Another new Black Hawk War book.

[Robert Braun]

dj said:

I'm hoping that I can find out some more info. on the people that served on the steamers that were used in the BHW. I would have to assume that at least some of the men had exprience on boats. I would really like to know what they wore. At least in the East a lot of merchant sailors wore the same uniforms of the Federal Navy, but I don't know that would hold true to sailors on froniter waters.

What is the source/provenance for the sailor engraving you posted?

Bob.

[DJ Palama]

Not sure if there is one. I've only seen that engraving in one book from the 1950s about the USN from AWI to the Great White Fleet. I got the pic of the engraving in an e-mail from a person that does the Seminole War Era USN. This stlye of uniform was used from around 1827-1840.

This the 'regulations' of a merchant seamen of England around the 1830s:

Each seaman took his own chest in which the typical contents would be:
Ø 6 or 7 changes of clothes - woollen vest, a cloth shirt and a canvas jacket (le paletot)
Ø socks
Ø 2 woollen shirts
Ø 1pr cloth trousers
Ø 4 prs woollen underpants
Ø 5/6 prs of gloves or mittens
Ø 2 pr laced boots and 1 pr leather sea boots or sabot with leather uppers.
Ø an overcoat (double wool)
Ø a pillow and mattress
Ø a complete set of oilskins - pants, coat & sou'wester
Ø a cap
Ø candles (used until mid-August)
Ø candlestick
Ø Statuette of ND and religious pictures
Ø Straw to stuff into boots
HOwever it doesn't mention what styles and colors the looked like....

Here's the regulations of the 1830s USN, from Steve Hesson one of foremost historians in naval history:

ART. 600. Petty officers shall wear the following marks of
distinction:

Boatswain's mates, gunner's mates, carpenter's mates, masters at
arms, ship's stewards, and ship's cooks, by an anchor on the right
sleeve of their jackets in winter, and frocks in summer.

Quartermasters, quarter gunners, captains of forecastles, captains of tops, armorers, coopers, ship's corporals, and captains of the hold, by an anchor, in the same manner, upon their left sleeve.

The anchor shall be not more than three, nor less than two inches in length, placed half way between the elbow and shoulder, upon the front of the sleeve: it shall be white when worn on a blue garment and blue when worn on a white garment.

ART. 601. The outside dress clothing of the petty officers,
seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, and boys, shall consist of blue cloth jackets and trowsers, blue vest, blue cloth cap or black hat, black handkerchief, and shoes, when the weather is cold; when the weather is warm, it shall consist of white frock and trowsers, black or white hats, or blue cloth caps, as the commander may direct, having regard to the convenience and comfort of the crew, black handkerchiefs and shoes.

The collars of the frocks were between four and six inches in lengts, basicly big shirt collars. Also, on blue they were white with white cuffs, and a white bib down the front. On white, the collar, cuffs and bib were blue. The white hats they are talking about are straw. The black are the broad brimmed hat.

[DJ Palama]

Here's the only other pic of a sailor that I've been able to find on-line, it came from the US Navy Archieves.

[Robert Braun]

Very interesting stuff.

Donning my "moderator" hat now, we seem to have veered off the road in terms of the original topic of this thread.

DJ, feel free to start another thread covering things "1830s Nautical."

Bob Braun

[DJ Palama]

Okay, I'll be sure to do that.

[richw]

dj said:

At least in the East a lot of merchant sailors wore the same uniforms of the Federal Navy, but I don't know that would hold true to sailors on froniter waters.

DJ,

Sorry to have to blow you out of the water, but merchant seamen don't wear uniforms.

True, they wore nautical attire, typically white duck trousers, red flannel shirt, blue round jacket (of the "Monkey" ilk), and tarpaulin hats with copious amounts of black ribbon. And don't forget a black silk tie.

While this is similar to the Navy "uniform," the near ubiquitous red wool shirt makes it quite different. Another popular item was a buff colored waistcoat.

If you are looking for a link between seamen and Mississippi boatmen, it is this same red shirt. See Bingham's paintings, or our own Bob Braun for an example.

Mississippi boatmen seem to have been a mix of French Canadians, Southerners, and Yankees. There are some good descriptions of French Canadians in Wau-Bun.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into. ;D

Sorry, I had to!

But seriously, I spent the first 5 years of my adult life working on (and sailing on) historic ships. Hopefully I learned a thing or two during that time.

[DJ Palama]

Alright thanks, do note when I mean 'uniform' I tend to mean to over all dress of a person. Do you know were on the web I could find some of Bingham paintings? As for boats, I don't have one to throw money into

[richw]

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