Illinois Militia Uniforms, By Law...

[Greg Carter]

Good posting there. I notice too that the men pictured are wearing the "highwater" trousers, some hunting shirts, and full boots too.

GMC

[Marge Smith]

Question?? The volunteers from the lead mines probably did not have uniforms -- Am I correct? They were probably wearing the clothes they used to go into the mines. What did their hats look like?

[Gene]

In Vol II, of Whitneys, there is a reference on page 1344, this notation seems to have come from the diary of a Sgt. James Steele (spelling of name and actual rank of this soldier seems vague).

Steele relates (speaking of a battalion of U.S. mounted rangers);

Each man in the ranger company was responsible for furnishing his own horse, gun, forage and clothing. Rations, swords and pistols were to be issued by the government.

Steele was (according to muster rolls) the 4th Sgt of Capt. Fords company of U.S. Rangers, mustered into service July 4th, 1832.

Whereas this passge speaks about the state of a company of U.S. Rangers, I think it speaks volumes about how a company of volunteers may have been equipped.

When it come to supplying hastily organized militia, I think one can say (within a degree of certainty) that uniforms would have been pretty scarce. Once supplies may catch up, the first things that probably would have been drawn would have been food, weapons and ammunition. (this last statement is only conjecture on my part)!

[Gene]

I found this link on mining history in Wisconsin, maybe they can answer some questions about early miners dress!

www.library.wisc.edu/etext/wireader/Galleries/Mining.html

[Marge Smith]

Great photos. Thank You.

[Greg Carter]

Good photos for much later research. The map is good though. As for uniforms, my educated guess is that, as the law states, the uniform agreeable to the majority of the men was probably the standard. That did not necessarily mean 1832 US Army frocks and stocks, but rather, for instance, a majority of hunting shirts or some othert common clothing item. I have seen no reference yet that pre-dates the Mexican-American War depicting Illinois Militia in any sort of US Army type duds.

GMC

[Chris Gordy]

As far as civilian hats goes, there were plenty of styles around. There is even a difference between work hats and regular (everyday) hats. For work hats people would usually choose a smaller, more compact hat like the mechanics hat or other smaller cotton fabric hat. I have even run across a few styles of paper hats. Butch Baker has a pattern for a good workman's paper hat. Earlier in this message string Bob discussed the styles of round brim hats often seen in genre paintings. These would be the most popular everyday types of hats during this period and much after as well. However, even these hats had various styles, colors and shapes to them. As far as what a miner would want to wear, is a personal preference to the miner.

[Marge Smith]

Since today's hard hats were not available, would miner's hats had been a hard leather. They needed something on which a candle could be attached. Would it have been something that could be stuffed to protect their heads when in the mines. In your research on military hats have you found such a thing.

[Robert Braun]

Gene said:

I found this link on mining history in Wisconsin, maybe they can answer some questions about early miners dress!

www.library.wisc.edu/etext/wireader/Galleries/Mining.html

The images are neat... and generally hail from the age of photography. Unfortunately, this postdates the BHW by at least a generation. Most of the folks in the images are 1880s to early 20th Century, too late for purposes of 1830's clothing study.

There is a single sketch of early miners, one wearing a so-called "flat hat"-- as opposed to the taller "round hat"-- and another wearing a head cloth with what appears to be a lit rush thrust underneath the cloth at the wearer's brow. The provenance of this sketch is not clear to me.

The jacked leather mining hats seen in many later period photographic images certainly post-date the arrivial of the Cornish and their involvement in mining. Based on the candle holders and rudimentary oil lamps, these images can be dated will a fair degree of accuracy. Such jacked leather hats or caps unquestionably pre-date the initial lead "rush"--and would be absent from the miner-turned-militia volunteer in 1827, 1831, and 1832.

We do have a few descriptions of clothing from various personna in the Mineral District. Finally, we have the H. H. Gear painting, which shows a so-called "wheel cap."

[Chris Gordy]

This painting by Mary Ellen Best (1835) is called Frankfort Fair Scene. If you look all the way to the right you will see some cotton hats. These civilian hats resemble the later style of wheel cap. These particular hats were popular with young boys as well as working men. The gentleman to the right is also wearing one. This is a great style of another everyday working hat that can also be seen in the early 30's.

[Gene]

Wow great painting, thats kinda what I was looking for when I found the mining web site. I know the photos on the site are older, but (what I was driving at) the resource who posted the photos may have some affirmative places to look for further info.

This period is so much more difficult than other periods ,say the American Civil War or even the Napoleonic wars. The civil war had the camera and the Napoleonic wars had enough publicity, that many painting and illustrations are left to examine.

The BHW unfortunately does not have the same luxury, so like mining in the Old Lead District...we are left to do the digging!

But if we keep up our activity here, who knows. This information might someday stand beside many other stories in military history.

[Robert Braun]

Gene, you are right. The material culture of the Black Hawk war is obscure for many reasons. Most notable is the fact that few have actually bothered to look.

The reason for this is, I think a tendancy for modern writiers to write and examine the conflict from only one perspective-- that of Black Hawk and his "British Band." To do otherwise, and actually explore and examine the material culture of Americans might expose these investigators and their work to some form of critical examination and comment. So... they tend to take the easier course, or should I say the course that offers less opportunity for collegial criticism, and side with Black Hawk.

Another compelling reason is that Black Hawk's War was a gritty, unlovely, exceedingly short campaign, that exposed the best and the worst on both sides---and with little of the elusive quality called "glory" that we tend to all too often associate with armed conflict.

In comparison, the Civil War included participants that numbered in the millions, and had a human cost in the hundreds of thousands, and suffering that transcended generations. Accordingly, succeeding generations continue to write and explore the conflict--- with the result that to move the resulting compilations, new books, websites, and so forth that come out each year requires several front-end loaders.

BH's War involved less than a quarter of a single percent of the participants, when compared to the Civil War. Only one militia participant wrote a book-length recollection of the conflict.. although it is becoming clear that many more wrote unpublished memoirs about the campaign, while others included tidbits in a more general overview of their frontier experiences. Much of the monumentation occured about one hundred years after the conflict. We are thirty years from the two hundredth anniversary, and even less is written, comparatively speaking, today, than in earlier times that covers the militia experience.

That doesn't mean the information wasn't/isn't out there. Nor does it mean the information has been somehow supressed. It simply means that the modern genre of historical investigators take the position that the war was "all about Black Hawk." Apparently, the feel that this position relieved them of any notion (let alone responsibility) for investigating the other side! This discussion board and related OLRHS projects is intended to offer balance, perspective, and insight into that position.

Indeed, the Midwest Open Air Museum Coordinating Council has already taken a leadership role in this investigation of material culture, and published an article in their Summer 2001 issue on the clothing of the U. S. Mineral District. Their website:

www.momcc.org/

r.

[Greg Carter]

Very good points, Bob.

GMC

[Gene]

wow...that was quite the dissertation! OK, lets cut to the chase, its time to get that movie script done.

[Nick Hoffman]

Regarding the Illinios Militia Laws...
"...captains and subaltern officers, a deep blue hunting shirt and pantaloons, with red trimmings, half-boots or gaithers [sic], a round black hat, black cockade, red plume, and small sword or hanger..."

Has anyone run across this or any of the laws being practiced during the war? I know that we have info on the US issue muskets and cartridge boxes... but what about the specific clothing descriptions for officers, especially the plumes and cockade?

I know this is not the 18th Century, but in my studies for campaign life in that era, most of your pomp & pagentry was left behind in military stores. Perhaps the same could be true about the plumes and cockades worn by the militia of 1832?

I actually own a white plume with red top and a black eagle cockade. If we find that these were regularily used items, I can lend these items out to whoever portrays an officer.

I am just full of questions tonight! ;D

Thanks,
Nick Hoffman