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- Aug 25, 2012
The Republican Wide-Awake clubs are a well know part of the 1860 presidential election, but there were also Democratic party paramilitary clubs as well. These cubs wore uniforms and were organized along military lines. Sometimes a photograph of a member of one of these clubs is misidentified as being a militiaman. The Wide-awake clubs wore many styles of uniforms, but the following is the standard wide-awake uniform.
The standard Wide Awake uniform consisted of a full robe or cape, a black glazed hat, and a torch six feet in length to which a large, flaming, pivoting whale-oil container was mounted. Its activities were conducted primarily in the evening and consisted of several night-time torch-lit marches through cities in the northeast and border states. The Wide Awakes adopted the image of a large eyeball as their standard banner.
The Democratic paramilitary clubs went under various names the most common being: Douglas Invincibles, Earthquakes, Young Hickories (for youths), and Chloroformers (to put the wide-awakes to sleep and not a vile assassination plot). In the South there were the Minutemen clubs which were sometimes almost like a militia company.
The main Democratic club, the Douglas Invincibles often wore: black frock coats with blue cloth caps with a gold band. They added a scarlet sash with bullion trim and badge on chest with a portraiture of the "Little Giant" with the words "Douglas Invincible" and a red white and blue transparency.
When studying period militia photographs one must use care to not identify a paramilitary club member as a militia company member. Because the local clubs sometimes wore different uniforms this is not always an easy task. Other pitfalls when identifying military uniforms are; period boat clubs wore naval style uniforms, and German marksmanship clubs often wore uniforms as well. These German marksmanship clubs would form ranks and march out to the target range, shoot, drink beer and eat. Sometimes the return march was not as orderly as the march out.
The standard Wide Awake uniform consisted of a full robe or cape, a black glazed hat, and a torch six feet in length to which a large, flaming, pivoting whale-oil container was mounted. Its activities were conducted primarily in the evening and consisted of several night-time torch-lit marches through cities in the northeast and border states. The Wide Awakes adopted the image of a large eyeball as their standard banner.
The Democratic paramilitary clubs went under various names the most common being: Douglas Invincibles, Earthquakes, Young Hickories (for youths), and Chloroformers (to put the wide-awakes to sleep and not a vile assassination plot). In the South there were the Minutemen clubs which were sometimes almost like a militia company.
The main Democratic club, the Douglas Invincibles often wore: black frock coats with blue cloth caps with a gold band. They added a scarlet sash with bullion trim and badge on chest with a portraiture of the "Little Giant" with the words "Douglas Invincible" and a red white and blue transparency.
When studying period militia photographs one must use care to not identify a paramilitary club member as a militia company member. Because the local clubs sometimes wore different uniforms this is not always an easy task. Other pitfalls when identifying military uniforms are; period boat clubs wore naval style uniforms, and German marksmanship clubs often wore uniforms as well. These German marksmanship clubs would form ranks and march out to the target range, shoot, drink beer and eat. Sometimes the return march was not as orderly as the march out.
Bringing the