grub, we were called into line in a few minutes



June 26 We have been besieged now for forty days. To day bids fare to be warm as any previous one.



July 3 It is also said we have drawn our last bacon, some have been eating mule for several days. A major had a,horse killed the other day and his men cooked and ate him.



July 4 we have ate all our provisions and there is nothing left for us to do but to surrender.



Then we marched our side of the works to stack arms and colors. Our regiment marched out in front this done we went to camp.



From the fact we were worn down with marching and hungry. When it is tried for forty -seven nights it will bring the stoutest man down to be weak. O had fallen off twenty pounds myself and yet I was as stout as any. At least better than the common class. You may judge how we are at this time, weak, hungry and dirty, yet when they came into town I heard them say that we were cleaner than they expected to see us."

CO D 6th MO requisition June 30th 63 at Vicksburg

Screenshot_2018-12-27-09-21-40.png
 
In order to get a grasp on what uniforms were possibly seen, you would need to start a unit by unit search, to see where the stores at Vicksburg were coming from, or where they drew/issued at.

There was a large supply from Columbus GA in early 63, which there are reports of gray uniforms some trimmed in blue with gray and light blue pants. You have Montgomery and Mobile sending goods into Miss as early as April May 62, you have the factories in Miss also producing goods, as well as Shreveport and Houston, though the majority of their stuff was staying west, however goods were still being sent from there, which was one of the main reasons for holding Vicksburg to try and keep a supply base going.

By this point most units were drawing from the Government with AL still producing uniforms for their units both east and west as well as enough to provide for the government as well. You have miss, AR, LA, and TX providing cloth ranging from white to brown jeans, plains, tabby etc. There were still donated items, however you mainly see donated items in the form of socks, shoes, blankets, shirts.

If one has further interest in nailing down documents. I suggest a fold3 account. Then find the AQM for the units there, and see what is in their files, also look into company commanders and above for requisitions such as the one found in the file of the commander of D CO 6th MO. You see similar requisitions during the same time period in other companies.

Also AL and GA were producing dyed cloth of gray and natural undyed gray cloth meaning the color of the sheep. The Appler pants were once dyed gray, but due to the dying process used fades etc. There is a thread regarding white uniforms on this site that already discusses what undyed means.
 
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In order to get a grasp on what uniforms were possibly seen, you would need to start a unit by unit search, to see where the stores at Vicksburg were coming from, or where they drew/issued at.

There was a large supply from Columbus GA in early 63, which there are reports of gray uniforms some trimmed in blue with gray and light blue pants. You have Montgomery and Mobile sending goods into Miss as early as April May 62, you have the factories in Miss also producing goods, as well as Shreveport and Houston, though the majority of their stuff was staying west, however goods were still being sent from there, which was one of the main reasons for holding Vicksburg to try and keep a supply base going.

By this point most units were drawing from the Government with AL still producing uniforms for their units both east and west as well as enough to provide for the government as well. You have miss, AR, LA, and TX providing cloth ranging from white to brown jeans, plains, tabby etc. There were still donated items, however you mainly see donated items in the form of socks, shoes, blankets, shirts.

If one has further interest in nailing down documents. I suggest a fold3 account. Then find the AQM for the units there, and see what is in their files, also look into company commanders and above for requisitions such as the one found in the file of the commander of D CO 6th MO. You see similar requisitions during the same time period in other companies.

Also AL and GA were producing dyed cloth of gray and natural undyed gray cloth meaning the color of the sheep. The Appler pants were once dyed gray, but due to the dying process used fades etc. There is a thread regarding white uniforms on this site that already discusses what undyed means.
Thanks for that information. So when you state that the Missourians were outfitted on the company level, does that mean that not all of the soldiers in the Missouri brigade during the Vicksburg Campaign were outfitted with the grey jackets with blue trim, only some of its companies? Again, thanks!
 
Thanks for that information. So when you state that the Missourians were outfitted on the company level, does that mean that not all of the soldiers in the Missouri brigade during the Vicksburg Campaign were outfitted with the grey jackets with blue trim, only some of its companies? Again, thanks!

There is only educated guessing from accounts and returns. You have to trace retutns by location to help determine what surviving examples are from those areas. There are accounts from a couple sources, such as Anderson, Weidemeyer and a AR unit talking about the blue trimmed coats, as well as Appler talking about receiving a gray uniform so I think there were a mix. The units in the MO brigade show large issues aka 500 coats etc per Regiment in Feb 63, again large issues in March 63. Interesting though the units draw more pants than coats in the requisitions in 62 and after the big issues of Feb March 63. So there would be a mix one would assume. This is thought to be due to the pants wearing out sooner. Also you see a lot of caps vs hats being issued in MO units as early as 62 and continues. So much that on the retreat from Corinth there were enough caps that some were still in supply wagons.

After each campaigne you see issues, such as the issues in September 63 after Vicksburg. In 62 Weidemeyer had a uniform made as well as the other officers in July receiving them in Aug, but the officers again purchased uniforms in Mobile in Dec 62. So time place and supply play a big part.

Also the photo of Col Erwin shows a double breasted frock that is different than the one he was wearing at Vicksburg. For MO officers you almost always see double breasted frocks. With a few surviving with MO state buttons. There is even a MO state button attributed to a SGT in the 6th MO supposedly from his coat. Housed at the American Civil War museum.

Hope that helps with your question.
 
Also when you read discriptions of no attempt at uniformed.. means not a uniformed appearance, it does not mean no uniforms. Just different types. The CS government did not have a one off uniform, however they tried to get there with some success at different times, such as the CD type jackets, the DOA coats, the Richmond clothing Bureau uniforms, the State of AL tate contract uniforms etc. There is a missunderstanding of "uniforms" in the west. Which requires a unit based research to determine what they had access to.
 
I would still say further research is needed, as I have been focused on Corinth 62, but have uncovered information throughout the war regarding MO units. However I have not had the time yet to fully put that info into a full view of what was seen.
 
Columbus MS was also producing uniforms with trimmed cuffs and collars, however how early that started is still unknown. Most of them are attributed to 64, 65. However the Vaughan photo from 4th MO is still unknown at the date and place it was taken. However it shows a coat very similar to a Columbus MS produced coat.
 
Thanks for the additional information @MOBDEnut . I know you have done much work about the brigade. By any chance, do you have access to the George W. Warren diary that @AUG posted above? I’m trying to access as much information about the Missouri brigade during the May 1-17 dates of the campaign so thought I’d check with you.
 
I have often wondered is the limited amount of published Confederate uniform information about Western Theater was due to a lack of information or the available information has not been used to full advantage.
 
Thanks for the additional information @MOBDEnut . I know you have done much work about the brigade. By any chance, do you have access to the George W. Warren diary that @AUG posted above? I’m trying to access as much information about the Missouri brigade during the May 1-17 dates of the campaign so thought I’d check with you.
No I do not however it's on my list to find.


I have often wondered is the limited amount of published Confederate uniform information about Western Theater was due to a lack of information or the available information has not been used to full advantage.

I think the info is out there it just needs to be rediscovered and compiled. There are constantly changing ideas based on rediscovered information that is helping to better understand what was available.
 
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