New Confederate uniform book. Confederate uniforms during the Maryland Campaign:September 1862

tullock

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Hello to All.

My latest book may be of considerable interest to all Civil War uniform enthusiasts--those who still believe in the 'Ragged Reb' scenario and others who feel that maybe the Confederates weren't that hard done by.

It is a large work (A4 size and 320 pages), packed with never-before-seen data highlighting how the Confederate logistical network system successfully supplied its troops during the late Summer and early Fall of 1862 with both fresh uniform issues and abundant food rations. Besides the hundreds of Company Clothing Issue Tables contained in the book there are numerous full colour plates using realistic models displaying authentic period uniforms from my own large collection. There is also a large Photographic Section which scrutinizes the many images taken shortly after the battle. Eyewitness accounts are invariably useful and I have chosen many which I feel are the most accurate (i.e. by Soldiers and Newspaper Correspondents), as civilian testimonies can often be skewed through both biased beliefs and military ignorance. If you think the typical Reb of late 1862 was a shoeless scarecrow, then this book will surely change your mind! Here are a few excerpts….

JUST A FEW OF THE NUMEROUS EYEWITNESS TESTIMONIES

"..All this stuff about their extreme destitution is all bash. I have been all over the battlefields of Maryland and I have yet to find a Rebel even meanly clad or shod. They are as well shod as our own men. They are dressed in gray.."
Union Surgeon James Langstaff Dunn MD. 109th​ Pa. Vols. (Sept.1862)

"The notion which I find almost universal in the North, that the Southern Armies are clotheless and shoeless, let me here observe, I cannot but regard as a dangerous delusion."

William Henry Hurlbert, New York Times Correspondent, (August 1862)

"..I saw rebel soldiers as well clothed as any of our own men.."

Private S.D. Green, a Michigan soldier serving in Virginia in late 1862

"…Our Regiment has been uniformed (in) grey woollen cloth and round about coats."
Corporal Tally Simpson Co. A. 3rd​ SC (In letter to sister July 18th​ 1862)

"One of the Regiments of this Brigade is dressed in a remarkably neat and comfortable uniform which cost (for roundabout and pants) only eleven dollars to the man. The other regiments are now being uniformed by the Govt. in the same way…..
….when we get our new uniform, I think the old 7th​ will astonish her neighbours. We are having a uniform made in Rich (Richmond) at the Govt rooms, dark steel mixed jacket with light blue pants. Both cloths are heavy and good, English manufacture."

Colonel David Wyatt Aiken 7th​ South Carolina Infantry Regiment (July 12th​1862)

Soon our camp was filled with goods, and in a few days each "reb" had on a clean shirt and a brand new suit of "Confederate Uniform", and a new pair of shoes. With clean clothes on, and plenty to eat, we began our important operations."
Private Robert Campbell Company 'A' 5th​ Texas Infantry (July 8th​ 1862)

RE-SUPPLY OF NEW UNIFORMS IN MARYLAND
On September 8th​ the Great Falls correspondent of the New York Tribune, accompanying the Confederate forces into Maryland was astonished to see that many soldiers had cast off their old clothing and had donned new Confederate uniforms. He noted that "It is most natural to ask why these men threw away their clothing immediately on arriving on the Maryland side of the Potomac. This is most easily answered…As to a portion of the Confederate soldiers being furnished with new clothing, there is nothing which can be more conclusive than the fact that your correspondent saw full companies newly clad in substantial and fine garments, all of which were uniform in appearance".

All the Uniform Issue data used in the book was obtained from the thousands of surviving clothing requisition forms held in the US archives, namely the'Special Requisition Form 40' and 'Articles Issued on Special Requisition Form 39' documents.

CLOTHING ISSUE TABLES
Below are just a few of the hundreds of clothing issue tables contained in the book. All the clothing, when received, was dated and signed for by each Company Officer, who detailed the exact amount and type of clothing received and the dates the uniforms were requested and received.

NOTE. In the late Summer/Fall of 1862 most Confederate regiments averaged only 150 -175 men, so the issues shown below were more than enough to keep the Confederate troops well attired and shod.
3RD​ ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT
MAY, JUNE 1862…711 jackets, 736 pairs pants, 546 pairs shoes, 113 undershirts, 321 pairs, 174 drawers, 387 caps, 262 blankets.
JULY, AUGUST 1862…154 jackets, 377 pairs pants, 263 pairs shoes, 441 shirts, 104 pairs socks, 424 drawers, 30 caps.

25TH​ NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT

JUNE 8TH ​- AUG. 23RD​ 1862…934 jackets, 891 pairs pants, 1,108 pairs shoes, 1,084 shirts, 994 drawers, 934 caps, 48 overcoats, 77 blankets, 40 ponchos.
9TH​ LOUISIANA INFANTRY REGIMENT
APRIL 1862…1,042 jackets, 1,042 pairs pants, 304 pairs shoes, 267 shirts, 377 gray caps.
JULY, AUGUST 1862…101 'uniform' jackets, 156 pairs 'uniform' pants, 169 pairs shoes, 256 shirts, 11 drawers, 32 caps.

23RD​ NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE – DECEMBER 1862…1,056 jackets and coats, 1,198 pairs pants, 590 pairs shoes, 572 shirts, 14 pairs socks, 1,108 pairs drawers, 635 caps, 165 hats, 42 overcoats, 181 blankets.
8TH​ FLORIDA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE - DECEMBER 1862…969 jackets, 970 pairs pants, 974 pairs shoes, 770 shirts, 60 pairs socks, 393 pairs drawers, 12 overcoats, 91 blankets.

53RD​ VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
APRIL - JULY 23RD​ 1862….790 jackets, 840 pairs pants, 650 hats, 190 shirts, 82 pairs socks, 111 drawers, 98 caps.

Anyone wishing to purchase a copy please contact me.

Many Thanks
Jeff​
 
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Arrived this morning !!!!
Very nice and interesting book, we can finally say 'No more ragged rebels'
20211010.jpg
 
Hello to All.

My latest book may be of considerable interest to all Civil War uniform enthusiasts--those who still believe in the 'Ragged Reb' scenario and others who feel that maybe the Confederates weren't that hard done by.

It is a large work (A4 size and 320 pages), packed with never-before-seen data highlighting how the Confederate logistical network system successfully supplied its troops during the late Summer and early Fall of 1862 with both fresh uniform issues and abundant food rations. Besides the hundreds of Company Clothing Issue Tables contained in the book there are numerous full colour plates using realistic models displaying authentic period uniforms from my own large collection. There is also a large Photographic Section which scrutinizes the many images taken shortly after the battle. Eyewitness accounts are invariably useful and I have chosen many which I feel are the most accurate (i.e. by Soldiers and Newspaper Correspondents), as civilian testimonies can often be skewed through both biased beliefs and military ignorance. If you think the typical Reb of late 1862 was a shoeless scarecrow, then this book will surely change your mind! Here are a few excerpts….

JUST A FEW OF THE NUMEROUS EYEWITNESS TESTIMONIES

"..All this stuff about their extreme destitution is all bash. I have been all over the battlefields of Maryland and I have yet to find a Rebel even meanly clad or shod. They are as well shod as our own men. They are dressed in gray.."
Union Surgeon James Langstaff Dunn MD. 109th​ Pa. Vols. (Sept.1862)

"The notion which I find almost universal in the North, that the Southern Armies are clotheless and shoeless, let me here observe, I cannot but regard as a dangerous delusion."

William Henry Hurlbert, New York Times Correspondent, (August 1862)

"..I saw rebel soldiers as well clothed as any of our own men.."

Private S.D. Green, a Michigan soldier serving in Virginia in late 1862

"…Our Regiment has been uniformed (in) grey woollen cloth and round about coats."
Corporal Tally Simpson Co. A. 3rd​ SC (In letter to sister July 18th​ 1862)

"One of the Regiments of this Brigade is dressed in a remarkably neat and comfortable uniform which cost (for roundabout and pants) only eleven dollars to the man. The other regiments are now being uniformed by the Govt. in the same way…..
….when we get our new uniform, I think the old 7th​ will astonish her neighbours. We are having a uniform made in Rich (Richmond) at the Govt rooms, dark steel mixed jacket with light blue pants. Both cloths are heavy and good, English manufacture."

Colonel David Wyatt Aiken 7th​ South Carolina Infantry Regiment (July 12th​1862)

Soon our camp was filled with goods, and in a few days each "reb" had on a clean shirt and a brand new suit of "Confederate Uniform", and a new pair of shoes. With clean clothes on, and plenty to eat, we began our important operations."
Private Robert Campbell Company 'A' 5th​ Texas Infantry (July 8th​ 1862)

RE-SUPPLY OF NEW UNIFORMS IN MARYLAND
On September 8th​ the Great Falls correspondent of the New York Tribune, accompanying the Confederate forces into Maryland was astonished to see that many soldiers had cast off their old clothing and had donned new Confederate uniforms. He noted that "It is most natural to ask why these men threw away their clothing immediately on arriving on the Maryland side of the Potomac. This is most easily answered…As to a portion of the Confederate soldiers being furnished with new clothing, there is nothing which can be more conclusive than the fact that your correspondent saw full companies newly clad in substantial and fine garments, all of which were uniform in appearance".

All the Uniform Issue data used in the book was obtained from the thousands of surviving clothing requisition forms held in the US archives, namely the'Special Requisition Form 40' and 'Articles Issued on Special Requisition Form 39' documents.

CLOTHING ISSUE TABLES
Below are just a few of the hundreds of clothing issue tables contained in the book. All the clothing, when received, was dated and signed for by each Company Officer, who detailed the exact amount and type of clothing received and the dates the uniforms were requested and received.

NOTE. In the late Summer/Fall of 1862 most Confederate regiments averaged only 150 -175 men, so the issues shown below were more than enough to keep the Confederate troops well attired and shod.
3RD​ ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT
MAY, JUNE 1862…711 jackets, 736 pairs pants, 546 pairs shoes, 113 undershirts, 321 pairs, 174 drawers, 387 caps, 262 blankets.
JULY, AUGUST 1862…154 jackets, 377 pairs pants, 263 pairs shoes, 441 shirts, 104 pairs socks, 424 drawers, 30 caps.

25TH​ NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT

JUNE 8TH ​- AUG. 23RD​ 1862…934 jackets, 891 pairs pants, 1,108 pairs shoes, 1,084 shirts, 994 drawers, 934 caps, 48 overcoats, 77 blankets, 40 ponchos.
9TH​ LOUISIANA INFANTRY REGIMENT
APRIL 1862…1,042 jackets, 1,042 pairs pants, 304 pairs shoes, 267 shirts, 377 gray caps.
JULY, AUGUST 1862…101 'uniform' jackets, 156 pairs 'uniform' pants, 169 pairs shoes, 256 shirts, 11 drawers, 32 caps.

23RD​ NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE – DECEMBER 1862…1,056 jackets and coats, 1,198 pairs pants, 590 pairs shoes, 572 shirts, 14 pairs socks, 1,108 pairs drawers, 635 caps, 165 hats, 42 overcoats, 181 blankets.
8TH​ FLORIDA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE - DECEMBER 1862…969 jackets, 970 pairs pants, 974 pairs shoes, 770 shirts, 60 pairs socks, 393 pairs drawers, 12 overcoats, 91 blankets.

53RD​ VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
APRIL - JULY 23RD​ 1862….790 jackets, 840 pairs pants, 650 hats, 190 shirts, 82 pairs socks, 111 drawers, 98 caps.

Anyone wishing to purchase a copy please contact me.

Many Thanks
Jeff​
I'd wager that - like most general, oversimplified, broad-brush statements - it was something in-between the extremes. For example, in his report for the Sanitary Commission, Lewis Steiner, who was in Frederick when the ANV arrived on September 6 and then departed on September 11, was pretty detailed in his account of how poorly they were attired - for example, on September 8 "badly clad" and "[m]any of them without shoes" and on September 10 "shabb[y] and seed[y]". We can probably cherry pick isolated accounts that support either extreme. Always safest to go with something in the middle - especially with a 19th century army that was in the middle of hard campaigning. The famous Brady photo of captured ANV prisoners at Gettysburg doesn't show "barefoot soldiers in rags", but the three also aren't dressed as if they had turned out for parade of the King's Own.
 
Hi.
I do state the following in the book....
So, were the Confederates well attired or in rags? It would seem, judging from the copious amounts of evidence presented in this book, that the answer lies somewhere in between, and ultimately leads me to the conclusion that the Army of Northern Virginia was well worn, dirty, and footsore, but was also in the main well attired in stout gray or gray/brown uniforms. I will let readers decide for themselves.
But what I also offer are abundant amounts of data that proves that a huge portion of the ANV were well clad in Depot uniforms and well shod by offering evidence via numerous clothing issue tables, soldier's testimonies and dozens of high resolution photos. One whole section of the book explains in great detail how the citizens of Maryland may well have misinterpreted what they observed as the long gray columns shuffled past.
 
Hi.
I do state the following in the book....
So, were the Confederates well attired or in rags? It would seem, judging from the copious amounts of evidence presented in this book, that the answer lies somewhere in between, and ultimately leads me to the conclusion that the Army of Northern Virginia was well worn, dirty, and footsore, but was also in the main well attired in stout gray or gray/brown uniforms. I will let readers decide for themselves.
But what I also offer are abundant amounts of data that proves that a huge portion of the ANV were well clad in Depot uniforms and well shod by offering evidence via numerous clothing issue tables, soldier's testimonies and dozens of high resolution photos. One whole section of the book explains in great detail how the citizens of Maryland may well have misinterpreted what they observed as the long gray columns shuffled past.
That's fair. I think some of the quotes you used probably go a bit overboard in the other direction. We know the proven rule about eyewitness testimony. The issuance tables you produced also contain several for dates before Second Bull Run. For an army on active campaign in enemy territory I'd find it surprising if there was much going on in the way of issuing new uniforms during the two weeks or so leading up to and through Antietam. It was hard enough to get rations, animal fodder and ammunition issued.
 
Uniforms do not turn to rags in 2 weeks, 3 weeks or even 3 months. They will get dirty and they will fade (especially the logwood and sumac dyed jeans cloth uniforms), but they will not turn to rags. I also provide evidence of bountiful supplies of rations and forage. Regarding ammunition, the ANV didn't seem in want of ammunition considering the casualties they inflicted on the Union Army at Antietam. The photos I present in the book speak for themselves, all but two or three (of approx 135 bodies that are discernible) are attired in neat depot jackets, no rags, and all (except two) are well shod.
 
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Uniforms do not turn to rags in 2 weeks, 3 weeks or even 3 months. They will get dirty and they will fade (especially the logwood and sumac dyed jeans cloth uniforms), but they will not turn to rags. I also provide evidence of bountiful supplies of rations and forage. Regarding ammunition, the ANV didn't seem in want of ammunition considering the casualties they inflicted on the Union Army at Antietam. The photos I present in the book speak for themselves, all but two or three (of approx 135 bodies that are discernible) are attired in neat depot jackets, no rags, and all (except two) are well shod.
It depends to a great extent on the material, of course. I didn't say they were "in want of ammunition" - I suggested that in the circumstances of September 1 - September 17, ammunition and rations would have had priority over uniforms. It's common sense. And the logistics of keeping an invading army supplied on active campaign in enemy territory were daunting. It's not as though the ANV had large supply depots at the end of uninterrupted rail lines. To reiterate, and as I think I made clear, there's something in the middle of "75,000 walking scarecrows" and "75,000 models wearing brand new high-end apparel". Anecdotally, eyewitnesses appear to have seen both extremes and the in-between.
 
It depends to a great extent on the material, of course. I didn't say they were "in want of ammunition" - I suggested that in the circumstances of September 1 - September 17, ammunition and rations would have had priority over uniforms. It's common sense. And the logistics of keeping an invading army supplied on active campaign in enemy territory were daunting. It's not as though the ANV had large supply depots at the end of uninterrupted rail lines. To reiterate, and as I think I made clear, there's something in the middle of "75,000 walking scarecrows" and "75,000 models wearing brand new high-end apparel". Anecdotally, eyewitnesses appear to have seen both extremes and the in-between.
We're not far off the same wavelength here. My evidence points to a typical mid-19th​ Century army on campaign, but…..

In early September 1862 the Great Falls correspondent of the New York Tribune newspaper, accompanying the Army of Northern Virginia as it entered Maryland, sent a report to his editor describing the issue of new uniforms to Lee's troops.

It is most natural to ask why it was these men who threw away their clothing immediately on arriving on the Maryland side of the Potomac. This is most easily answered. It is a problem whose solution is not very hard.

As to a portion of the Confederate soldiers being furnished with new clothing, there is nothing which can be more conclusive than the fact that your correspondent saw full companies newly clad in substantial and fine garments, all of which were uniform in appearance.


Just to throw another spanner in the works, it may well be that the ANV's Federal opponents were in a much more sorry state than them. For instance…..

"..The condition of the regiment on its arrival was deplorable. Hungry, footsore, and almost famished; dirty and verminized, if I may be permitted to use the word, to such a degree that it would seem almost impossible to get it into normal condition again.."

Joseph Gould. 48th​ Pennsylvania Vols.

"..My men fought in the battle of Antietam very ragged, more than forty of them without shoes and I was compelled to equip thirty recruits from the bodies of the slain.."

Colonel Edward E. Cross. 5th​ New Hampshire Vols.

"..All of us was in need of clothing, not more than half had shirts or stockings, and many were without shoes, and but few had coats.."

Sergeant John S. Fay. Company 'F'. 13th​ Massachusetts Vols.

"..and the men were scantily clad, some not the owners of a shirt; all filthy, dirty, ragged and covered with vermin.."

Captain Thomas H. Parker. Company 'I' 51st​ Pennsylvania Vols.

"..and the requisition was made none too soon, for many of us were in rags and badly shod, if so lucky to be shod at all.."

J. Harrison Mills. 21st​ New York Vols.
 
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