M1832 Fatigue Jacket

[Manassas 1861]

I know that the m1858 sack coat was loose fitting and not tailored to any one person. In the pre war army were any of the 1832 sky blue
fatigue jackets tailor made to soldiers? I know the USMC had tailored m1852 jackets to avoid having wrinkles, this evidently led to the CSMC having "close fitting fighting jackets" based of this uniform. But after the Mexican War the Schuylkill Arsenal had 40,000 jackets in surplus. So if they weren't tailored, how many sizes were the 32 jackets made in?

 

[Mississippian1861]

The jackets were made in the standard sizes. If they needed to be fitted to a soldier, usually every company had one or two men who were handy with needle and thread and could help make the garments look smart.

 

[RedRover]

As mentioned, the Army clothing was made in a few standard sizes. But in the 1830s and 40s the mania was for "fit" as in the civilian fashion, viz. NO folds, etc. So it was retailored to fit the man.


When possible, the fatigue dress of recruits, etc. was fitted before they were dispatched to their units. From 1839:

Augustus Meyers joined the Army in 1850, while the sky-blue fatigue jackets were still employed, and noted his first duty at recruit depot was to carry his fatigues to the post tailors to be fitted before he could fall into the ranks on parade...

"As the soldiers' clothing was made up in men's sizes only, there were none to fit the boys. I believe there were about six different sizes in shoes and three or four in clothing. The smallest size in clothing, No. 1, was issued to me, and I was sent to the post tailor. He took my measure and altered the great coat, jackets and trousers. He also put some white braid on the collar and sleeves of one of my jackets. The cost of these alterations were deducted from my first pay due. It was moderate enough, for the tailor's price as well as those of the laundress and the sutler were fixed by the Post Council of Administration. With the shirts and drawers I was obliged to get along without alterations, voluminous though they were. The shoes were too large for me also, but the thick woolen socks helped to fill them. No dress coats were furnished to the boys while they were on the Island. We only got those after joining a regiment.

In about a week my clothes were ready. I arrayed myself in my new sky-blue uniform, experiencing a boy's pleasure in a new suit and some pride in what I considered my fine soldierly appearance. We were not allowed to keep any citizen's clothing, so I sold my clothes to a Hebrew "Old Clo' Man" who often visited the island for that purpose. He paid me a dollar for them, the possession of which made me quite popular with a few of the boys who showed me where we could buy pies and ginger-pop at the sutler's store."

An 1851 United Service Journal correspondent noted that by that time the recruits were charged as follows for basic tailoring...

Fitting and lining a fatigue jacket, $2.00
Fitting two pair wool overalls ($1.25 ea.) $2.50.
Fitting a uniform coat, $2.00.
Fitting three pair cotton overalls (.50 ea.) $1.00
Altering fatigue cap, .25.
Total $8.25.

The Regular Soldiers were not provided with the Uniform (cap, coat, etc.) until they joined their Regiments in active service. As mentioned, the coats too were tailored to fit.

For example, During their years in the seat of war in Florida, the 4th Regiment of Artillery did not bother about the uniform at all, wearing only fatigue dress, etc. On leaving that Territory and appearing at the Trenton encampment in the summer of 1839, the regiment was provided with uniform coats for the upcoming 4th of July... The men were described in camp furiously stitching away to get their coats properly fitted for the big day...

An officer observed in 1840 the enormous trouble of the receipt of the companies annual clothing, "everything is overwhelmed and prostrated for about a month, until said clothing can be inspected, pulled to pieces, cut over again, and made up anew, to suit the forms of its respective wearers."



One of the negatives of the fitted garments was that they wore out faster, being taken on and off, etc. I've seen notice the the officers who were obliged to wear their uniform coats daily, on parades, could expect to wear them out in a few years (They otherwise wearing their frock coats, etc. when not on parade, generally). Enlisted men had to wear them on parade, and also for guard and other duties other than fatigue, etc.


That all being the case, it appears many of the troops in active service, as in Florida for long periods, simply employed the fatigues as provided, without concern for their appearance. A common description from 1839 of some 4th Infantry men moving about from Florida and the Cherokee country, etc.

From 1840s photographs, a Mexican War period recruit, in an untailored jacket...

A pre-1847 sergeant in tailored fatigues...

It is also evident that many of the tailored jackets had the clumsy shoulder-straps removed. Like this lad... (notice that he's placed what appears to be hooks and eyes along the edge of the jacket front, evidently to take the strain off the buttons of his tight fitted garment...

From Sarasota, Fla., 1840, an infantryman with the shoulder straps removed (leaving the button though).

Besides fitting the jackets, it was mentioned by some veterans that some units had the men's trousers fitted to include "gaiter" bottoms with buttons near the ankles in the fashion of the 1830s-40s.

 

[Manassas 1861]

@RedRover thank you as usual for your very informative replies. One thing I've noticed from the photographs (pre 1847 sergeant) is that the collars don't appear to be cut at an angle. I've read that the modified 1852 army jackets were cut at a 60 degree angle to fit a neck stock (like a Civil War frock). Was the 1832 supposed to have a angled collar, or was this a modification only meant for the 1852's?

 

[RedRover]

The Army's coat collars etc. were cut at an open angle until the late 1820s...

... until the late 1820s when a change was ordered to cut the coat collars to close in front over the neck stocks, etc. This required a change in pattern. There are a couple of 1821 infantry musician coats extant, one of which has the ca. 1830 closing collar. The closing collar was continued with the 1832 uniform.

The open 1821 collar...

Compared to the closed collar of the 1832 coats...

The 1851 Uniform coats and jackets had the open collar, angled 30 degrees, including, as you mention the modified jackets...

But on duty the hook was to be employed to keep the bottom of the collar closed.

 

[James Brenner]

Great question and great answer. Thanks to you both. I learned something today.

 

[RedRover]

On the subject of the tailored fatigue jackets, I should note the book "Army Life on the Western Frontier" edited by Francis Prucha, includes the inspection reports of western Army posts in the 1815-45 period. They frequently found the soldiers wearing the fatigue dress generally. Only wearing the uniform on parade and guard mount... and apparently sometimes even then. This would explain why the soldiers tailored their fatigue jackets, viz. to make them appear military-like when wearing them in lieu of their uniform, where allowed to do so, for example whiled drilling.

But the tight "fit" rendered them unsuitable for wear on fatigue details, like wood chopping, digging, construction, etc. For this, apparently, many troops were allowed to dress informally. Lt. Arthur of the 1st Infantry wrote his father in 1840 from Florida, noting, "you would laugh to see our soldiers…not the least uniformity;"

"Our men somewhat resemble Falstaff's Army, There are coats, pantaloons, belts, &c. of all kinds and colors, but the guns & powder & ball are good, and that is the main thing…"

On campaign, the standard fatigue dress was not always worn either. Campaigning on the Texas border in 1836, soldiers of the 7th Infantry were described...

"You would laugh if you could see our detachment going on such duty & in this part of the country; they have left their uniform and everyone wears such clothing as he chooses only he must wear flannel shirts and have two blankets. The men carry all their things in their knapsacks, everyone wears a cotton haversack, tin cup & knife in addition to their ordinary equipment… My own costume will give you an idea of the officers' appearance. My hat is a broad brimmed gray felt six inches broad to keep off the hot sun, a brown short frock coat filled with pockets like a sportsman's coat, rifle in hand, bullet pouch, canteen for water slung over my shoulder, a waist belt with tomahawk & knife attached to it, & pistol stuck into it, gray woolen pantaloons & thick cowskin boots. The whole detachment puts me in mind of so many Indians rather than of civilized men."

Some of these troops subsequently "deserted" and entered Texas to engage in the revolution (a company sized party were present at San Jacinto). An officer of the Texan Army on meeting bands of these regulars near the border noted they were dressed variously, just as previously noted, "some in uniform, some in fatigue dress, and other in citizen's clothes." [Columbian Central, Boston, MA, May 7, 1836.]

 

[James Brenner]

FWIW, two books that provide an excellent background on the pre-war army are Francis Paul Prucha, The Sword of the Republic, the United States Army on the Frontier, 1783-1846 (New York; Macmillan, 1969) and Robert M. Utley, Frontiersmen in Blue, the United States Army and the Indian, 1848-1865 (New York; Macmillan, 1967). While uniforms and equipment are only tangentially mentioned, the books provide context and background to the Army's operations during the period.

Also, don't let the publication dates dissuade you. They are both part of the respected Macmillan series on American Wars and are well researched and very readable.

 

[RedRover]

A friend reminded me on the score of "tailored wool fatigue jackets" that something like the issue came up again in the 1940s.

In 1944 the US Army adopted the "Jacket, wool, field" M1944 (or "Ike jacket") for combat dress... intended to be worn like the British battle-dress jacket, or under the M1943 field jacket where necessary.

However, in the event, these jackets were not generally provided to the troops in Europe before the close of the war there in May, 1945... The standard Service uniform coat having been dropped for wartime priorities, these wool "field jackets" were consequently issued and pressed into service as a new service dress uniform... frequently tailored to fit the soldier on parade, etc. and often in a manner that rendered them "unfit" for field wear...

For example, a veteran from the late 40s and early 50's mentioned to me that when a sergeant he had a tailor sew his Ike Jacket and trousers together, like a jump suit, with a single zipper in front hidden by the jacket and trousers flies and the self belt. That way he could literally jump into it while his lads were still dressing, and get out on the parade first, every time!

And in fact, in both WWII and Korea, the US Soldiers in warm and mild weather generally wore their cotton "fatigue" dress in the field.

Much like G.I.s in the 1830s and 40s wore their "fatigue dress" in the field in lieu of their uniform in camp and field...

Or even modified it for wear as if for parade, etc. in lieu of the regulation uniform.

 

[James Brenner]

As an aside, in the Army's seemingly unending cycle of modern uniform changes, we would often remark that the Ike jacket would do wonders for the weight control program,