German style uniforms

[major bill]

I posted a thread in the immigration forum about the Civil War turners clubs. Just for fun I thought we could start a new thread in the uniforms and relic forum about how "German" were the German inspired uniforms of the American Civil War. So if you all would post some images we could see if we see a German influence.

Many of the German units in the Civil War were formed partly by German Turner clubs. Here is one.

So does anyone see a German influence in this uniform? Short frock coats with fairly wide skirts were considered a German influence. Other than that I do not see much here I would call influenced by German style uniforms. Anyone see it differently?

 

[major bill]

I thought I would get back to this thread.

It occurred to me that some members may not know what the term German style uniform meant in 1860. In 1842 Prussia replaced the Kollet, a type of tail coat warn since the Napoleonic Wars. The new jacket was the Waffenrock which was a type of short frock coat. Notice the cloth epaulets, standing collar, and tight breast with somewhat wide coat skirt. This was the classic Waffenrock.

The Prussian Dunkelblu (dark blue) Waffenrock quickly became popular with a number of other German States. By 1850 the Waffenrock had been adopted by Bade, Bayern, Hessen, Oldenburg, Saxony and Wurettemburg. So in 1860 there may have not been a Germany, but the Waffenrock was a "German states" style uniform.

So when we talk about German-Americans adopting a German style uniform this is what we are talking about. So my image in post one appears to possibly a German style uniform. The problem being the American style frock coat was not all that different from the German style Waffenrock. One of the key to seeing the difference is the shorter coat skirt and the flare to the skirt.

A image of a Civil War era Prussian Waffenrock. Note this could be confused with the standard US Army enlisted frock coat.

 

[mofederal]

The coat does resemble a German style of frock coat, it has three buttons on the cuffs. It appears to have epaulets on the shoulders though, the collar is different, it does seem to have a dark piece of cloth on it. I think it has 8 buttons also. I am not sure about the bayonet/dagger, with sword knot/tassels.

 

[major bill]

again

 

[Lampasas Bill]

My former reenactment unit, Holmes Brigade, Is made up of men from Missouri and surrounding states. In addition to their standard Union impression, they have developed a German impression to portray Colonel Franz Sigel's 3rd Missouri Volunteers, made up of German volunteers from St. Louis. In 1861 they served at the capture of Camp Jackson In St. Louis and the battles of Carthage and Wilson's Creek. Holmes Brigade is regularly invited by the National Park Service to do living history at Wilson's Creek depicting the 3rd Missouri. Their "uniforms" are based on period accounts. Here is a picture of them at the Carthage reenactment:

http://www.holmesbrigade.freeservers.com/cgi-bin/i/carth_troops.JPG