Uniform fabric?

[EagleEye]

Hello!

First I must inform I am new to this forum, and this is my first tread.

I am planning on starting on making my own uniform (confederate cavalry officer).
Style of jacket, pants etc will come later.
My first question is the fabric.
Would it be most authentic with wool, or some other fabric?

If anyone of you have experience in making your own uniform, I would be much pleased to open a "private#" dialog with you.
I have so much to learn, and so much "go for it" attitude ;-)

Looking forward to a lot of replies

Greeting from a Norwegian old west / ACW fanatic

 

[Mike Serpa]

Welcome!

 

[Chattahooch33]

Did you choose Confederate cavalry officer for any reason in particular? I wouldn't start there if I were you. Officer uniforms were fancier than enlisted uniforms which were often times made at home or thrown together quickly if they didn't come from a major depot.
The best thing to do is research originals and this can't be done looking at pictures. Go to a museum and sketch the seams, types of stitches, hem lines, etc.
Also, what time of the war and theater? For instance in Georgia by 1864, the officers were wearing basically the same thing as the enlisted men just with perhaps a small insignia on their shoulder, very non-descript, showing rank.

 

[EagleEye]

Did you choose Confederate cavalry officer for any reason in particular?

Also, what time of the war and theater?

Thanks you for your reply.
The thing is that I am a member of a group of old west / ACW enthusiasts, and we have built out own frontier town close to the border between Norway and Sweden.
My character is an irish emigrant son, raised by Mangas Coloradas (an Apache chief) and I joined the war and rode under Col. Sherod Hunter in Company A, Arizona Rangers as a scout.
My character was given the rank of 2.nd Lieutenant and therefor I want an officers uniform.
I think also this gives med the opportunity to choose more freely how I was dressed (uniformed).

But I want to make a complete and authentic uniform, because our primary objective with our town and group, is to present living history.

 

[Chattahooch33]

Thanks you for your reply.
The thing is that I am a member of a group of old west / ACW enthusiasts, and we have built out own frontier town close to the border between Norway and Sweden.
My character is an irish emigrant son, raised by Mangas Coloradas (an Apache chief) and I joined the war and rode under Col. Sherod Hunter in Company A, Arizona Rangers as a scout.
My character was given the rank of 2.nd Lieutenant and therefor I want an officers uniform.
I think also this gives med the opportunity to choose more freely how I was dressed (uniformed).

But I want to make a complete and authentic uniform, because our primary objective with our town and group, is to present living history.

Ok I see. I don't know anything really about a Confederate cavalry unit out of Arizona and I especially don't know what type of uniform they wore.

 

[EagleEye]

Ok I see. I don't know anything really about a Confederate cavalry unit out of Arizona and I especially don't know what type of uniform they wore.

That is totally ok.
But my question was regarding what fabric the uniforms where made of.
I presume wool was most used in both the confederacy and the Union.
But I also seem to remember that units from Texas also used a lot of cotton made clothing and uniforms.

What are your thoughts on that?

 

[zburkett]

Welcome. If you can please post pictures of your western town. I'm sure many of us will be interested. As for your original question, someone raised by Mangas would likely ware a home made uniform possibly including a Union Army coat and homespun pants. An issue Confederate uniform would be either wool or jean cloth. Early in the war the first officers uniform might be very fancy but after a few battles they would learn that fancy uniforms drew fire so they would dress less flamboyantly. Short jacket (possibly 9 button), pants with reinforced seat, high boots, broad brimmed hat. They would likely have a sword belt but from the west would probably carry two revolvers instead of a saber.

Try the hanoverbrass.com which has a number of photographs of Confederates from Texas in the section on Texas Buckles.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Hello EagleEye.

Welcome to CivilWarTalk.

It's great that you wish to present an authentic living history impression.
That's definitely an interesting persona you've created !

However to be truly authentic in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, civilian attire . . . even for officers would have been the norm during the early War years. One of the only known Confederate officer uniforms associated with the 1862 New Mexico campaign belonged to Captain William Cleaver of the 7th Texas Cavalry. A photo of this uniform can be found at this link:
http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc19/moc6.htm

As the War progressed, the Arizona guys found themselves much further East. At this point it's plausible to assume some of them would have been wearing uniforms from the Trans-Mississippi depots. A Junior Officer may have worn some of these uniforms embellished with Lieutenant's bars. In other words nothing fancy.

A couple ideas come to mind:

John Bach Trans-Mississippi Depot Jacket
by Fred Adolphus, 6 January 2011

Details of the "Oklahoma Mystery Jacket"
Suspected Trans-Mississippi Depot Jacket

A pattern for the Oklahoma mystery jacket can be found here:
http://stores.gallarockpatterns.com/grsp-310-galla-rock-trans-miss-shell-jacket-pattern/

Regarding material ? I would suggest period jean wool (aka Jean cloth).
A good source is:
http://wwandcompany.com/fabrics-supplies/cs-fabrics.html

Anyway, just my two cents.

You might enjoy this older thread about the Arizona Rangers:
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/arizona-rangers.111680/

Once again, welcome and good luck with your uniform !

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

Howdy and Welcome!

 

[major bill]

I took these from the web.

The new company was composed of (to quote the MESILLA TIMES) "picked men, inured to the hardships of frontier life, and conversant with all its details."4 They were armed with six-shooter revolvers and Model 1847 smoothbore Dragoon musketoons, probably taken from the Federal garrison of Fort Fillmore when that post was surrendered to the Confederates in August 1861.5 The company was enlisted "for three years, or during the war."6 Although the MESILLA TIMES called them the "crack company of the service," they were certainly no "spit and polish" outfit. Tucson residents later observed that Hunter's men rarely drilled while in Tucson, (a possible indication of their great proficiency in the use of their weapons, which would be demonstrated later at Picacho Pass), and that they "slept where they pleased."7 It is unlikely that they were issued with any Confederate uniform during this campaign, but instead wore a conglomeration of civilian clothing and items of Union clothing from the stocks captured at Fort Fillmore.8

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Here's another thread you may find helpful:
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/uniforms-in-civil-war-desert-fighting.122852/

 

[Dilba]

Welcome, and good luck. You've come to the right place for help.

 

[AUG]

Confederate troopers out on the southwestern frontier were typically not well uniformed, some wearing of mix of homespun or privately purchased uniforms of various styles and fabrics, and others in civilian clothing or a mix of the two. While enlisted men might be wearing more of a variation, officers may choose to be more uniformed in appearance. That doesn't mean anything fancy, no gray coat with yellow cuffs and collar or gold braid. Also no kepi, wear a wide-brimmed slouch hat instead.

Here is a period sketch by Carl G. von Iwonski of Confederate troops at Las Moras Springs near Fort Clark, Texas in March 1861. Notice the two officers sitting by the tree at right.

 

[AUG]

Here's the link to an article on the homespun uniform worn by Burton Marchbanks in the 30th Texas Cavalry:
http://adolphusconfederateuniforms.com/homemade-clothes-of-burton-marchbanks-30th-texas-cavalry.html

I think that's sort of what you should go for. No, Marchbanks wasn't an officer, but I think an officer in the Trans-Mississippi might've worn a similar homespun uniform.

 

[bdtex]

Hello!

First I must inform I am new to this forum, and this is my first tread.

I am planning on starting on making my own uniform (confederate cavalry officer).
Style of jacket, pants etc will come later.
My first question is the fabric.
Would it be most authentic with wool, or some other fabric?

If anyone of you have experience in making your own uniform, I would be much pleased to open a "private#" dialog with you.
I have so much to learn, and so much "go for it" attitude ;-)

Looking forward to a lot of replies

Greeting from a Norwegian old west / ACW fanatic

This may be helpful. On display in the museum at the Mansfield Battlefield State Park in Mansfield,Louisiana is a uniform made of "jean wool" fabric,which is a cotton/wool blend. As it says on the sign,it is not a matching uniform. The sign suggests that the jacket is cavalry and the pants are infantry. All Confederate Cavalry Regiments at Mansfield were from Texas or Louisiana. The same regiments,plus Confederate regiments from Arkansas and Arizona fought in the Battle of Pleasant Hill,Louisiana the next day.

 

[bdtex]

Thanks you for your reply.
The thing is that I am a member of a group of old west / ACW enthusiasts, and we have built out own frontier town close to the border between Norway and Sweden.
My character is an irish emigrant son, raised by Mangas Coloradas (an Apache chief) and I joined the war and rode under Col. Sherod Hunter in Company A, Arizona Rangers as a scout.
My character was given the rank of 2.nd Lieutenant and therefor I want an officers uniform.
I think also this gives med the opportunity to choose more freely how I was dressed (uniformed).

But I want to make a complete and authentic uniform, because our primary objective with our town and group, is to present living history.

Research of this uniform may be helpful to you. It is on display at the Museum Of The Confederacy in Richmond,Virginia. As the sign says,it is the frock coat and kepi of Captain William Cleaver of the 7th Texas Cavalry and is the only known surviving uniform associated with the Confederate New Mexico and Arizona Campaign(the "Sibley Campaign"). the sign says the uniform was believed to have been made in San Antonio.

 

[bdtex]

Hello!

First I must inform I am new to this forum, and this is my first tread.

I am planning on starting on making my own uniform (confederate cavalry officer).
Style of jacket, pants etc will come later.
My first question is the fabric.
Would it be most authentic with wool, or some other fabric?

If anyone of you have experience in making your own uniform, I would be much pleased to open a "private#" dialog with you.
I have so much to learn, and so much "go for it" attitude ;-)

Looking forward to a lot of replies

Greeting from a Norwegian old west / ACW fanatic

Oh yeah. Welcome to the forum from The Trans-Mississippi Department.

 

[Grayrock Volunteer]

I'm afraid that "wool" is a bit generic when it comes to Civil War uniforms. The vast majority of CW era uniforms are of woolen cloth, but there is quite a bit of variety in the actual cloth, let alone color. Domestically produced cloth for Confederate uniforms include jeans, cassimere, satinette, and plains. All of these are sometimes simply referred to as "jean cloth", but that is a bit of a generalization. Jeans is a 2:1 twill woven wool-cotton cloth; Cassimere is a 2:2 twill woven wool-cotton cloth; Satinette is a 2:1 twill woven wool-cotton that is finished to closely resemble 100% wool cloth; Plains is a 1:1 box woven wool-cotton cloth. Although these descriptions sound very similar, in actuality these minor differences produce very noticeable distinctions between the cloths types. To illustrate the point I've attached some photos from Ben Tart's website.


L to R: Cassimere; Jean; Plains; Satinette

When sewing with these it is important to know that cassimere, jeans and satinette all have a definite "right" and "wrong" side due to the way the cotton fill is woven. Since plains is a 1:1 weave it is identical on both sides. Nick Sekela has had some tailoring grade satinette for a while now (it is also carried by The Needle and Thread), that would make a very nice coat as well.

As some other posters have suggested, the Marchbanks uniform set is a wonderful example of a "western" Confederate cavalry uniform. The coat its self is a paletot rather than a frock or sack coat, but that is the topic for another post. Ben Tart's patina plains is a good fabric option for reproducing it, and the Past Patterns Summer Paletot is not a bad pattern to start with if you are unfamiliar with drafting your own from scratch. Fred Adolphus' article on that uniform set is of immeasurable help if you are unable to examine the uniform in person.

Welcome to the forums and best of luck with your uniform project.

Cheers,
Garrett

 

[Seduzal]

Welcome to CWT from the Smoky Mountain side of North Carolina.

 

[bdtex]

However to be truly authentic in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, civilian attire . . . even for officers would have been the norm during the early War years. One of the only known Confederate officer uniforms associated with the 1862 New Mexico campaign belonged to Captain William Cleaver of the 7th Texas Cavalry. A photo of this uniform can be found at this link:
http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc19/moc6.htm

I missed that before I posted my replies below. The jacket and vest were not on display at the MOC when I was there January 8th,just the frock coat and kepi.