September 2000 Fort Brooke Record

In Remembrance

Go Rest High On That Mountain
by Vince Gill

I know your life on earth was troubled
And only you could know the pain
You weren't afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain

Go rest high on that mountain
Son, your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a shoutin'
Love for the Father and Son

Oh, how we cried the day you left us
We gathered round your grave to grieve
I wish I could see the angels faces
When they hear your sweet voice sing

Go rest high on that mountain
Son, your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a shoutin'
Love for the Father and Son

Uniforms of The Confederacy
Materials and Manufacturing Techniques

By Michael Clark

Section A: Materials

Last month we discussed some very basic generalities about the subject of Confederate Uniforms. In this article, I hope to outline the type of materials that were used in their construction as well as the techniques used to manufacture them. I hope that this will serve two purposes. First: that individuals who may now own or have chance to see an original CS garment will know what to look for to identify it. Second: that individuals who would like to have a modern made example constructed for their own use, will hopefully be able to use this information to positively impact the outcome of such a venture.

One of the first things that students of CS uniforms should be informed of the is the type of materials that they are made of. As we know and should do without saying, no uniforms or even components of uniforms would have been made from synthetic materials. This statement is slightly confusing when you consider the fact that some uniform components were made of rubber. CS General Jackson was wearing a rubberized cotton coat when he was fatally wounded. We will go into more detail later in this article about materials which sort of sit on the fence of natural/made made materials.

While chemistry coupled with prevailing technologies for the 19^th century did have an impact on the manufacture of man made materials, those considered suitable for the manufacture of military uniforms were completely natural. Fibers used in the weaving of cloths used for this purpose would be, cotton, linen, sheep and goats wool, alpaca (a kind of wool harvested from an animal found in South America), silk, wood and other plant fibers sometimes referred to as nettle, hemp (sometimes confused with linen), horses main hair as well as hair and fur of cattle and other animals, buckram (a jute material which resembles burlap), and in rare cases even leather, tanned with or without fur still attached, would have been used to make a uniform or any component thereof.

Lets start out with the most common and work our way down. The most evident materials used in the construction of a uniform are those, which are making up the outer panels of the garment itself. What one may not recognize is the fact that just as much if not more materials of varying types, will go into the lining, interlining, collar stiffening, batting (padding), button re-enforcement, pockets, trim and facings etc. It is easy to say that on uniform might have five to ten different materials incorporated in its construction. So now, what is the most common material used for the outer panels? Sheeps wool! For the most part all uniforms made and quite a bit of the civilian garments made during the time, which may or may not have been used in the field service of the Confederacy, will be made of sheeps wool. There are a number of reasons for this. For practical purposes and especially relating to military usage, wool wears better under stress, it is flame retardant, it will shrink to fit or stretch to fit (a little, one way or another), it was readily accessible and from a renewable source, it was comfortable to wear in various climates and could be woven lighter or heavier depending on the time of year it was being issued. It was also easily died with a variety of substances and would hold its color better than say silk or cotton, which are hard to dye in the first place and fade rather quickly. So from the standpoint of any quarter master dictating the details of what uniforms should be made of, the overwhelming choice will be wool or in the case of the South, wool blends.

What kind of woolens? Worsted wool, may have been woven into a number of different types of cloth. Broadcloth (a fine, high grade material which will usually be polished to a sheen), melton (A heavier cloth of similar weave but made of lesser quality wool then brushed to hide the grain of the weave) and kersey a very heavy material made from a loose twill weave which is less expensive to make and looks like melton) , will be the most common type used to make officers uniforms and also even the enlisted uniforms of early volunteers and militia men. Satinette (a material made by weaving a woolen yarn into a light cotton warp with not cotton showing from the outside) and jean cloth which is similar to Satinette but made of lesser quality wool and heavier cotton and the cotton is visible from the outside), are materials which were used quite extensively in the South since they incorporate 15 to 25% cotton which was easier to get in the South and since they were made with wool as the main component, still had many of the attributes of wool. These later mentioned cloths will be seen in nearly all uniforms made in the South after 1863 and were used to make caps, trousers, vests, jackets, frock coats, great coats, and even blankets and in at least one instance, shoe uppers! None of the above mentioned materials are unique to the south. All were in use in the manufacture of clothing and uniforms in the North as well and for that matter, throughout the world. In fact, broadcloth and melton are generally considered as Irish/Scotch innovations, kersey is English, Satinette is French and jean cloth is Italian. Southern weavers did contribute a good bit to the look and feel of the material especially when you consider the way they were dyed, which we will talk about later. A final woolen material, which we can put on the list, is a cloth, which came to me known as Shoddy. Shoddy is nothing more than wool felt. Felt does have a place in the manufacture of quality uniforms and was used extensively as batting and interlining. However, there was a practice used by unscrupulous vendors and contactors of using the material as the outer panels of uniforms. This cheap shoddy will not hold up to much wear since it is not woven but rather glued together and in many cases it would fall apart when it got wet. Not a few men who were issued uniforms made of this cloth found themselves naked when they most needed quality garments. Today the word Shoddy is universally accepted as a term, which means poor quality.

We can talk about other material components used to make a uniform garment. Most CS garments and particularly those, which were made for enlisted personnel, would have been interlined with cotton canvas or ducking. This interlining is never visible, even when one looks inside the garment and not to be confused with the lining. The interlining is usually just the interfacing set in between the outer panels and the lining. This gives the garment added strength and rigidity as well as a base to conform to which aides to reduce wrinkles. Most jackets that I have looked at will have interlining only in the front or bodice, while frock coats may have the entire upper portion of the garment interlined. This will sometimes be determined by the quality of the outer panels. Lighter grade wools will need more interlining. Interlining is also made from linen and even horses mane hair as well as goat hair and other types of plant materials such as nettle, but this is rare.

Also, well within the confines of the garment are some other materials. Batting or padding has traditionally been sued to make quilts. It was also used to make the chest and shoulder padding of uniforms. It was primarily used in the manufacture of officers uniforms but many early enlisted uniforms will use it as well, especially early frock coats. It is usually only sewn in the very front of the garment and quilted on to the back of the actual lining or sometimes just tacked in. Some coats will have a light batting on the tops of the shoulders and more commonly a small roll of it tucked under the gathering or pleats of the sleeves. It was considered stylish to have sleeves, which perked up a bit just where they joined the shoulder. This batting, which resembles very loosely constructed felt, but thicker and fluffier, can be made off cotton which is most common, or wool and even horse hair, as well as jute and sometimes light hog bristle.

Collars are generally stiffened with cotton canvas, which is similar to, if not exactly like that used in interlining. Most enlisted uniforms are made with the collar stiffener cut from the scraps of interlining. Officers and finer made enlisted garment will use buckram in the collars. Buckram is a tightly woven jute material, which resembles burlap but will usually be painted on one side to give it added stiffness. This material is also used in the left front panel of the bodice of garment as a re-enforcement for button holes.

The actual inside linings of coats and jackets are also made from a number of materials. Wool, while common for outside panels and batting, etc, is not very common for inside linings but do wind up on the inner part of a garment in the facing. A facing is generally the same material as the outside and just a small strip through with the button holes are cut and the same of the side where the buttons are mounted. These facing may also be made of a contrasting material and usually it will be that of a branch or service color or a color like buff white, denoting staff. This will usually be more common on officers uniforms but again, early enlisted garments and especially those which were tailor made may also have these facings. The linings of enlisted coats will generally be bade of off white cotton osnaburg. Osnaburg is a cloth of German or Austrian origin, which looks like muslin but made of heavier yarn. It was inexpensive, comfortable and was strong enough to incorporate inside pockets and so on without tearing or wearing out. Other lining materials could be used in enlisted or officers uniforms as well. A number of existing examples will have linings made of gingham, any number of printed cambrics and other woven patterns like checks and stripes so on. Also silk and cassimere are found are found in officers and early enlisted uniforms. Alpaca serge and polished cotton are also found. Since all uniforms are hand made and made from materials, which were on hand at any given time the materials used could differ from one day to the next. So, a common enlisted jacket, which was made from brown/gray jean cloth and have a cotton osnaburg liner in one half of the coat and a bed ticking striped liner on the other half, is possible. As a collector of uniforms of other eras, I have seen this in uniforms made in Germany and Japan as late as WWII. Another issue is, that especially with respect to a frock coat, one type of liner could be used in the upper part of the uniform. (Generally a lining made of a high quality lining material) and a less expensive material used to line the skirts and pockets.

This article only touches on the possibilities of the types of materials that were used in the manufacture of CS uniforms. The real truth is hard to discern. For one thing, many of the materials are sewn into the lining of the garments and unless they are damaged cannot be evaluated. Moreover, many garments made during the time were unique and have been destroyed and thus derive us of the chance to evaluate them.

We will discuss more on the materials used in other garments such as trousers and headgear in the next article as well as techniques of dying, weaving, sewed pressing.

From the Adjutant's Desk:

Year 2001 Membership Dues remittance is doing well, we are more than two thirds of the way home. If you have not as yet mailed your check, please do so before the holiday rush.

The ongoing donation program for the powerful LeMat, .44-caliber percussion revolver is moving along at a medium pace. For more tickets please contact 1^st Lt. Cdr. Marion Lambert at (813) 839-5153.

Please remember the John T. Lesley Camp is always open for fund raising suggestion to help defray the printing and postage costs.

Welcome to the most current member of the John T. Lesley Camp, Mr. Michael W. Mitcham. His Confederate ancestor was Capt. Francis M. Machen, Co. E, 52 Reg. Ala. Inf.

So many thanks to Daphne Sullivan, Secretary of the Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Columbia, TN for her Christmas card to our camp and all the work she handles for us.

The John T. Lesley Camp 1282 membership roster for November 2000 has risen to 212. Many thanks to the members, who have recruited their friends and relatives, keep up the good work. See you at Buddy Freddys on Tuesday, December 21st.

If you have any questions concerning camp business or to process membership paperwork, please do not hesitate in contacting me.

Adjutant Dwight Tetrick
19126 Amelia Circle
Lutz, FL 33549
(813) 949-4746

The Fort Brooke Record

December 2000
Issue 12

The Fort Brooke Record

December 2000 Issue 12

December 2000
Issue 12