U.S. Army Uniforms Circa 1825

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Does anyone out there have a clear idea on what the uniform for the regular army was in the 1820's. In general I am trying to create a clear picture of what the regular army detatchments in Green Bay, Prairie du Chien and St. Louis looked like. Period lithographs of treaty councils show soldiers dressed in dark blue coats with leather shakos all in all very similar to a War of 1812 appearance.

Pete

[Greg Carter]

Pete,

Good question! There were several uniforms in service at the time, which is the problematic part of the answer. The white linen roundabout coats, worn for fatigue (and believed campaign-) duty, were around from some time after 1812 until after the Mexican-American War in the late 1840's. The 1821 "winter service" uniform, which was a shell jacket (no tails) of gray kersie wool, piped in white (at least for infantry), with epaulettes and silver buttons, and matching small-fall trousers, topped off by that time with the 1825 chako or forage cap, was also in use (as seen in examples as late as 1842). The 1828 dress uniform, as worn by the current staff at Fort Snelling, included a dark blue tailcoat, piped with white on the collars, black on the cuffs and with black false buttonholes on the front and white wings on the shoulders, and white kersie wool drop-front trousers, topped off by the "bell-crown" shako, also called a "tar bucket" in some accounts. It is believed from accounts that the army started issuing light blue kersie wool drop-front trousers between 1828 and 1832, becoming mandated in 1832, so these may also have been present. There are a number of extraneous details in accouterments and weapons that also come into play, but for uniforms, these were the basic varieties. There some debate about what was worn when, but the general consensus is the soldiers on the campaign wore the white fatigue uniform, primarily to conserve the dress equipment, and secondly for comfort.

GMC

[Greg Carter]

Pete,

One thing I forgot to add was location. The farther away from Washington it seems, and paradoxically the closer to the city, the slower the uniforms changed. Popularly traveled posts like Fort Howard at Green Bay or St. Louis, both located on important waterways, had much more communication opportunity than did the forts on the upper Mississippi. In this same section I am sure you read what we discussed about proper belt plates in the "correct accouterments" thread, and that is the best example I can give for gear. If the uniform clothing followed any of the trends of the equipment, there could have and most likely was a distinct variety of colors present. In his 1833 book: A Subaltern's Furlough, British lieutenant E.T. Coke wrote of his experience visiting the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1832-

"...Their undress unform, a shabby-looking French gray, gave them anything but a military appearance; their full-dress of dark blue is much neater, nor could I ever understand why it was not usually worn."

The 1821 bell-crown shako, correcting my last post, is described and illustrated (watercolors) in the papers of Major Thomas Stockton, currently located in the Manuscript Div. of the Library of Congress. I will look up the regulations and descriptions I was sent by the USA Mil. History Inst. and see what I can find out, then post some more.

GMC

[Greg Carter]

Ok, my 3rd and last posting. According to a letter written on 14 June 1820 from the Commissary General of Purchases to the Secretary of War, describes as follows:

"...Grey woolen overalls should be exclusively worn as a winter dress by all the Troops. They should be worn long, set snug, not too tight nor yet too loose, but so as to admit being put on and taken off over the laced boots. They should not confine or retard the soldier in the slightest degree in his movement. The white Kersey pantaloon is at present worn as tight as it is possible to make it, can therefore be considered only as a parade dress, & is by no means fit for active service..."

The US Army regulations of the period further state that the pantaloons should reach to the ankle joint.

the letter certainly suggests that the parade uniform or dress uniform was probably not worn on the campaign trail, reverting either to the gray kersey wool uniform (as specifically noted) or the white summer roundabout.

GMC

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One additional item that you might note regarding the Army Regulations which has been a source of some controversy. Regulations also were issued regarding issuance of grey versus white fatigues. Some subscribe to the army regulations which would specifically state that troops such as those in Green Bay, Snelling, and Dearborn would not have even been issued the summer whites. This was based on an acceptance of a North-South division of the Army based on geography. Obviously, the people at Snelling and Fort Howard today do not agree with this assumption (I don't either for the simple reason that troops were arriving from several other locations such as St.Louis to converge together and Scott himself called for issuing the whites.). If you go strictly by the book however, the argument exists that they only wore the grey wool roundabouts when leaving Snelling, Howard, Dearborn, and Fort Winnebago.

Tom Steinkamp

P.S. There also was issued a two-button white cotton work frock which was worn over the fatigue uniform for heavier work details. Some of the staff at Snelling can be seen wearing these coats as well.

[Greg Carter]

Tom,

good point about the N/S division theory.

GMC

[Pete Shrake]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my querry. Your collective insights reflect the amount of research you gentlemen have done on this subject. You have helped out very much!!!


Now to the next question, What reproduction sources are there on this stuff?? I know that jarnigan makes some period uniforms but how accurate are they? Is one forced to litterally sew a uniform themselves if one wishes to create a circa 1820's army impression. I am very slowly in the process of putting together a militia kit but I also would not mind assembling a regular army impression, even if it just hangs on a manequin in my study.

Pete

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Pete,

I know what you are going through regarding a Regular impression. Our group had the same problem until we went up to Fort Snelling. Steve Osman steered us in the proper direction. Initially we constructed our own uniforms based upon Snelling's, then Jarnigans made us some based on information we sent them. If you decide to have Jarnigan make you a uniform though, mention that you would like to speak to Carolyn Jarnigan for she is the one who knows what is proper. Otherwise you might get something which you will have to spend time modifying. For example, Jarnigan has a bad habit of making epaulettes which are hour glass in shape. The Snelling ones are straight with a v-shaped taper at the end. The Jarnigan chako is a very good one. They got their pattern from Brian Lloyd who made the original pattern ones for Snelling (Brian stopped making them for health reasons). Brian does have internet service and is a good guy if you have any questions.

Oh yes, Jarnigan has made us the summer whites, the winter fatigues. and an example of the dress uniform. At present Steve Osman"s wife , Wendy, is the best supplier of correct buttons but I understand she is currently out of them. You can write to her care of Steve at Fort Snelling for her catalog.

If you want a correct shako, good luck! J. Luther Sowers makes the leather one but he is at least 2 years behind schedule (one of our members has been waiting over three years for his). You can see an original one at the Surgeon's Quarters in Portage, WI. Hatcrafters makes a passable one from hardened felt which is decent for show.

Incidentally, I should have mentioned earlier that according to Army regs, the army north of the Potomac was supposedly not to be issued whites for summer use. Archives records shoe however that Scott superseded those orders during the BHW (esp. withmen coming up from the South to take part).

Regards,
Tom Steinkamp

[Greg Carter]

Pete,

you're very welcome on the information from my end too. If you want to get Wendy's catalog, e-mail me and I can give you her contact information, of if I can get an address from you I will send you one of the spares I have. As for buttons, she is pretty much out. Period. I have a large quantity of the 1821 buttons, the US trouser buttons, and the small 1821 buttons for the whites if you need them, but I do not have any of the dot-center haversack buttons. Jarnagin makes some good uniforms. For highest quality there are a few other good sources. Uniforms of Antiquity, of Fort Sill, Oklahoma (I think I have their catalog at home too) makes the 1825 Chako, supposedly better than the one by Jarnagin, the winter grays, the summer whites and the dress blue uniform, but they do not offer the bell-crown shako. Wendy Osman's store also offers some of the leather gear and the best pick & brush set. Dixie Gun Works sells the white metal breastplates. The Jarnagin Company makes neck stocks, and so does G.Gedney Godwin. Steve Abolt, the commander of the living history unit The 7th US Infantry,  makes the gray winter service 1821 coat and trousers. John Gattis, whose contact info I have somewhere, makes the most correct, if not the only correct 1825 pattern knapsack. John Allen of Allen's Laurel Hill Sutlery made my whites off of a pattern from Fort Snelling, but he does alot of machine sewing. I would bet that for a bit extra he would hand-sew the stuff. Contact me and I will dig up all the numbers and stuff. I would post them on here, but I want to get individual permission first. I don't know of anyone who makes the correct blanket for US regulars, which in the 1830's was a white wool blanket similar to the 4-point Witney Blanket, but with US in the center.


GMC

[Greg Carter]

Just an announcement to those interested. Dirty Billy's Hats, a vendor of historically accurate headgear located in Gettysburg, PA has just begun offering a reproduction of the 1821 Bell Crown Shako and the 1825 Chako. The costs may be somewhat prohibitive, as follows:

Infantry Shako: $500
Officer's Shako: $575

Infantry/Artillery Chako $150 (comparable to Uniforms of Antiquity in price)
Dragoon Chako $165

Dirty Billy's website is as follows:

www.dirtybillyshats.com

Both the Shako and the Chako can be found listed under "US Headgear".

GMC

[Greg Carter]

The other reliable source for reproductions from the time period is:

Uniforms of Antiquity (Mike/Betty Bradley)
P.O. Box 2184
Fort Gibson, OK 74434

918-478-8512