The Maryland in the Civil War Message Board

New Confederate Uniform Book. 'CONFEDERATE UNIFORM

Hello to All.
My latest book CONFEDERATE UNIFORMS DURING THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN:SEPTEMBER 1862, may be of considerable interest to all Civil War uniform enthusiasts--those who still believe in the ‘Ragged Reb’ scenario and others who feel that maybe the Confederates weren’t that hard done by.
It is a large work (A4 size and 320 pages), packed with never-before-seen data highlighting how the Confederate logistical network system successfully supplied its troops during the late Summer and early Fall of 1862 with both fresh uniform issues and abundant food rations. Besides the hundreds of Company Clothing Issue Tables contained in the book there are numerous full colour plates using realistic models displaying authentic period uniforms from my own large collection. There is also a large Photographic Section which scrutinizes the many images taken shortly after the battle. Eyewitness accounts are invariably useful and I have chosen many which I feel are the most accurate (i.e. by Soldiers and Newspaper Correspondents), as civilian testimonies can often be skewed through both biased beliefs and military ignorance. If you think the typical Reb of late 1862 was a shoeless scarecrow, then this book will surely change your mind! Here are a few excerpts….
JUST A FEW OF THE NUMEROUS EYEWITNESS TESTIMONIES

“..All this stuff about their extreme destitution is all bash. I have been all over the battlefields of Maryland and I have yet to find a Rebel even meanly clad or shod. They are as well shod as our own men. They are dressed in gray..”
Union Surgeon James Langstaff Dunn MD. 109th Pa. Vols. (Sept.1862)

“The notion which I find almost universal in the North, that the Southern Armies are clotheless and shoeless, let me here observe, I cannot but regard as a dangerous delusion.”
William Henry Hurlbert, New York Times Correspondent, (August 1862)

“..I saw rebel soldiers as well clothed as any of our own men..”
Private S.D. Green, a Michigan soldier serving in Virginia in late 1862
“…Our Regiment has been uniformed (in) grey woollen cloth and round about coats.”
Corporal Tally Simpson Co. A. 3rd SC (In letter to sister July 18th 1862)
“One of the Regiments of this Brigade is dressed in a remarkably neat and comfortable uniform which cost (for roundabout and pants) only eleven dollars to the man. The other regiments are now being uniformed by the Govt. in the same way…..
….when we get our new uniform, I think the old 7th will astonish her neighbours. We are having a uniform made in Rich (Richmond) at the Govt rooms, dark steel mixed jacket with light blue pants. Both cloths are heavy and good, English manufacture.”
Colonel David Wyatt Aiken 7th South Carolina Infantry Regiment (July 12th1862)
Soon our camp was filled with goods, and in a few days each “reb” had on a clean shirt and a brand new suit of “Confederate Uniform”, and a new pair of shoes. With clean clothes on, and plenty to eat, we began our important operations.”
Private Robert Campbell Company ‘A’ 5th Texas Infantry (July 8th 1862)
RE-SUPPLY OF NEW UNIFORMS IN MARYLAND
On September 8th the Great Falls correspondent of the New York Tribune, accompanying the Confederate forces into Maryland was astonished to see that many soldiers had cast off their old clothing and had donned new Confederate uniforms. He noted that “It is most natural to ask why these men threw away their clothing immediately on arriving on the Maryland side of the Potomac. This is most easily answered…As to a portion of the Confederate soldiers being furnished with new clothing, there is nothing which can be more conclusive than the fact that your correspondent saw full companies newly clad in substantial and fine garments, all of which were uniform in appearance”.

All the Uniform Issue data used in the book was obtained from the thousands of surviving clothing requisition forms held in the US archives, namely the‘Special Requisition Form 40’ and ‘Articles Issued on Special Requisition Form 39’ documents.

CLOTHING ISSUE TABLES
Below are just a few of the hundreds of clothing issue tables contained in the book. All the clothing, when received, was dated and signed for by each Company Officer, who detailed the exact amount and type of clothing received and the dates the uniforms were requested and received.

NOTE. In the late Summer/Fall of 1862 most Confederate regiments averaged only 150 -175 men, so the issues shown below were more than enough to keep the Confederate troops well attired and shod.
3RD ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT
MAY, JUNE 1862…711 jackets, 736 pairs pants, 546 pairs shoes, 113 undershirts, 321 pairs, 174 drawers, 387 caps, 262 blankets.
JULY, AUGUST 1862…154 jackets, 377 pairs pants, 263 pairs shoes, 441 shirts, 104 pairs socks, 424 drawers, 30 caps.

25TH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE 8TH - AUG. 23RD 1862…934 jackets, 891 pairs pants, 1,108 pairs shoes, 1,084 shirts, 994 drawers, 934 caps, 48 overcoats, 77 blankets, 40 ponchos.

9TH LOUISIANA INFANTRY REGIMENT
APRIL 1862…1,042 jackets, 1,042 pairs pants, 304 pairs shoes, 267 shirts, 377 gray caps.
JULY, AUGUST 1862…101 ‘uniform’ jackets, 156 pairs ‘uniform’ pants, 169 pairs shoes, 256 shirts, 11 drawers, 32 caps.

23RD NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE – DECEMBER 1862…1,056 jackets and coats, 1,198 pairs pants, 590 pairs shoes, 572 shirts, 14 pairs socks, 1,108 pairs drawers, 635 caps, 165 hats, 42 overcoats, 181 blankets.
8TH FLORIDA INFANTRY REGIMENT
JUNE - DECEMBER 1862…969 jackets, 970 pairs pants, 974 pairs shoes, 770 shirts, 60 pairs socks, 393 pairs drawers, 12 overcoats, 91 blankets.
53RD VIRGINIA INFANTRY REGIMENT
APRIL - JULY 23RD 1862….790 jackets, 840 pairs pants, 650 hats, 190 shirts, 82 pairs socks, 111 drawers, 98 caps.

If anyone is interested please contact me on... jeffd1955@yahoo.co.uk

Many thanks

Jeff