Uniforms of the Confederate States Armed Forces

Each branch of the Confederate States armed forces had its own service dress and fatigue uniforms and regulations regarding them during the American Civil War, which lasted from April 12, 1861, until May 1865.

Texas units, for example, had access to massive stocks of U.S. blue uniforms, which were acquired after Confederate forces captured a U.S. supply depot in San Antonio in 1861.

Early on, servicemen sometimes wore combinations of uniform pieces, making do with what they could get from captured United States Army soldiers, or from U.S. and Confederate dead or just wear civilian clothing.

It was not until the depot system was established in early 1862 by the Confederate quartermaster in Richmond, Virginia, that uniforms were mass-produced and supplied to troops.

Until that time, the "commutation system" was in place; this allowed soldiers to have their own uniforms made to the new CSA regulations and to be reimbursed by the CS government.

Major depots were in Columbus, Athens and Atlanta, Georgia for the Army of Tennessee and Houston, Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana for the Trans-Mississippi forces.

As the war progressed, the image began to shift from the "ragged rebel" look to a well-uniformed Army in the eastern and western theaters.

In the last 12 months of fighting, these Confederate forces were well-uniformed, the best they had ever appeared in terms of consistency, wearing clothing made of imported blue-gray cloth, either manufactured locally or bought ready-made under contract from British manufacturers, such as Peter Tait of Limerick, Ireland, who became a major supplier of uniforms for the Confederacy.

However, cloth shortages and wartime wear ensured that, by 1863, waist-length cadet gray or butternut shell jackets were generally worn by Confederates in the Eastern and Western Theaters.

The gray mentioned is dull toned, often varying in color depending on the region and time during the conflict, resulting in a uniform that could blend in with the tree lines, or hide the men in the field wearing them.

Generally, the uniform jacket of the Confederate soldier was single breasted, made of gray or brown fabric, with a six to nine button front.

However, a general order, issued in 1862, called for the Austrian knots not to be worn in the field, as this made officers conspicuous to enemy combatants.

Regimental and company officers wore the colors of their respective branch on the outer seam of their pants on one and one-quarter inch stripes.

Non-commissioned officers were to wear on their outer seams a one and one-quarter inch cotton stripe or braid of colors appropriate to their army branch.

[7] The "African" pattern kepi was the standard issue headgear to all army personnel, with a dark blue band, sides and crown for generals, staff officers, and engineers.

The first pattern was a colored band, denoting the branch of service, with the crown and sides to be made of cadet gray cloth.

In the Confederate Army, chevrons were worn by sergeants (three on each sleeve) and corporals (two on each sleeve)[5] When in full dress and sometimes also in battle, all ranks above corporal (i.e. all sergeants) in non-mounted service branches carried the M1840 NCO sword (when available) suspending on a leather belt (as did their counterparts in the U.S. Army, except hospital stewards who carried a special sword model).

Additionally all CSA sergeant ranks were permitted worsted waist sashes: red for artillery and infantry (and all others service branches), but yellow for cavalry.

The individual could also have them trimmed to reflect his militia unit, his Non-commissioned officer status, or as a personal flare, to the ubiquitous service pants.

Noncommissioned officers were to wear on their outer seams a one and one-quarter inch cotton stripe or braid of colors appropriate to their army branch.

The typical uniform by the end of 1861 and beginning of 1862 was a slouch hat or kepi, a shell-jacket, and a pair of sky-blue or gray cloth trousers, with brogans.

The Western and Deep Southern facilities manufactured similar uniforms, being jeans-cloth, dyed with vegetable based grays, that would fade to brown or tan.

The typical jackets issued had 5-7 button fronts, with collar and cuff trim that varied from era, region and source, and an outside pocket on occasion.

These consisted of everything from the more sharp-looking jackets and coats, which resembled the French or Northern Infantry uniforms, to the no-flares "battle-shirt", meant for drilling and battles only.

The militia uniforms were a menagerie of colors, from cadet gray, dark blue, and hunter green, to reds, buffs and gold tones.

The states that did not join the Confederacy, but had men within its ranks, such as Maryland and Missouri, also made buttons, that have turned up on surviving uniforms.

The hat was normally a floppy, wide brimmed, woolen body head-cover, meant to protect the individual from the sun, and inclement weather.

Occasionally, the hat was adorned with insignia of the wearer's preference, and may have been pinned up for the drill in the use of the regular weapon of the time, the Rifled-musket.

[5] A cap copying the French Kepi was the prescribed headgear for all three branches of the land service, adorned with the various branch of service colors, but Confederates preferred the slouch hat and surviving photographs show that as many or more men wore some type of slouch hat than wore the prescribed cap, especially as the War progressed.

One description has the Marines dressed in frock coats of a particular (and undetermined) shade of gray, and dark blue or black trousers.