Militia uniforms issues in the American Civil War

During the first part of the American Civil War, there was a variety of the soldier’s uniform styles and colors among the Union and the Confederates due to the lack of regulations, and limitations of supplies. However, this situation changed over time when both groups were supported by their governments and adopted a standard design that would distinguish them historically.

There was a lack of coordination in this matter and it was completely legal for any soldier to wear different uniforms. Therefore, many did not hesitate in wearing their own garments with which they felt identified. While many Scottish often wore kilts, other regimens with a very good reputation such as the 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry used French uniforms in 1862, as part of the Army of the Potomac's V Corps. (Civil War Times) Therefore, the 14th regiment soldiers of Brooklyn went off to war in colorful uniforms and became known as the Red-legged Devils for their red pants and stubborn bravery. (Patricia Curtis) Initially, there were no rules that prohibit soldiers in both bands wearing different in uniforms in the Civil War; hence in the absence of them, fighters suited themselves as they pleased.

Although Confederates could bragged about their “Cotton Kingdom”, the Union was much better positioned because they had more supplies, including clothes, firearms and more railroads to transport its soldiers. Most Union soldiers were better equipped, not only they had more people, but also higher budget, more industry, better logistics and more consumer goods. (Civil War Times) However, at other times, Confederates were flush and better turned out than their blue-coated opponents. They also had factories, textile mills and armories However, by all measurable indications, the North had superior supplies than the South that did not fell behind and managed this situation and sometimes opted for manufacturing homemade uniforms.

After some time, States provided uniforms to their soldiers and created a new dress code. In 1861, the Union purchased $800,000 in uniforms abroad but they made a bad deal buying their uniforms to unscrupulous people, although local manufacturers and contractors disagreed with this measure. Unfortunately, these garments were made with such lower materials that they felt in pieces a few weeks after their use. This was not the only big issue; as some soldiers did not performed good their daily activities, they ruined their belongings, although there was a dress code that forced to pay a fine if they contravene the rules. “This situation was aggravated by soldiers who often lost items of uniforms in excellent condition, threw them away deliberately, or traded them for tobacco or whiskey.” (Francis A Lord, 140) they usually destroy them in order to prevent any use form enemies or civilians. In the South, officers always had to buy their own uniforms until March 6, 1864 when General Order 28 was released which allowed Confederate officers to purchase uniforms from the same sources as the troops, and at cost price. (Wikipedia)

The use of uniforms is very important because it does not only represent an organization but also helps to distinguish between groups. In war times it helped to perceive easily the enemy and colleagues and more important, for not being mistaken in the battlefield. At first, groups of soldiers were allowed to wear any uniform that they feel identify with, there was neither organization nor rules in this matter and they seemed to feel comfortable with that. Fortunately, over time, a standard design emerged and blue was used as the official color in the Union while grey was used by the Confederates and as usual, styles in chevrons and insignias varied among the military class.

Author. "Title of Web Page." Title of the Site. Editor. Date and/or Version Number.

Name of Sponsoring Institution. Date of Access .
"Uniforms of the Civil War." Kid Port. Reference Library. May 07, 2011. http://www.kidport.com/reflib/usahistory/civilwar/uniforms.htm
"Civil War Uniform." Civil War Academy.com. May 07, 2011. http://www.civilwaracademy.com/civil-war-uniform.html
"A Union Soldier's Uniform from the Civil War, around 1865." May 07, 2011. American Century. http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/activities/dressup/civil_war_soldier.html
"French uniforms were worn with pride by the 83rd Pennsylvania - for a short while." Civil War Times, Dec2009, Vol. 48 Issue 6, p45-47. http://0-web.ebscohost.com.alice.dvc.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=112&sid=ecaf9cf4-b7c1-4417-8bf1-c02de435c89c%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=44650272
Curtis, Patricia. "Brooklyn's War." America's Civil War; May2010, Vol. 23 Issue 2, p58-64. http://0-web.ebscohost.com.alice.dvc.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=112&sid=ecaf9cf4-b7c1-4417-8bf1-c02de435c89c%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=11103986
"Soldier at a Glance." Civil War Times; Dec2003, Vol. 42 Issue 5, p40-45.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_of_the_Confederate_States_military_forces

The Reform of Interests.

The reform impulse were movements originated decades before the American Civil War, leaded by volunteers in political and social groups who pursued a collective way of life due to the lack of a powerful national government. Several political clubs, religious groups, fraternal orders and other people with same ideals came up inspired by the antislavery sentiment. Some of their causes were focused on the improvement and balance of the society. The most important groups looked for women rights, the slavery abolition, the eradication of restricted education, the improvement of the conditions of wage workers and convicts inside prisons, and the achievement of a new organization of the society based in cooperation and more. (Foner 368).
Around one hundred reform communities were established decades before the Civil War. They were called utopian communities because they were considered impractical and impossible to realize. All of these groups went after more followers that can help their cause, developing strategies such as speeches that in many cases were international, the establishment of their own cooperative settlements, the collection of signatures and petitions, the use of pamphlets as propaganda and a strategy called “moral suasion”, that is the conversion of people to their cause. (Foner 369).
Many religious groups such as the Shakers and the Oneida arose in the nineteenth century. They were two of the most successful groups in that time. The Shakers were founded by Mother Ann Lee obtaining more than five thousand members. The first Shaker community was established in New York City in 1787 and they believed in a God with dual personality, male and female, stating that both sexes were spiritually equal. They attained followers by conversion and by adopting kids from orphanages. They refused the accumulation of private property but they achieved economical success through the commerce of vegetables, herbs and seeds. (Foner 371). The Oneida was founded in 1848 also in New York City by John Humphrey Noyes. He asserted that people can be extremely and perfectly moral and he affirmed that this group had achieved “purity of heart”.
The school reform was led by Horace Mann, a politician and lawyer who worked as a director of the state’s board of education. He believed in universal public education and pursued the establishment of common schools, arguing that it will balance the American society. In 1860 there were schools for children in the North that were tax supported. It was also an opportunity for many women that became teachers in these institutions. (Foner 376, 377)
The crusade against slavery inspired most of the reform movements in this century. “The first indication of the new spirit of abolitionism came in 1829 with the appearance of An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World by David Walker, a free black who had been born in North Carolina and now operated a used clothing store in Boston”. (Foner 379). He viewed slavery as racial prejudice and called African Americans for an anti slavery mobilization. Hi was considered a threat by slaveholders and he was constantly persecuted by them. The antislavery movement diffused widely in the USA with the constantly use of propaganda, that allowed them to obtain more than one hundred thousand members in the North of the country. Most were common citizens but only a few had important positions such as the merchants Arthur and Lewis Tappan of New York. Another prominent who helped considerably was Theodore Weld who was a young minister who condemned slavery as a sin. He used religious methods to convert people to this cause, creating awareness among the population.
Most political groups gave speeches oriented to get the masses’ support, especially of the worker class. That time was characterized by the increasing industrialism and the expansion of the immigrants that contributed to the idea of the government to strengthen the society of the wealthiest whites, especially those who controlled the country. Howard Zinn calls it the myth of the “Jacksonian Democracy” or “the new politics of ambiguity”, designed “to give people a choice between two different parties and allow them, in a period of rebellion, to choose the slightly more democratic one”. (Zinn 161) The myth of the Jacksonian Democracy was created to get more allies, those with higher incomes and who can support their political party, but it was never thought to eradicate the poverty. It was clear that for this group, the idea of democracy was shaped by economic interests and it was not as the reform movements that tried to achieve a more uniform society.

Works Cited
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of The United States. (Vol. 1, New
York, 2003)
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. (Vol. 1, 2nd
Edition)

The Devoted Gideonites.

Works Cited:

1.  William C. Davis and Bell I. Willey, under the direction of the National Historical Society. “Photographic History of the Civil War. Fort Sumter to Gettysburg.” New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, Inc. 1981.
2.  Akiko Ochiai. The New England Quarterly. Brunswick: Mar 2001. Vol 74, Iss. 1; pg. 94, 24 pgs 

The Devoted Gideonintes.

For many years, the Giodeonites, called this way for their resemblance to the biblical Gideon's Band, were  presented as Yankee "missionaries" who helped freed African slaves to learn in new schools and churches.  However, there is a different point of view that refers that the real intentions of this group were more economically oriented than an act of  goodness.
During the American Civil war, the African slaves had very contrasting destinies. While many of them were brutally punished, the freed men and women in the Sea Islands had the chance to learn from the Gideonites, a group of idealistic teachers from the North. “Edward L. Pierce of Boston, in charge of Treasury Department enterprises, recruited scores of young men and women from the North to establish and operate schools for the freedmen and their families.” (Davis and Wiley 1093).
However, there is a different version of what their real intentions were. Ochiai, thinks that most of these white professionals not only looked for the African American 's education, but for a change that allows them to be the controllers in their plantations. "In March 1862, some fifty-three highly educated young teachers, ministers, and doctors left New England to reside in the Sea Islands, where they volunteered their time and expertise to operate schools and churches, to provide sanitary training for the African Americans, and to oversee their commercial plantings. The Sea Islands numbered among the first communities in the Civil War to make the transition from slavery to freedom, and the whole nation carefully followed the progress and travails of this "Port Royal Experiment," conducted under the watchful supervision of the volunteer band of "Gideonites."(Ochiai)

This event overwhelmed some slaves but it also gave hope and freedom to many others that for a first time were accepted to learn in this institution at any stage of their lives. “From the start of the Port Royal experiment (Rehearsal for Reconstruction), Negro men and women (as well as children) began to learn, besides reading and writing and the beginnings of arithmetic, their first lessons in freedom and responsibility, which were both new and frightening.” (1094).
Here is a story that supports Ochiai's argument: "William C. Gannett (1840-1923), like Saxton the son of a famous Boston Unitarian minister, joined the first group of Gideonites shortly after his graduation from Harvard College. The Port Royal Experiment offered him an attractive compromise that reconciled his desire to serve his country with his father's injunction against bearing arms, even to forward the Great Cause. Although he taught school and supervised government-controlled plantations in the Port Royal Experiment, Gannett was unable to purchase the tracts he wanted, for they had been reserved for public purposes by the tax commissioners. Judging Philbrick's experiment worth trying, he joined Charles P. Ware and other first-string Gideonites who resigned from their positions as government superintendents to manage Philbrick's plantations."(Ochiai)

The Giodeonites or the Gideon's band, the idealistic group of devoted teachers, educated slaves without prejudices and in many cases, entire families traveled thousand of miles dedicating themselves to the work. Above is a picture of the schoolteachers at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1865, taken from the Western Reserve Historical Society. (1112)

Here is another picture of a school in which we can see the teachers in the front door along with their students, including kids and adults. They were free to be educated at any age. (1112)

Acording to Ochiai, the Gideonites expected that African Americans would share their enthusiasm; however, they saw it differently. "To them, wage labor represented but a poor compromise between outright slavery and an independent status as yeoman farmers. From the outset, then, the Port Royal Experiment found itself caught between African Americans' desires to own their homelands, on which they expected to operate a sustainable subsistence economy, and Northern capitalists' visions of freedpeople's cheap wage labor on white-- controlled commercial plantations, with the prospects of trickle-down prosperity and education for citizenship."(Ochiai) 


Davis and Willey, collected and analyzed a big amount of  original pictures, giving detailed explanation of the US history from Fort Sumter in 1855 until Gettysburg, the largest battle of the American Civil War in 1863. At some point, they mention that the intentions of the Giodeonites were to teach and educate freemen for a waged labor. However, Ochiai argues that their real intentions, were to control their plantations and making  them dependents of a cheap waged labor.
Both books have different points of view over the same topic and it seems that they want to reach a wide audience. However, we should consider the dates of their publications. As Ochiai's research is  more  updated, she shows us a new point of view, something that we do not see in  old books.
Any of these authors do not seem to be dishonest with their audience; furthermore, they want to share their knowledge to them. I think that even if the Gideonites had hidden intentions or not, they helped voluntarily to many people to start their new lives.

Works Cited:

1.  William C. Davis and Bell I. Willey, under the direction of the National Historical Society. “Photographic History of the Civil War. Fort Sumter to Gettysburg.” New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, Inc. 1981.
2.  Akiko Ochiai. The New England Quarterly. Brunswick: Mar 2001. Vol 74, Iss. 1; pg. 94, 24 pgs