As I recall, a lot of troops in the ANV were issued new uniforms not long before the Gettysburg Campaign, including some manufactured from English cloth imported through the blockade. From mid to late war the ANV was rather well supplied - more so than it had been earlier - and probably more uniform in comparison to those in the Western Theater and Trans-Miss. That's not to say some men didn't go ragged on campaign, but they were issued uniforms frequently enough to have them.Few Confeds had complete uniforms by this point in the war and still fewer had uniforms without holes.
The Federals, on the other hand, usually had most of their uniforms. To some degree, the Federals had another advantage: Their more complete uniforms did a better job of keeping the sun off their skin and that would have slightly reduced the need for water consumption. Read it again, I wrote, 'slightly.'
Edit: Should probably reword that last sentence. What I meant to say was that while they might have worn them out while on campaign, the troops in Lee's army were issued uniforms frequently enough to start off adequately clothed.
Last edited: