Signal Corps uniform questions

Billy1977

Sergeant
Joined
Mar 18, 2016
Location
Flippin, Arkansas (near Yellville)
Hello everybody, I was wondering if someone could help me with these questions about the Union's Signal Corps uniforms.
1. Did enlisted men have a cap badge of miniature signal flags?
2. Did officers have a cap badge of their own or just wear the one for staff officers?
3. Has anyone seen the dress uniforms of either enlisted or officer Signal Corps personnel? I would love to see what they look like or even have them described.

Many thanks to anybody who can answer this.
 
Thank you for your questions. We should have someone here soon that can help you. I would post images in a week or so after I get back from Florida.
 
Hello everybody, I was wondering if someone could help me with these questions about the Union's Signal Corps uniforms.
1. Did enlisted men have a cap badge of miniature signal flags?
2. Did officers have a cap badge of their own or just wear the one for staff officers?
3. Has anyone seen the dress uniforms of either enlisted or officer Signal Corps personnel? I would love to see what they look like or even have them described.

Many thanks to anybody who can answer this.
There are pictures of both officers and EM on the Library of Congress site, I would recommend going there and blowing up for detail. The Signal Corps had quite a bit of leeway and their uniforms are all over the board.
 
I found this website, the Signal Corps Association, and here
http://www.civilwarsignals.org/pages/signal/signalpages/insignia/insignia.html

it shows some insignia. What do you all think about this cap badge for privates and NCOs? It even shows a photograph of a private wearing it on his slouch hat.

As for dress uniforms I think the Signal Corps officers wore staff officer uniforms but with the cap badge for officers shown on that page above. No idea about enlisted dress uniforms in the Signal Corps though, maybe they put shoulder scales on the shell jacket they had and wore a Hardee hat?
 
Understand, the US Signal Corps was a relatively new beast during the CW. As such, I can find no concrete uniform regulations for them (I reenacted Signal Corps for several years, and the uniform regs were always in question) until AFTER the war, when orange was selected as the Branch of Service color.

The CS Signal Corps was in a similar situation.

Hope the lack of info was a help.
 
Apart from some descriptions in a handful of books, i know only a picture of a Confederate signal officer with a flags badge on hat.
I believe that, all confederate specialist corps (for example ambulances corps, signal corps or sharpshooters) wore the uniforms of the rest of the troops, but to distinguish themselves, used a particular insignia, like an arm's badge, an hat's badge or other.
 
Here's a song chronicled by Benjamin Tubb in his work, "The Music of the American Civil War (1861 - 1865)." It is sung to The Bonnie Blue Flag. I know it's not a Uniform related post, but certainly well associated with the topic.


THE CONFEDERATE SIGNAL CORPS

There is a flag as yet unsung,
A banner bright and fair,
It moves in waves of right and left,
That banner in the air.
The wise may look, the scholar con,
The wondering urchin stare,
But naught can make of The Bonnie White Flag
That Bears The Crimson Square.

CHORUS: Hurrah! Hurrah!
For the Signal Corps, hurrah,
Hurrah for The Bonnie White Flag
That Bears The Crimson Square.

To comrades true, far, far away,
Who watch with anxious eye,
These secret signs an import bear
When waved against the sky.
As quick as thought, as swift as light,
Those airy symbols there,
Are caught and read from The Bonnie White Flag
That Bears The Crimson Square.
CHORUS

When armèd hosts in serried ranks
Sweep forward to the fray,
The signal flag is waving there
To point the victorious way,
From hill to hill, from crag to crag,
The wingèd words to bear
That gave a name to The Bonnie White Flag
That Bears The Crimson Square.
CHORUS

When night draws o'er the wearied earth
Her cloak of sable hue,
And bids us dream of home and friends,
The soldiers staunch and true.
'Tis then the torch that's burning bright,
Tells by its meteor glare
That we're on watch with The Bonnie White Flag
That Bears The Crimson Square.
CHORUS

Then let us hope when war is o'er
And great, and good, and free,
We stand and boast ourselves with truth
A model confederacy,
That midst war's recollections oft
We too may claim a share,
As we fondly think of The Bonnie White Flag
That Bears The Crimson Square.

CHORUS
 
Just another little question, Did the balloon corps have separate insignia or were they just part of the signal corps?

From what I understand they often wore the letters "AD" for Aeronautical Department or "BC" for Balloon Corps on their caps. But this is only from that book Combat Uniforms of the Civil War by Mark Lloyd, not a primary source.
 
I found this website, the Signal Corps Association, and here
http://www.civilwarsignals.org/pages/signal/signalpages/insignia/insignia.html

it shows some insignia. What do you all think about this cap badge for privates and NCOs? It even shows a photograph of a private wearing it on his slouch hat.

As for dress uniforms I think the Signal Corps officers wore staff officer uniforms but with the cap badge for officers shown on that page above. No idea about enlisted dress uniforms in the Signal Corps though, maybe they put shoulder scales on the shell jacket they had and wore a Hardee hat?
I would not use the cap badge for the EM as it seems to be extremely rare, in fact it could have been homemade, officers tended to wear them but the EM seemed to trend toward the shoulder patch. There are many photographs on the LOC website and the one that may help you the most is the barracks picture outside of Washington DC. The picture is below, but if you go on the website, it enable one to blow up where you can see incredible detail. Keep in mind that they were considered mounted and as such had swordbelt plates, though I find that half seemed to prefer the shell jacket and approximately half liked the sack coat.
Signal Corps Barracks.png
 
Did Signal Corps enlisted men wear both normal mounted trousers as well as dark blue trousers? Because I've seen them illustrated with both.
Civil War; Union.Signal.Corps.private,1864..jpg
Civil War; Union.Signal.Corps.semaphore.flags,carrying.case..jpg
Civil War; Union.Signal.Corps.soldier...jpg
Civil War; Union.Signal.Corps.men.at.Central.Signal.Station,Washington,D.C..jpg

Note that in these photographs above they appear to be wearing dark blue trousers. But then we see others wearing sky blue mounted trousers like so.
Civil War; Union.Signal.Corps.soldier.[presumably,based.on.the.jacket]..jpg
Civil War; Union.Signal.Corps.camp.of.instruction.near.Georgetown,hospital..jpg


So did they have both then?
 
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