I have to believe all that padding added to the danger of wounds getting infected given that a flattened bullet would drag a lot of padding into the body. No doubt it caused much more probing by surgeons. On the other hand, it would have been warm in the winter. Hot in the summer though- is it my imagination that Southern uniforms did not seem to have quite as much "enhancement"?
I have a reproduction 1858 pattern, heavy wool US Marine musician's dress frock coat that was hand made by the Ship's Company's seamstress to period specifications. It has padding in the chest area just as they would have done back in the day (but nowhere near as exaggerated as some these guys I have pictures of). I pity anyone who had to wear it the deep South during the summer. Even wearing here in Maryland during the summer is almost unbearable. Further proof in my estimation that the people who designed those uniforms never had to wear them!
Here's the inside of a CS Army general's coat, with the quilted padding in the lining...
My takeaways from all this is that the ideal manly physique of the mid 1800s appears to be a barrel chest and a small waist and experienced tailors could stitch clothes to create that illusion if a man's actual physical build did not measure up to the ideal - like men's suit coats today are padded in the shoulders because the ideal is broad shoulders.
The uniforms looked small because they are small. The average soldier of the period weighed approximately 165 lbs.
The bad teeth CDV subject is wearing what appears to be a pre war frock from the Schuylkill Arsenal. The high collar was emblematic of these coats and to specification.My frock coat is padded in the chest and is stiflingly hot on a summer day! It does give you a great shape, though! This is a piece of the period look that modern reenactors find difficult to replicate because it creates a fit that´s different from even a modern suit coat and - truth be told - is not comfortable. (Anyone who tells you the fabric ¨breathes¨ or ¨gets sweated in¨ is just mildly delusional and has gotten used to the discomfort.)
There are a couple ¨never say never¨ appearances in these photos:
The hatted gentleman in the first image looks for all the world like he´s wearing one of those crushable felt hats that curl up to a ¨potato chip brim¨ which are ubiquitous in current reenacting! Also, the private with the bad teeth looks like he´s wearing a bad repop coat - the kind we would tell newbies was made in Pakistan! What a bunch of farbs!
The tailor books, like Devere, Minister, etc. all reference a 36 or 38 inch chest (with vest) as near standard.
Our sons hit that mark in high school (36-38). So the average soldier was much shorter/ lighter then but that was evidently not because of their age as opposed to older officers. Really helps to understand how things actually were at that time in history.
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