sgtcsa
Cadet
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2005
- Location
- Blaine, Wa.
Here is one of the Sudley Church. It's still standing today, and being used.
SgtCSA
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- Thread starter dawna
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Here is one of the Sudley Church. It's still standing today, and being used.
SgtCSA
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- South of the North 40
Dawna, you know I've seen that photo of refugees a hundred times, studied it carefully to look at the clothing the men were wearing and all in all studied the bejesus out of it and until now I've never really noted the woman in the foreground w/ her pipe. Shows that no matter how familiar you are w/ something you can always see something new.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- Winslow, Buckinghamshire
Dawna,
In evaluating the quality of Confederate military clothing, it is crucial to understand the disparities which existed at every stage of the war. At no point was it ever possible to say that almost everyone was well-clothed or badly clothed. And, for that reason, photographic evidence of the appearance of a few dozen men must be regarded with extreme caution.
In Lee's Miserables: Life In The Army Of Northern Virginia From The Wilderness To Appomattox", J. Tracy Power has observed:
As the production and transportation of goods in the Confederacy were haphazard at best, there was no way to guarantee an equitable distribution of clothing or other items throughout the entire army either in terms of quality or quantity. These disparities were most common, and most striking, in the case of uniforms…The great disparity in clothing among Lee's soldiers is aptly illustrated by two letters written during the same week, one by a South Carolina cavalry captain and the other by a North Carolina infantry private. Capt. Zimmerman Davis, commanding the 5th South Carolina Cavalry, wrote headquarters on 17 November [1864] describing the poor conditions in his command: "My men are ragged,' Davis wrote; 'many have neither overcoats nor blankets, and numbers are obliged to shiver on picket, clad in tattered remanants of Jacket and Pantalons.' He requested an essentially complete uniform – consisting of pants, jacket, shirt, and drawers – for more than 200 men in his regiment, which numbered about 375 soldiers…Pvt. Alfred Newton Proffitt, on the other hand, had just been issued 'a full suit of cloathing some of the prettist kind,' stating, 'all I lack is my over coat.'
Pvt. Proffitt's comments reflect the fact that North Carolina succeeded in maintaining a relatively good supply of clothing to its troops almost until the end.
Part of the problem was that, even when replacement clothing was issued, its quality was sometimes deplorable. The historian of the 55th Virginia has written that
During October [1864] the entire regiment received new jackets and trousers. This had become essential, as the men has started making good their clothing deficiencies by stealing from prisoners of war. During the fighting on September 30th, Archer's men were wearing so many Federal uniforms it was difficult to tell which side they were on. Unfortunately, the jackets and trousers issued in October can hardly have been of very good quality as, by November 29th, they were already being described as in poor condition. If some problems had been solved, or were sorting themselves out, others remained intractable. There were never fewer than 150 men in need of shoes and never fewer than 180 men in need of overcoats.
[O'Sullivan, 55th Virginia Infantry, p.81.]
The single most important primary source for information of Confederate military clothing is the Inspector's report. After that, the most important sources are contemporary letters, diaries etc. So let's look at a few of these, in chronological order:
On 9th September 1861 Captain Gresham, of Co.F, 47th Va. Inf., wrote to the Quartermaster General of the Confederacy:
Owing to the utter impossibility of obtaining goods of any kind fit for a winter uniform I am compelled to make a requisition on you for it. All the manufacturing mills have been employed by the Government and are thus so busily engaged in filling their contracts that I am unable to procure even the most common Kersey for my men – it is impossible to procure the goods, it would require more than the amount given the men to clothe themselves to buy one suit as the manufacturers which contract costs the Government to furnish 'Gray Kersey' at $0.60 are selling all the surplus they can make at $2.00 to $3.00.
[Musselman, 47th Virginia Infantry, p.10.]
The 44th Virginia suffered similar problems in the first winter of the war:
A shortage of winter clothing prompted company officers to request leave to obtain overcoats, jackets, pants, and underclothing. Lieutenant Alfriend of Company E acted as the company's agent in Richmond to receive donations from the city because the unit was in a 'very destitute condition'.
[Ruffner, 44th Virginia Infantry, p.21.]
In November 1862 the 42nd Va. Inf. moved to Fredericksburg:
'The long march from Winchester has made a goodly number of our men barefoot,' Lt. William D. Williams wrote on December 7. 'Some are entirely without shoes and many of the men that have lately joined are without shoes. Socks we scarcely have any.' The condition of the regiment's other clothing was no better. The regiment was literally in the same predicament it had been in at the beginning of the year – the mens' clothing was rags.
[Chapla, 42nd Virginia Infantry, p.29.]
In December 1862 Col. Harman of the 52nd Va. Inf. published the following request in the Staunton Vindicator:
"I appeal to the citizens of Bath, Augusta and Rockbridge to furnish 200 pairs of socks for my Rgt, for which I will pay the highest cash price on delivery."
[[Driver, 52nd Virginia Infantry, p.30.]
In the same month a similar item was published in the Savannah Republican:
At the last report from our [Lawton's] Brigade we had seven hundred and five men, without shoes, and there are numbers without a single blanket to shelter them from the cold.
[White, A History Of The 31st Georgia Volunteer Infantry, p.58.]
In early August 1864 the 1st Va. Inf. was inspected. Its clothing was evaluated as poor, "with serious deficiencies in overcoats, jackets, trousers and shoes."
[Wallace 1st Virginia Infantry, p.52.]
The 13th August 1864 inspection of the 30th Va. Inf. stated that its clothing was "poor". On 30th November an inspection enumerated the need for 418 specific items, including 167 trousers, 116 shoes and 38 hats. On 28th January 1865 the Inspector's list of needed items had leapt to 742, including 200 wool shirts and 123 trousers.
[Krick, 30th Virginia Infantry, p.57.]
Moving on to November 1864, "The 29th Virginia was the largest of the regiments in Corse's Brigade, having 418 men and officers present for duty…the quality of the clothing of the men in the brigade was rated as 'poor' in the inspection report made at that time, excepting in the 29th where the quality was rated 'bad'. With winter approaching the matter of clothing was critical, and the inspector itemized the deficiencies in the regiment: 159 coats, 155 pair of trousers, 56 hats, 38 blankets and 33 pairs of shoes were needed. In short, over a third of the men required the basic habilments of jackets and pants."
[Alderman, 29th Virginia Infantry, p.52.]
On 27th February 1865 Terry's Brigade of the A.N.V. was inspected. "As usual, clothing was deficient: 28 per cent needed coats and slightly more than 40 per cent needed pants, shirts, shoes and socks."
[Chapla, 48th Virginia Infantry, p.91.]
One could go on indefinitely citing such material. But enough. The reasonable deduction is that the quality and quantity of Confederate uniforms varied enormously from time to time, place to place and unit to unit. But one may also deduce that the items available were, taken across the board, inferior to and/or less easily available than those supplied to their Union adversaries. Examples of rebels wearing the uniforms of their enemies are legion; when did you ever read of a Federal unit hurrying into battle wearing captured C.S. apparel to disguise its own quartermasters' deficiencies in this area?
Bill
In evaluating the quality of Confederate military clothing, it is crucial to understand the disparities which existed at every stage of the war. At no point was it ever possible to say that almost everyone was well-clothed or badly clothed. And, for that reason, photographic evidence of the appearance of a few dozen men must be regarded with extreme caution.
In Lee's Miserables: Life In The Army Of Northern Virginia From The Wilderness To Appomattox", J. Tracy Power has observed:
As the production and transportation of goods in the Confederacy were haphazard at best, there was no way to guarantee an equitable distribution of clothing or other items throughout the entire army either in terms of quality or quantity. These disparities were most common, and most striking, in the case of uniforms…The great disparity in clothing among Lee's soldiers is aptly illustrated by two letters written during the same week, one by a South Carolina cavalry captain and the other by a North Carolina infantry private. Capt. Zimmerman Davis, commanding the 5th South Carolina Cavalry, wrote headquarters on 17 November [1864] describing the poor conditions in his command: "My men are ragged,' Davis wrote; 'many have neither overcoats nor blankets, and numbers are obliged to shiver on picket, clad in tattered remanants of Jacket and Pantalons.' He requested an essentially complete uniform – consisting of pants, jacket, shirt, and drawers – for more than 200 men in his regiment, which numbered about 375 soldiers…Pvt. Alfred Newton Proffitt, on the other hand, had just been issued 'a full suit of cloathing some of the prettist kind,' stating, 'all I lack is my over coat.'
Pvt. Proffitt's comments reflect the fact that North Carolina succeeded in maintaining a relatively good supply of clothing to its troops almost until the end.
Part of the problem was that, even when replacement clothing was issued, its quality was sometimes deplorable. The historian of the 55th Virginia has written that
During October [1864] the entire regiment received new jackets and trousers. This had become essential, as the men has started making good their clothing deficiencies by stealing from prisoners of war. During the fighting on September 30th, Archer's men were wearing so many Federal uniforms it was difficult to tell which side they were on. Unfortunately, the jackets and trousers issued in October can hardly have been of very good quality as, by November 29th, they were already being described as in poor condition. If some problems had been solved, or were sorting themselves out, others remained intractable. There were never fewer than 150 men in need of shoes and never fewer than 180 men in need of overcoats.
[O'Sullivan, 55th Virginia Infantry, p.81.]
The single most important primary source for information of Confederate military clothing is the Inspector's report. After that, the most important sources are contemporary letters, diaries etc. So let's look at a few of these, in chronological order:
On 9th September 1861 Captain Gresham, of Co.F, 47th Va. Inf., wrote to the Quartermaster General of the Confederacy:
Owing to the utter impossibility of obtaining goods of any kind fit for a winter uniform I am compelled to make a requisition on you for it. All the manufacturing mills have been employed by the Government and are thus so busily engaged in filling their contracts that I am unable to procure even the most common Kersey for my men – it is impossible to procure the goods, it would require more than the amount given the men to clothe themselves to buy one suit as the manufacturers which contract costs the Government to furnish 'Gray Kersey' at $0.60 are selling all the surplus they can make at $2.00 to $3.00.
[Musselman, 47th Virginia Infantry, p.10.]
The 44th Virginia suffered similar problems in the first winter of the war:
A shortage of winter clothing prompted company officers to request leave to obtain overcoats, jackets, pants, and underclothing. Lieutenant Alfriend of Company E acted as the company's agent in Richmond to receive donations from the city because the unit was in a 'very destitute condition'.
[Ruffner, 44th Virginia Infantry, p.21.]
In November 1862 the 42nd Va. Inf. moved to Fredericksburg:
'The long march from Winchester has made a goodly number of our men barefoot,' Lt. William D. Williams wrote on December 7. 'Some are entirely without shoes and many of the men that have lately joined are without shoes. Socks we scarcely have any.' The condition of the regiment's other clothing was no better. The regiment was literally in the same predicament it had been in at the beginning of the year – the mens' clothing was rags.
[Chapla, 42nd Virginia Infantry, p.29.]
In December 1862 Col. Harman of the 52nd Va. Inf. published the following request in the Staunton Vindicator:
"I appeal to the citizens of Bath, Augusta and Rockbridge to furnish 200 pairs of socks for my Rgt, for which I will pay the highest cash price on delivery."
[[Driver, 52nd Virginia Infantry, p.30.]
In the same month a similar item was published in the Savannah Republican:
At the last report from our [Lawton's] Brigade we had seven hundred and five men, without shoes, and there are numbers without a single blanket to shelter them from the cold.
[White, A History Of The 31st Georgia Volunteer Infantry, p.58.]
In early August 1864 the 1st Va. Inf. was inspected. Its clothing was evaluated as poor, "with serious deficiencies in overcoats, jackets, trousers and shoes."
[Wallace 1st Virginia Infantry, p.52.]
The 13th August 1864 inspection of the 30th Va. Inf. stated that its clothing was "poor". On 30th November an inspection enumerated the need for 418 specific items, including 167 trousers, 116 shoes and 38 hats. On 28th January 1865 the Inspector's list of needed items had leapt to 742, including 200 wool shirts and 123 trousers.
[Krick, 30th Virginia Infantry, p.57.]
Moving on to November 1864, "The 29th Virginia was the largest of the regiments in Corse's Brigade, having 418 men and officers present for duty…the quality of the clothing of the men in the brigade was rated as 'poor' in the inspection report made at that time, excepting in the 29th where the quality was rated 'bad'. With winter approaching the matter of clothing was critical, and the inspector itemized the deficiencies in the regiment: 159 coats, 155 pair of trousers, 56 hats, 38 blankets and 33 pairs of shoes were needed. In short, over a third of the men required the basic habilments of jackets and pants."
[Alderman, 29th Virginia Infantry, p.52.]
On 27th February 1865 Terry's Brigade of the A.N.V. was inspected. "As usual, clothing was deficient: 28 per cent needed coats and slightly more than 40 per cent needed pants, shirts, shoes and socks."
[Chapla, 48th Virginia Infantry, p.91.]
One could go on indefinitely citing such material. But enough. The reasonable deduction is that the quality and quantity of Confederate uniforms varied enormously from time to time, place to place and unit to unit. But one may also deduce that the items available were, taken across the board, inferior to and/or less easily available than those supplied to their Union adversaries. Examples of rebels wearing the uniforms of their enemies are legion; when did you ever read of a Federal unit hurrying into battle wearing captured C.S. apparel to disguise its own quartermasters' deficiencies in this area?
Bill
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
johan_steele said:
I was told and for some reason thought it was improper for woman to to smoke.. as you mentioned shane i have never seen the pipe before either.
But I have a story to share My 3rd great grandmother Amanda Craft (wife of Daniel Craft in the 22nd Alabama) was a smoker..
Afyer he had passed away and she was up in her years sje lived with one of her son's No mater how much he pleaded with her to quit and would hide her pipe. she would would get her grand children to find them and she would smoke in bed with the covers over her head.
NNot the smartest thing to do.. but a imyeresting story none the less.. course this was in the the 1880's or 90's but I would say she was smokimg long before that.
regards steven.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- Near Kankakee
Smoking
Steven:
Your grandma was, like a few of the rest of us, a slave of the demon weed. Descendants swirling about your face saying "grandma, quit smoking." She likely had the status where she could say, "up yours."
Oops, I was supposed to be making potato salad. Gotta run.
Steven:
Your grandma was, like a few of the rest of us, a slave of the demon weed. Descendants swirling about your face saying "grandma, quit smoking." She likely had the status where she could say, "up yours."
Oops, I was supposed to be making potato salad. Gotta run.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- Nashville
Beautiful photographs, though a few too many yankees?
sockknitter
Sergeant
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- Texas
larry_cockerham said:
Well, I was thinking that too. But of course they are from the Library of Congress and as far as I know Washington DC wasn't sacked by anybody during or immediately after the war. I am studying for my Master of the Obvious degree but it's slow going.
sgtcsa
Cadet
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2005
- Location
- Blaine, Wa.
</FONT>
212
Fort Sumter, S.C., April 4, 1861, under the Confederate Flag
SgtCSA
Fort Sumter, S.C., April 4, 1861, under the Confederate Flag
SgtCSA
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- Near Kankakee
SgtCSA:
Where did you get a photo of the CSA flag flying over Sumter on April 4? OK. I see it now. Simple typo -- April 14.
Great photo!
Ole
Where did you get a photo of the CSA flag flying over Sumter on April 4? OK. I see it now. Simple typo -- April 14.
Great photo!
Ole
hawglips
Sergeant
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
The lost-cause myth of the barefoot and malnourished Confederate soldier is an interesting one.
I had ancestors from the mountains of SW VA that fought with the 64th VA Mounted Inf as well as the 25th VA Calvary. There are stories that one especially cold New Year's eve there were men that actually froze to death in the saddle while riding all night in order to be in position for the next morning's action. All this time I did not realize that they must have been dressed too warmly and their sweat-drenched clothing froze around them sending them into hypothermic shock or something.
Hal
I had ancestors from the mountains of SW VA that fought with the 64th VA Mounted Inf as well as the 25th VA Calvary. There are stories that one especially cold New Year's eve there were men that actually froze to death in the saddle while riding all night in order to be in position for the next morning's action. All this time I did not realize that they must have been dressed too warmly and their sweat-drenched clothing froze around them sending them into hypothermic shock or something.
Hal
JohnW in E.TN
Corporal
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2005
- Location
- upper E. Tennessee
hawglips said:
Hal,
We'll have to compare notes sometime, as all my "people" are from the same area as well.
Regards,
John W.
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