Early war Maine uniforms.

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Aug 25, 2012
We have a new forum member of Maine. so I thought this might be a good time to look at what the first uniforms issued by Maine were. So the 1st Maine Infantry Regiment received one gray frock coat, one gray pair of trousers, one gray overcoat, and one gray cap. Their plain gray frock coats, made in Boston, were plain gray with tall standing collar and had seven buttons. The lined gray trousers were to hot for good service and the men ripped out the lining. The heavy gray overcoat were not really needed and the gray frock coats were hot. It was not uncommon for the men to drill in shirt sleeves and trousers. As soon as they goat paid on July 11th 1861 many soldiers used the money to purchas better uniform items. The Lewiston Zouaves purchased blue flannel coats and white gaiters.

The 2nd Maine received similar gray uniforms but it appears their heavy gray frock coats had nine buttons. They too wished for better uniforms, particularly thinner trousers.
 
Here's an unidentified 1st Maine Infantry cdv from my collection. Not only did the regiment receive full gray uniforms, the trousers were reportedly made from a heavy wool with a "melange" colored yarn that used brown, red, and gray fiber. The difference in texture and color between the trouser and frock fabrics can be seen here. The 1st Maine complained so much about their heavy lined trousers that the state quartermasters began having trousers made from cloth to match that used in the frocks.

IMG_E6310.JPG
 
Yes you can see the cloth used was different. Was there a reason that Maine opted for heavy lined trousers? Perhaps it was thought they would last longer.
 
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