Uniforms Sleeping gear questions

[Johhny Quest]

1) I understand that the Civil War soldier rolled his blanket into a long "tube" then wore it around his torso.

But why did they not roll their blankets and other gear into a bedroll, tie straps around it and then tie a sling to the straps? It would have been a lot cooler and this was a traditional method of carrying sleeping gear for centuries.


2) John Worsham, ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY, describes how by the Fredericksburg campaign, he and his pards had stopped using tents and many instead carried "flies." As he describes it, the "fly" was cotton, 4' x 6' and was taken from the Union. He wrote that he never heard of the Confederacy issuing them. He also says that many men did not have them and improvised shelter using branches and bushes.

From what I've read, the "fly" was part of the Union wall tent and was used to protect the door from sun and rain. I'm not sure that's exactly what Worsham was describing but I think it might be.

Is anyone familiar with them or how they were used as shelter? I made one of very light canvas but had to make it bigger (5' x 8'). It's actually pretty handy in the warm weather and there are many ways to use it.


3) I've read accounts (for example, of Pickett's Division march to Gettysburg) of how Confederate soldiers "had long ago abandoned their woolen blankets." Was this common during hot weather? I'm guessing that blankets were not hard to find, especially in towns and on battlefields, but I don't know.

 

[Seduzal]

Welcome to CWT from the Smoky Mountain side of North Carolina. Just jump right in and enjoy.
Sorry but I have no clue. But just wait for a little while and someone will be along to answer your questions. paging @captaindrew @major bill @Rusk County Avengers

 

[captaindrew]

The bedroll was the most popular way to carry your personal gear. As for what a soldier carried it was personal preference. Veteran troops would travel as light as possible. They would have a blanket and maybe a spare shirt and pair of socks. If they could acquire a Yankee gum blanket they would hold on to those. A gum blanket is very versatile. If they felt like carrying one and could pick one up maybe a Yankee shelter half. Confederate soldiers weren't typically issued tents, their companies would have flys carried with the baggage that would be shared by as many as 10 to 12 men. Here is a great article from the Liberty Rifles that goes in depth on Confederate tents https://www.libertyrifles.org/research/uniforms-equipment/confederate-tents Here is a couple of the very few photos of Confederates in the field to demonstrate what they would look like on the march and how they would carry their gear.

 

[captaindrew]

Here's a video on the subject that you might find interesting

 

[captaindrew]

For your last question i just got done reading a book of letters from a soldier in the 12th Georgia. He said at the end of the winter quarters and start of the spring campaign they would pack up winter clothing, overcoats, and extra blankets and send them to a storage area for the summer. Now there was no guarantee that they would see their stuff again. He explained that enterprising civilians would gather up discarded overcoats and blankets (typically Federal stuff being they knew when needed they would be issued new) save them and sell them back to needing soldiers the following winter.

 

[captaindrew]

I always liked this drawing of a Confederate camp scene

 

[captaindrew]

Take a look at these photos of the Liberty Rifles accurately recreating a Confederate camp, you can see how the flies were used and what the men would have on them https://www.libertyrifles.org/photos/2019/warlike

 

[Johhny Quest]

The bedroll was the most popular way to carry your personal gear

Thanks, yes, I understand, but I'm wondering why it became so popular instead of the bedroll carried on a sling?

I have found many examples of soldiers from various countries using the cross-body bedroll after the Civil War. US soldiers carried blankets cross-body during the Spanish-American War. French soldiers carried wool blankets cross-body in World War One. The Russians wore their greatcoats and/or plash palatkas cross-body during World War Two.

But I know of no examples from anywhere before the Civil War of the cross-body blanket roll. I'm sure it had to have been used here and there by the Brits and American soldiers before and during the Revolutionary War but I'm only seen illustrations of blankets in knapsacks. From my limited understanding, blankets were typically carried rolled up with a sling by frontiersmen. I've even seen Living History Viking carrying blanket rolls on a sling.

So I'm curious why Civil War soldiers on both sides abandoned the bedroll sling in favor of the cross-body carry.

 

[Georgia]

I'd been under the impression that blankets were scare items and the use of Spanish moss for creating saddle pads and blankets were used to fill that void.
(Poor Henry Ford, the anecdotal story about him using Spanish moss in car seats includes chiggers causing car owners issues...haven't looked to substantiate the story but, dang, chiggers bites aren't any fun. My maternal Grandmother attend the Mary P. Willingham School for Girls which was part of the Baptist denomination and shared instruction with what is now Berry College. My grandmother recalled seeing Miss Berry and Mr. Ford walking the campus in the 19 teens....)

The Confederate Spanish Moss Blanket

This article originally published in the North South Trader’s Civil War, Jan.-Feb., 1996. The of the most obscure items ever issued by the Confederate Ordnance Department was certainly the Sp…

confederatesaddles.com

 

[captaindrew]

Thanks, yes, I understand, but I'm wondering why it became so popular instead of the bedroll carried on a sling?

I have found many examples of soldiers from various countries using the cross-body bedroll after the Civil War. US soldiers carried blankets cross-body during the Spanish-American War. French soldiers carried wool blankets cross-body in World War One. The Russians wore their greatcoats and/or plash palatkas cross-body during World War Two.

But I know of no examples from anywhere before the Civil War of the cross-body blanket roll. I'm sure it had to have been used here and there by the Brits and American soldiers before and during the Revolutionary War but I'm only seen illustrations of blankets in knapsacks. From my limited understanding, blankets were typically carried rolled up with a sling by frontiersmen. I've even seen Living History Viking carrying blanket rolls on a sling.

So I'm curious why Civil War soldiers on both sides abandoned the bedroll sling in favor of the cross-body carry.

First off you'd need a sling. Don't know of either side producing a specific bedroll sling. You can tie the ends of an over the shoulder bedroll with anything on hand. I can tell you from experience in the reenacting would that an over the shoulder bed roll is very comfortable to wear. Way more comfortable than a knapsack. Men on both sides were issued knapsacks but many preferred the bedroll and either discarded the knapsack or put it with the baggage. It was a personal preference and what they had readily available. There is a well known image of some Union soldiers next to a wrecked train, one of them is carrying is bedroll in a fashion like you describe so it did happen somewhat but I don't think very common.

 

[Georgia]

First off you'd need a sling. Don't know of either side producing a specific bedroll sling. You can tie the ends of an over the shoulder bedroll with anything on hand. I can tell you from experience in the reenacting would that an over the shoulder bed roll is very comfortable to wear. Way more comfortable than a knapsack. Men on both sides were issued knapsacks but many preferred the bedroll and either discarded the knapsack or put it with the baggage. It was a personal preference and what they had readily available. There is a well known image of some Union soldiers next to a wrecked train, one of them is carrying is bedroll in a fashion like you describe so it did happen somewhat but I don't think very common. View attachment 381319

It looks like a fairly common practice from today of carrying a picnic blanket.

 

[JD Mayo]

Blanket roll was my favorite way to do it. Fell more comfortable to me. I like the Knapsack design but it takes two people to strap it on your shoulders etc. To much trouble.

 

[captaindrew]

It looks like a fairly common practice from today of carrying a picnic blanket.

View attachment 381320

View attachment 381321

Yeah, would be easy if you had some extra leather straps around and some buckles but that wasn't the case. Plus every piece of leather and every buckle adds a little weight. A bedroll required really nothing other than a scrap piece of anything to tie the ends. Not to mention straps can get uncomfortable after the first 15 or 20 miles, why they ditched the knapsacks.

 

[Package4]

Thanks, yes, I understand, but I'm wondering why it became so popular instead of the bedroll carried on a sling?

I have found many examples of soldiers from various countries using the cross-body bedroll after the Civil War. US soldiers carried blankets cross-body during the Spanish-American War. French soldiers carried wool blankets cross-body in World War One. The Russians wore their greatcoats and/or plash palatkas cross-body during World War Two.

But I know of no examples from anywhere before the Civil War of the cross-body blanket roll. I'm sure it had to have been used here and there by the Brits and American soldiers before and during the Revolutionary War but I'm only seen illustrations of blankets in knapsacks. From my limited understanding, blankets were typically carried rolled up with a sling by frontiersmen. I've even seen Living History Viking carrying blanket rolls on a sling.

So I'm curious why Civil War soldiers on both sides abandoned the bedroll sling in favor of the cross-body carry.

Simply put, the over the shoulder bedroll was easier to manage and more comfortable for long distances. One can also stash more in the roll when carried in this manner. Slings were available for private purchase, but were just not popular with the rank and file. Another sling would also get in the way of the other straps carried by a typical soldier, i.e. canteen, haversack and cartridge box if not worn on a belt.

 

[Johhny Quest]

First off you'd need a sling. Don't know of either side producing a specific bedroll sling. You can tie the ends of an over the shoulder bedroll with anything on hand. I can tell you from experience in the reenacting would that an over the shoulder bed roll is very comfortable to wear.

Thanks for posting that picture. It's the only one I know of but I couldn't find it.

Leather slings are nice and comfortable. But you don't need leather. During World War Two, the 3rd Infantry Division authorized the carry of blankets, shelter-halves and other gear using bedrolls that used tent ropes as a sling. Here's a video of a modern WW2 reenactor setting one up.

I've gone back and forth between the cross-body bedroll and the sling bedroll while hiking (I'm not a reenactor). The wool blanket is much too warm for me during most of the year, which is why I had someone make me a 7 oz canvas fly based on Worsham's general description. But even that can be very warm so then I use a sling.

Personal opinion only, but I don't think soldiers on either side carried wool blankets during most of the campaign year. I think veterans, just like soldiers in the field today, quickly learned to sleep in the open. For one reason, Worsham appears to say so and Clifford Dowdey mentions that Pickett's men had abandoned their blankets before they reached Gettysburg.

It makes sense, I think. Three options for the infantryman - you live, you're wounded or you die. If you live, you can always find discarded items on the battlefield. If wounded, someone will hopefully provide you with one. And if you don't make it, well, you shouldn't need one in Heaven and definitely won't need one if you go to the other place.

 

[Georgia]

Yeah, would be easy if you had some extra leather straps around and some buckles but that wasn't the case. Plus every piece of leather and every buckle adds a little weight. A bedroll required really nothing other than a scrap piece of anything to tie the ends. Not to mention straps can get uncomfortable after the first 15 or 20 miles, why they ditched the knapsacks.

Actually, the second photo shows without buckles. If you did a square knot to slide- (its how you can make a necklace on a cord adjustable length) all your need is your rope, leather strips or even torn fabric folded onto itself do the edges are caught and won't further ravel. ( cut with a knife and tear along the weave-)

 

[Johhny Quest]

Simply put, the over the shoulder bedroll was easier to manage and more comfortable for long distances. One can also stash more in the roll when carried in this manner. Slings were available for private purchase, but were just not popular with the rank and file. Another sling would also get in the way of the other straps carried by a typical soldier, i.e. canteen, haversack and cartridge box if not worn on a belt.

Thanks. The additional sling is what I imagined could have been a major issue. I've seen videos of long hunter reenactors complaining about too many straps and they're not required to repeatedly load and shoot quickly.

The other thing I can imagine is that if a Civil War infantryman had the ability to maneuver under fire (instead of standing in a line) or if he was called on to attack at a run, the cross-body blanket roll would be closer to his center of gravity and not bounce around as much.

 

[captaindrew]

Thanks for posting that picture. It's the only one I know of but I couldn't find it.

Leather slings are nice and comfortable. But you don't need leather. During World War Two, the 3rd Infantry Division authorized the carry of blankets, shelter-halves and other gear using bedrolls that used tent ropes as a sling. Here's a video of a modern WW2 reenactor setting one up.

I've gone back and forth between the cross-body bedroll and the sling bedroll while hiking (I'm not a reenactor). The wool blanket is much too warm for me during most of the year, which is why I had someone make me a 7 oz canvas fly based on Worsham's general description. But even that can be very warm so then I use a sling.

Personal opinion only, but I don't think soldiers on either side carried wool blankets during most of the campaign year. I think veterans, just like soldiers in the field today, quickly learned to sleep in the open. For one reason, Worsham appears to say so and Clifford Dowdey mentions that Pickett's men had abandoned their blankets before they reached Gettysburg.

It makes sense, I think. Three options for the infantryman - you live, you're wounded or you die. If you live, you can always find discarded items on the battlefield. If wounded, someone will hopefully provide you with one. And if you don't make it, well, you shouldn't need one in Heaven and definitely won't need one if you go to the other place.

It really just comes down to personal preference and there is no doubt the bedroll was favored. As far as blankets again would be personal preference but with a Confederate soldier a good blanket was harder to come by so I believe if they had one they'd be more inclined to hold on to it and may not of had another choice from protection from the weather. Many of the Union troops would just go with a gum blanket and shelter half in the summer.

 

[Package4]

1) I understand that the Civil War soldier rolled his blanket into a long "tube" then wore it around his torso.

But why did they not roll their blankets and other gear into a bedroll, tie straps around it and then tie a sling to the straps? It would have been a lot cooler and this was a traditional method of carrying sleeping gear for centuries.


2) John Worsham, ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY, describes how by the Fredericksburg campaign, he and his pards had stopped using tents and many instead carried "flies." As he describes it, the "fly" was cotton, 4' x 6' and was taken from the Union. He wrote that he never heard of the Confederacy issuing them. He also says that many men did not have them and improvised shelter using branches and bushes.

From what I've read, the "fly" was part of the Union wall tent and was used to protect the door from sun and rain. I'm not sure that's exactly what Worsham was describing but I think it might be.

Is anyone familiar with them or how they were used as shelter? I made one of very light canvas but had to make it bigger (5' x 8'). It's actually pretty handy in the warm weather and there are many ways to use it.


3) I've read accounts (for example, of Pickett's Division march to Gettysburg) of how Confederate soldiers "had long ago abandoned their woolen blankets." Was this common during hot weather? I'm guessing that blankets were not hard to find, especially in towns and on battlefields, but I don't know.

Most likely he is referring to what is known as a shebang, a shelter half that could be strung on a fence and pegged to the ground, or even a low branch, but usually with two y branches and a cross member and pegged.

Examples of shebangs:

 

[Dave Hull]

I am actually shocked that no one used tumplines. The fur traders and Indians used them for over 100 years o carry not only heavy loads of furs over steep, broken terrain, but also to portage their canoes. The basic idea is a long leather strap for the forehead and long ends are fitted over the load. Proper technique is the key to safe usage (we did it a long time ago in Scouts) but 50 pound loads are no sweat with a tumpline, far lighter than anything carried in a knap sack. Even in WWI tumplines were used to carry heavier loads of supplies, more quickly to the front than by packs. I think the Sherpas carrying supplies for climbers on Everest still employ tumplines.

It employs the major muscle groups of the back, upright, erect posture and free the ribs to breath deeply while on the march, not confined like pack straps.