Smoking Caps at dances?

[Euphemia]

I don't usually pay a lot of attention to men's clothes, but lately I've been wondering about the large amount of smoking caps I see bouncing around at dances. At one event there were so many tassels I thought a Zouave unit had arrived. All my research seems to suggest this was part of a gentleman's leisure time at home attire. Am I wrong? My mom and I are currently making smoking caps for my brother and the last thing we want to see is these things flying around during the Virginia Reel. So are we wrong in our thinking that this is at home wear?

Thanks,
E.

[SouthernAngel]

I have always understood them to be at home attire as well, so I do not think you are wrong in your thinking, if so, we are both wrong! Happy Sewing!

[toccoa42]

All my research seems to suggest this was part of a gentleman's leisure time at home attire. Am I wrong?

No. It's proper name was "lounging cap" and was universally ued as home attire.

Dance, depending on the veune, would normally require a black tailcoat. Barn dnaces are another matter, but you wouldn't wear a lounging cap there, either.

Of course, nothing is very accurate in CW reenacting . . .

[reddcorp]

Smoking caps at a dance? How gauche. IMHO, smoking or lounging caps are to be worn about one's residence or quarters, preferably whilst enjoying a fine pipe or cigar and a snifter of brandy. Not at a public affair.
A.Redd

[Marc]

Smoking caps at a dance? How gauche. IMHO, smoking or lounging caps are to be worn about one's residence or quarters, preferably whilst enjoying a fine pipe or cigar and a snifter of brandy. Not at a public affair.
A.Redd

I would just change the brandy to a fine glass of Port...I am a past member of a Victorian Dance Troupe and I do not think I would have been a member long wearing a smoking/lounge cap at a dance.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

"So are we wrong in our thinking that this is at home wear?"

Yes, they are also sometimes worn as a "camp cap."

However, IMHO...

A ball for an enlisted soldier, in the field, on campaign in a smelly, dirty, fatigue uniform accompanied by a wife in a silk or other expensive material that is beyond the socio-economic class of the wearer... is kind of a reenacting "invention" or fantasy activity to begin with.
If a lad wants to wear a smoking cap or sleeping cap, go for it.
:) :)

Others' mileage will vary...

CHS

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Balls of the period were social occasions for the elite, or at least those of an upper station. For the military, they were for officers only, with the occasional enlisted man serving as stewards or servants, and they were in the background. You wore you finest service dress, without belts or weapons of any kind. With reenacting providing more social outreach programs than the average welfare office sometimes, the etiquette of period balls fly out the door to allow everyone the opportunity for evening fun with the wife, girlfriend, or sometimes both. Smoking or lounge caps are just another thing to add to the list of whats wrong at the beer/battle/ball type events anyway. I personally plan to finish the silk smoking jacket I started awhile back, don the beautiful knitted tam that Mrs. Lawson made some time back, pack a bowl in my favorite pipe (as opposed to the social reprehensible chew I usually have), and firmly plant my folding director's chair on the fringes of the next ball/campdance I can find and thoroughly enjoy the festivities.

[mmescher]

It seems that the posts on this thread are leading us down a rather slippery slope.

Admittedly there are many elements of any reenactment where realism is lacking. The dance in a tent, sometimes with remains of cowpies on the dance floor, being billed as a ball is one. You could also look around the camps and see all the undocumented camp furniture and enough blue speckleware that some tables look like you've wandered into an indian turquoise jewelry shop. And the battles have to willingly suspend disbelief when the opposing lines get within ten yards of each other and then start fiercely duck hunting. These are just a few examples of things which are historically inaccurate.

That being said, do we just shrug our shoulders and figure "If that much is wrong, what does it matter if we add something else?" It would seem, rather, that there are many elements we cannot change but many that we can. So let's fix the easy ones right away and take care of more difficult over time.

And sloppiness breeds more. Although the dances are usually closed to the public, being lax there with something that doesn't take much effort to fix could easily create and attitude throughout of "I'm just here to have fun. Why does historic accuracy matter?" This then works through other elements of the weekend. It also works its way to the spectators who come with hopes of seeing accurate portrayals. Many is the time I've heard spectators saying to each other "I didn't know they had [fill in the blank] back then."

So before I get up on my soapbox too much and just to focus on the dancing, I would urge all reenactors to learn appropriate attire and manners for a dance so they can portray the dancers as well as they can under the circumstances. Soldiers should learn to dance. Officers should learn appropriate attire and advise their soldiers in what is correct. People who come to the dance should, out of consideration for the other dancers, be sober. And, if you are just going to watch, do it from outside the tent and don't block the dance floor.

Conclusion: Let's improve our impressions at every opportunity as best we can, especially the easily fixables.

My two cents.

Michael Mescher

[hanktrent]

So before I get up on my soapbox too much and just to focus on the dancing, I would urge all reenactors to learn appropriate attire and manners for a dance so they can portray the dancers as well as they can under the circumstances.

And yet, that can start a slippery slope the other way. If a dance is out of context for the historic situation, why do the difficult fix of adopting manners and attire for an inaccurate activity? The other direction to turn would be instead to focus on what one would have actually been doing at the historic time and place. But then you start down the slippery slope of reasoning that begins: why am I at this dance? Shouldn't I be standing picket duty, or cooking three days' rations before the march tomorrow? But I need officers to post me and bring the reliefs. Could I talk them into doing that....? And imagine if we were actually issued rations... And if there really was going to be a march tomorrow.... ;)

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Slickrick214]

And yet, that can start a slippery slope the other way. If a dance is out of context for the historic situation, why do the difficult fix of adopting manners and attire for an inaccurate activity? The other direction to turn would be instead to focus on what one would have actually been doing at the historic time and place. But then you start down the slippery slope of reasoning that begins: why am I at this dance? Shouldn't I be standing picket duty, or cooking three days' rations before the march tomorrow? But I need officers to post me and bring the reliefs. Could I talk them into doing that....? And imagine if we were actually issued rations... And if there really was going to be a march tomorrow.... ;)

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

I agree. The dances are inaccurate to begin with. The people who put on the event want to include everyone. If we were to try and "fix" the problem and make it historically accurate which to me is what mmescher is saying then no one would be able to go to the dances except for the officers. I'm for historical accuracy but I'm also for including everyone. It wouldn't be right to have the officers go to the dance while the privates sit around and feel left out.

[Spinster]

One solution: have other period entertainments

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

One solution: have other period entertainments
Who's up for some "foraging"? Lucifers for everyone...

[2RIV]

Ross,
Where did you find the pattern for a lounging jacket? I have been looking for years.

[ElizabethClark]

Ah, but here's another slippery slope:

Why would the fellows back in camp and working class women in their homes be left out if the even scenario can properly accomodate an officer's dance? The fellows in camp can have their own hop (men dancing with men if no women are available is an activity unto itself, can be done with voices, clapping, or small instruments to accompany it, and is riotous fun), and women who are not of an economic class to go to an officer's dance can have dancing parties in their own homes (as women dancing with women is also 100% okay, if not enough men are present for partners.) The various figure dances, and some of the active couple dances (polka, anyone?) can be equally enjoyed by mixed couples, or same-gender couples, as a fun social activity with NO "romantic" overtones.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

"Why would the fellows back in camp and working class women in their homes be left out if the even scenario can properly accomodate an officer's dance?"

IMHO, and heresies...

They would not have to be.
However, this is a conflict between History-Heavy and History-Light Mental Pictures.
Meaning, the concept of a "ball" attended by lower and working class field/campaign soldiers in field dress accompanying wives and significant others in upper middle and upper class ball gowns is a reenactorism or fantasy scenario that has become part of the hobby culture (and expectation) for some segments of the Civil War Community.

Yes, it is great couples and friends fun and great fantasy, but ultimately History-Light. (Not that that is necessarily a bad thing or wrong or a criticism, just a reality or facet of what some folks like to do as part of their "Civil War experience" and Hobby.)

It would be interesting to see what support there would be for a less fantasy-driven "dance" made up of men-and-men field soldiers as a somewhat more History-Heavy activity.
I would suspect, and predict a divide here. As the "ball" has become part-and-parcel of so-called mainstream reenacting that both men and women accustomed to and enjoying the "ball culture" would be loathe to give it up in favor of men-and-men or only women-and-women less formal "dance."
And the more so-called campaigner and/or authentic community loathe to adopt it in field scenarios that anticipate contact and battle with the enemy the next day.

Again, still IMHO...

Men-and-men or women-and-women "impromptu" dances would be an added element of an element of CW Period life to experience. I just do not quite see the Hobby Culture giving up the "ball" to be more "historically accurate" on the Sliding Scale of Imperfection.
(Not a negative or a criticism, just an observation of a thing some folks enjoy [or do noto enjoy] as part of their Hobby's Mental Picture.)

Others' mileage will vary...

CHS

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Great point Herr Schmidt. One of the great period moments I've experienced was at a quite bad mainstream event a number of years ago with an impromptu camp dance. In the planning for the event, there was not a plan in place for a ball or dance, but somehow at about 7 PM on Saturday evening, folks met up at an open part of the field hosting the event, wearing whatever labor garments, uniforms, overalls, you have it, with 4 or 5 musicians, some hardtack boxes as seats for the band, and however many lanterns they could scrounge up and place in a square. There was no ball gowns, no microphones, and no pomp and circumstance, just friends and soon to be friends getting together. I'm all for that kind of festivity at an event and can personally take or leave the more formal affairs.

[Poor Private]

The "ball" here in Michigan is considered a community affair. Anyone in the surrounding area may attend. Only 1 stipulation. They all must be wearing period costums. This brings together both segments of the reenactments. The spectators and the reenactors. It's almost a celebration. We end up making friends with some people of the local communities, who look for us year after year. My son (26yo)had several lady spectators come up to him on Sunday at the Angola Ind. event and thank him for taking the time to dance with thier young (12-15yo) daughters, instead of having them sit on the sidelines. This will be a community that will support reenactments for years to come. What a great way to build goodwill with the local area.

[Cove Rebel]

Smoking caps at a dance? How gauche. IMHO, smoking or lounging caps are to be worn about one's residence or quarters, preferably whilst enjoying a fine pipe or cigar and a snifter of brandy. Not at a public affair.
A.Redd

Andy who taught you that big word "gauche"? And I ain't never seen you enjoy anything "fine." But if it came in a jar and was called 'apple-pie'... :D

Russ, 19th AL

[Drygoods]

A man wear a hat to a ball??!! Outrageous! Honestly, any man who wears a hat to dance, or asks a lady to stand up with him for a dance while wearing a hat/cap, should be flatly refused. That's about as bad as a man wearing a hat to a period dinner party. This happened at one of my period dinners, and although I asked the fellow to remove his hat, he refused. Well, it did hide his balding head, but nothing could hide his poor manners at the dinner table. And folks, don't worry that I might be thinking of someone here, I'll just say who it was to remove all doubt. Yes Derrick, you're a dithering fathead.;) Which is why everyone voted you out of the boarding house.

[Spinster]

Andy who taught you that big word "gauche"? And I ain't never seen you enjoy anything "fine." But if it came in a jar and was called 'apple-pie'... :D

Russ, 19th AL

You and Andy both know full and well the difference between a 'ball' and a 'stomp'---A fine example of 'other period entertainments' and where lounging caps are the order of the evening. :p I'm just waiting for someone to show up in a banyan.

In fact, when the logistics are worked out for the next stomp, I might even supply a banyan for a brave soul.....

[Cove Rebel]

You and Andy both know full and well the difference between a 'ball' and a 'stomp'---A fine example of 'other period entertainments' and where lounging caps are the order of the evening. :p I'm just waiting for someone to show up in a banyan.

In fact, when the logistics are worked out for the next stomp, I might even supply a banyan for a brave soul.....

If'n ya can't wear a smokin' cap to it, I ain'ta goin'! :D

Missed the stomp last year while in Iraq and now I quit drinking so I'm not sure it will be the same anymore.:-(

[Spinster]

Missed the stomp last year while in Iraq and now I quit drinking so I'm not sure it will be the same anymore.:-(

;) Come join me behind the plank and barrel--those pitchers are getting heavy for me to lift and pour. The sheer entertainment value of watching while perfectly sober is priceless--and after they sing "Goodnight Ladies" somebody else can keep the bar open.

Yes, I do keep a measure in my head and start cutting them off and winding them down. I can pretty well count on the place being quiet as a church about an hour and a half after I put away the pitcher ..........

[Cove Rebel]

;) Come join me behind the plank and barrel--those pitchers are getting heavy for me to lift and pour. The sheer entertainment value of watching while perfectly sober is priceless--and after they sing "Goodnight Ladies" somebody else can keep the bar open.

Yes, I do keep a measure in my head and start cutting them off and winding them down. I can pretty well count on the place being quiet as a church about an hour and a half after I put away the pitcher ..........

Only if I can bring a camera. :cool:

Now there's a thought though...bartender! That could be my civilian impression! :D

[unclefrank]

People got together to party, I'm sure. If there was an army near by, the soldiers would put on what they had. I would say if you have a smoking cap, go for it. Mind you, this would be for a very informal party.

[billwatson2]

I have a perhaps inaccurate idea, gleaned from I know not what reading, that "smoking caps" are really a stylized or faddish form of a sleeping cap, originally worn to help keep the head warm, and therefore the body, in the days when the woodstove went cold around 4 a.m. no matter how carefully loaded. That would tend to make it even more inappropriate for a social occasion: a kind of sleepwear.

On the other hand they seem to have been one huge symbol to everyone in the army that the wearer was free of duty obligations and "on his own time." Their use appears not to have been restricted to rank and file, I believe there's a photo of a knit smoking cap attributed to Gen. Beauregard in the old Echoes of Glory series.

[Carolann Schmitt]

Sleeping caps and smoking caps are two different items. A sleeping cap is worn while sleeping. It helps keep your head warm and protects the pillow cover from hair oil. Period sleeping caps were made from knitted (hand or machine) wool or cotton or lightweight woven wool or cotton fabric. They fit rather snugly around the head so they don't come off while you're sleeping.

A smoking cap was usually worn at home while awake. It kept the head warm in cold/drafty rooms and helped to keep (somewhat unsuccessfully) tobacco smoke from permeating the hair. They were often worn with a dressing gown and slippers and were a popular and favored gift from family members. Two of the more common styles were the round cap with a flat crown and the Turkish or Greek style made from shaped segments. Fabrics include wool, silk, velvet and plush. Embellishments could be simple or elaborate, including embroidery, braid work, bead work, applique or Berlin work.

There was a brief trend in some larger cities for gentlemen to wear dressing gowns and smoking caps in public. There is a wonderful photo in the collection of the Maryland Historical Society of several young gentlemen in smoking caps and dressing gowns lounging outdoors. However, this was a trend practiced in limited locations during casual activities. Smoking caps are not appropriate attire at dances of any type.

You'll find dozens of patterns for both sleeping and smoking caps in period magazines.

Smoking caps, dressing gowns and slippers are a particular interest of mine and were the subject of a presentation I did at the Conference a few years ago. An extensive display of original dressing gowns, smoking caps and slippers accompanied the presentation.

Regards,

[agrnbrt]

[QUOTE=Marc]I would just change the brandy to a fine glass of Port.../QUOTE]

Brandy, I think not good Sir. The port maybe. I profess that I would rather enjoy a nice 21 year old...Single Malt Scotch that is.

[Anders]

Time to make friends here...if you are having a dance at the battle of gettysburg then why would it not be proper to wear a smoking cap at one?

Both might seem out of place, maybe it is just me.

:)

[KarinTimour]

Dear Chris:

The difference is in how you view the dance, and what you see as your role with respect to other's experiences at a reenactment.

If you view the dance as a hopeless inaccuracy, then the discussion of what to wear there does seem like a pointless exercise.

My experience of civilian mainstream reenacting is that one can count on camping without shade, often on the edge of the parking lot. At more than one mainstream event I attended we weren't within sight of the parking lot, it surrounded our camp on two sides, and there were only about 20 civilian tents. To be a civilian mainstream reenactor one often must employ large amounts of imagination and selective perception.

A large proproportion of civilians at these events spend their days cooking for 30 over an open fire, and then washing the dishes having toted and heated the water to do same. They start before dawn and their day ends well after dark. Their units are set up this way, and when they joined with their husband, this is what the ladies are expected to do. Some of them get to tote and split their own wood as well. Some really enjoy doing this, others do it because its important to their husbands' or sons' enjoyment of the weekend.

For many of these women the one spot of real enjoyment the whole weekend is the dance on Saturday night. After the dinner dishes are done, they get dressed up in their best dress, which is sometimes the same dress that they just cooked three meals in through the day, could be a recycled prom dress or anything in between. For an evening their magic moment may be to get to dance with their husband or to have some fascinating stranger come ask for the pleasure of their company in a Virginia Reel.

Yes, the band may be playing with electric amplificaiton, the lighting is generator driven, it's happening in a tent on the edge of the parking lot. But for most mainstream civilians, they aren't ever given a "pristine setting with no modern intrusions." We used to joke that the first equipment a real civilian needs is a good imagination and a selective blind eye.

For some of these women, they'll overlook the sleeping cap as well.

But the man who takes the time to wash his face and hands, comb his hair, leave the sleeping hat in camp and brush off the remains of the cow patty he took a hit in earlier in the day will be adding a little to a fellow reenactor's attempt at time travel. Perhaps no one will say anything to your face, but it will be noticed and appreciated, trust me.

The late Duke Culberson once said "Authenticity is a gift we give each other." To strive to have the best and most appropriate impression in the ways that we can control gives that gift to all who behold us, whether we are on the "battlefield" which is really a cowpasture or at the "dance" which is being held in the parking lot.

Your milage may vary,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting--Socks, Sleeping Hats, Balaclavas
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com

[Spinster]

We used to joke that the first equipment a real civilian needs is a good imagination and a selective blind eye.



I thought that was what slat bonnets were for :p

Deep AND Wide

[Traveler1863]

We all know these hats weren't worn in public it those days. Gentlemen would not even be in the presence of a lady without the coat or vest being on. Never in just the shirt. Or wear a hat to a dance. They were very particular about such matters. Back in the mid to late 90s a documentary aired on I believe TBS about Civil War Reenacting. They taped the dance on Saturday night and the narrator went into great detail about the “hat” this young man was wearing. Well, it was a smoking hat but they referred to it as a stocking cap. Prior to that, we didn’t see that type hat at dances very often. Soon after the show aired, it seemed that everyone wanted one so they started to show up a lot more. All too often we see something that we think is cool at the time and don’t really research it to see if it fits into the slot we are forcing it in. After awhile, it becomes the norm regardless if it is historically correct or not. I have one myself, but I wear mine as a sleeping hat on cold nights.

[Secesh]

Wearing a smoking cap to a dance is about as ridiculous as those who show up wearing and dancing with pistols and knives...I CRINGE when I see a reenactor dancing with pistols coming out of holsters, waistbands, and boot tops! :-x

[Carolann Schmitt]

We all know these hats weren't worn in public it those days.


If you read my earlier post, you'll see that there were certain instances when gentlemen did wear smoking caps in public. However, these were very specific instances in very specific situations, and none of them were dances.



Gentlemen would not even be in the presence of a lady without the coat or vest being on. Never in just the shirt.


Like the previous example, this is one of those general comments that is simply not true. There are certain social occasions where a properly dressed gentleman would not appear without a coat and vest. But there are literally thousands of images (amongst other primary sources) that document men appearing in mixed company in their shirt sleeves in certain situations.

Like any aspect of history, context is very important. As Elizabeth Ann Coleman said, "Only a historian understands how much you need to know in order to recognize how much you don't know."

Regards,

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

We all know these hats weren't worn in public it those days. Gentlemen would not even be in the presence of a lady without the coat or vest being on. Never in just the shirt. Or wear a hat to a dance. They were very particular about such matters. Back in the mid to late 90s a documentary aired on I believe TBS about Civil War Reenacting. They taped the dance on Saturday night and the narrator went into great detail about the “hat” this young man was wearing. Well, it was a smoking hat but they referred to it as a stocking cap. Prior to that, we didn’t see that type hat at dances very often. Soon after the show aired, it seemed that everyone wanted one so they started to show up a lot more. All too often we see something that we think is cool at the time and don’t really research it to see if it fits into the slot we are forcing it in. After awhile, it becomes the norm regardless if it is historically correct or not. I have one myself, but I wear mine as a sleeping hat on cold nights.
Be very careful about making such generizations that "gentlemen would not be in the presence of a lady without the coat or vest being on". This is one of those great Victorian myths, particularly amongst reenactors. In polite society, perhaps that was the established rule of order, but there are too many instances where this just didn't occur with frequency. The old adage "never say never" greatly applies in researching the CW era.

[Traveler1863]

Thanks for the correction. I should have said "generally speaking" I guess. Thanks for the warm and hospitable welcome to my first and last response to your forum.

[Spinster]

Gracious Mr. Morey, please don't take offense-- Input is welcome--we just do attempt to be precise. Just like modern times, 'always' and 'never' is rarely applicable to the behavior of folks in history.

And just when we think we'v heard everything, the mid-19th century jumps up and bites us in the tookus---I'm waiting with held breath for a piece of verbatim documentation to land in my email box, having heard a verbal account of this particular piece of headgear over the weekend--soldiers in the vicinity of the Dog River making sunhats out of the bills of pelicans.

Just not something to be expected:rolleyes:

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

With all of the issues I've had with pelicans residing here in sunny Florida, I'll take my revenge in a size 7 please.

[Traveler1863]

Ma'am,

I didn't really take offense with the comments. I'm just trying to learn a little more about the hobby and should not have used the term "never".

Thanks

[10TN]

Kurt and Ross-Here's your prototype- This was from a letter written by Pvt. Henery A. Clapp of Co. "F", 44th Mass.Inf. The letter was discussing a "masked ball"(his term) held by the regiment in honor of Washington's Birthday. It is headed Feb.27th, 1863 from Camp Stevenson, Newburn, N.C. The 'ball' was attendend by all ranks-
"But the girls-I can give you no idea of them. In many cases the illusion was perfect and it needed an effort of will and reason to convince oneself that the girls were really boys. Gibbs, of our company(a drummer and a very nice fellow), was one of the nicest looking of the girls both in dress, face and manners. He wore a figured Muslin low necked and short sleeves and had a bunch of flowers at the bosom for ornament. His hair was parted in the middle and he made one of the prettist girls I ever saw in my life-Sergent Burrage of Company "C" was also a success in the same way and looked the very image of his pretty sister, nee Fanny Burrage, now Mrs. B.J. Long. Helen and louise will, I am sure be interested to know that young Mr. Adams was dressed as a girl and was really quite stunning. His curly hair and white neck were of little account. But one rosy-cheeked fellow named Sayers, you'ld laugh if you heard me say what I thought, so natural, so pretty in ways and looks, his expression coy and shy and altogether irresistable"

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Nice reference Leland! Me thinks those boys had been in the field just a little too long!

[ElizabethClark]

Methinks Mr Sayers might be the little brother of a whole pack of sisters. :)

[hanktrent]

Kurt and Ross-Here's your prototype- This was from a letter written by Pvt. Henery A. Clapp of Co. "F", 44th Mass.Inf. The letter was discussing a "masked ball"(his term) held by the regiment in honor of Washington's Birthday. It is headed Feb.27th, 1863 from Camp Stevenson, Newburn, N.C. The 'ball' was attendend by all ranks-
"But the girls-I can give you no idea of them. In many cases the illusion was perfect and it needed an effort of will and reason to convince oneself that the girls were really boys. Gibbs, of our company(a drummer and a very nice fellow), was one of the nicest looking of the girls both in dress, face and manners. He wore a figured Muslin low necked and short sleeves and had a bunch of flowers at the bosom for ornament. His hair was parted in the middle and he made one of the prettist girls I ever saw in my life-Sergent Burrage of Company "C" was also a success in the same way and looked the very image of his pretty sister, nee Fanny Burrage, now Mrs. B.J. Long. Helen and louise will, I am sure be interested to know that young Mr. Adams was dressed as a girl and was really quite stunning. His curly hair and white neck were of little account. But one rosy-cheeked fellow named Sayers, you'ld laugh if you heard me say what I thought, so natural, so pretty in ways and looks, his expression coy and shy and altogether irresistable"

Here's what puzzles me. Where did the dresses come from? I mean, if they were on good enough terms with women to get the women to loan dresses, couldn't they just get the women themselves to come?

Yes, one can think of all sorts of explanations: family shipped dresses down but it was too dangerous to travel themselves, or whatever. I suppose another answer is theft: you could steal local women's dresses, but the women themselves wouldn't want to attend a Yankee ball.

But if that amount of effort or pre-planning was put into procuring dresses, why not put it into trying to convincing some real women to attend instead? Personally, I'd rather dance with an ugly reluctant woman in a dirty dress, than the cutest little eager drummer boy in a nice ballgown, but that's just me. :D I wonder if some of it had to do with this being a "masked ball," and the idea was that some of the men would dress up as women voluntarily for entertainment, like a costume ball, rather than due to a true shortage of any available women.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[10TN]

Hank-I'll have to go back to the source and see if there is further enlightenment. As I recall, they were and had been operating out of Newbern-a decent sized town-for a while so access to civilian clothing wouldn't be a problem. Seems to me I recall He mentioned that much of the cacasuian population of the town had refugeed out when the town was occupied so suitable females may have been in short supply.(what was left was probably monopolized by those dam*ed officers)

[ElizabethClark]

Possibly through a second-hand clothing shop?

[jda3rd]

Karin,
All this talk about what hats are appropriate at which function leads me to ask about the wonderful knitted Tam I bought from you at Corinth a while back. It's a warm, comfortable head covering, that of course is removed indoors. I almost never dance at the camp dances, but am a wall flower, enjoying the spectacle. When the weather is cool, I like to wear my Tam, and hope the collective wisdom is that I'm not encroaching on anyone else's enjoyment by wearing it.
Frank Brower
Bangor Alabama

[Radar]

:p from hemp, that way I can smoke them when I want.

[Spinster]

As we made a long ride part way back from a throughly pleasant weekend at Fort McAllister, one aspect of our discussion wandered to Miss Euphemia's original question, and the reason she was seeing an inordinate number of tasseled smoking caps.

And, a comment from one of my traveling companions enabled me to put 2 & 2 together, as I knew Miss E's location and event circuit.

If what she is seeing is an inordinate number of deep red caps, predominately silk, occassionally velvet, some embrodiered, but all betasseled---those are not 'smoking caps'. Those are the caps worn by a particular fraternal organization.

And, if on some cold and starlit night, a group of men wearing those red tasseled caps and carrying an unusal flag come asking for her, she would be well advised to hurriedly throw on her warmest things, even if she is already in her nightcap and wrapper, and go with them. She will be most pleased with her adventure--and may even find me in the course of the evening.

[Cove Rebel]

If those tasseled folks are from the 33rd AL and 19th AL you are SURE in for a good time...varlet! :D