Mini: The Colors of War
The Evolution of American Civil War Uniforms
When I think of the American Civil War, one of the first things that comes to mind is the color of the uniforms worn on both sides. It is an easy way to refer to one side or the other: the Union soldiers in their blue uniforms and the Confederates in their gray uniforms. However, this was not the case early on.
When the Confederate States seceded from the United States in 1861, the new Confederate Army contained many units from the United States Army, complete with all their equipment. Of course, that equipment included their blue US Army uniforms. These units continued to wear their old uniforms. After all, why throw away a perfectly good pair of pants? At the time, the Confederacy lacked the manufacturing system the Union had, so switching uniforms took time.
Early on in the war, this common uniform color led to units confusing enemies for friends. This happened during the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. (The Confederates referred to it as the Battle of First Manassas.) The soldiers of the 33rd Virginia Infantry Regiment still wore their Union blue uniforms. A Union major assumed it was a friendly unit and told his troops not to fire on them. The 33rd Virginia then attacked the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment and helped capture a Union artillery battery. (The battery was later recaptured.)
I mentioned above that “the new Confederate Army contained many units from the United States Army”. The rest of the Confederate Army consisted of local militias. These militias were required to supply their own uniforms, so many of them wore gray uniforms. This was due in large part to the fact that grey dye was “plentiful in the South”. That changed later in the war as the Union blockade took effect. Instead, uniforms were dyed using butternut, which resulted in a light brown color.
Other Uniforms
Since we’re on the subject of Civil War uniforms, there were a couple of interesting designs that stood out. The Continental Morgan Guard wore uniforms resembling the Continental Army, consisting of “white doe skin breeches, black top boots, buff casimire waist coats, and black tri-corner hats”. This unit was more of a ceremonial unit than a combat unit at the time. The uniform was designed to remember the glory days of the Revolutionary War. After the Civil War started the Continental Morgan Guard joined the Confederate Army and became part of the 5th Virginia Infantry. As the war wore on, the Continental Morgan Guard’s uniforms were slowly replaced by regular gray uniforms as the fancy ones wore out.
Another more widely used uniform was patterned after the Zouave uniform worn by the French in the early 1800s. It was inspired by the clothing worn by some Algerian tribes. You can see an example of this design in the above picture. Several units on both sides of the war used the Zouave uniform at the beginning of the war. Just like the Continental Morgan Guard, many Zouave uniforms were replaced by standard-issue uniforms as time went on.
If you have a suggestion for a historical tidbit, feel free to comment below. If you enjoyed it, please share it with your friends and relatives. Thank you.