Confederate Wooden Soled Shoes

[Ross Road Mercantile]

Friends---This is a copy of a sales thread that provoked a great deal of discussion. I've attempted to edit out the sales related information, and leave the research and discussion in this thread. The sales thread is here http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20884

Please do continue.........Mrs. Lawson, Moderator





Pards,

The Ross Road Mercantile is now offering a truly unique item. Confederate Late War "Trench" Shoes.

With Texas and its leather cut off from the Confederacy after the fall of Vicksburg in 1863, the Confederacy had to improvise for Leather. These shoes are an example of this improvisation. They are almost completely made of White Canvas, with the only leather on the toe and where the laces go. The soles are made of wood, with a hinge at the ball of the foot, just like the originals and they will last through many seasons of the toughest campaigns and are surprisingly comfortable!

Canvas wooden soled shoes can be seen referenced in the Eastern Theater and Western theater and would a perfect addition to a late war Confederate impression.



See the sales thread for ordering information http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20884

[agrnbrt]

Sir, these are UNION CAMP shoes (see Echo's of Glory page 190 of the Union Book) with wooden soles. Robert Land has been making the original type (leather soles)and selling them for quite a while.
I've had mine for about 3 years now and like em.

[Ross Road Mercantile]

Sir,

The style of shoe was popular in civilian life as well, both sides utilized it, but the Confederacy utilized this style and put a wooden sole on it.

Originals have been traced to Atlanta and Petersburg

[Busterbuttonboy]

Seems like a private purchase shoe to me. Sir, can we see the documentation on their use in said places by Confederate troops? Thanks!
Drew

[westcoastcampaigner]

I may be wrong but I believe there is something similar to these at the Museum of the Confederacy. They look similar to the Union camp shoes but when you look closer with a critical eye, there are obvious differences. Robert Serio at Missouri Boot and Shoe makes something similar as well.

Josh Sawyer
Liberty Rifles

[Spinster]

Fellers,

Rocky will be back in with the trail on these shoes in a few days--he's had a computer crash that has left him scrambling to get all his background material up and running again---an especially hectic job right here at the end of the semester---and he's recently become engaged as well.

I'm glad to see this young professional historian and teacher venturing into the marketplace of historical reproductions.

Wooden soled civilian shoes were not uncommon in the Deep South, with strong roots reaching back into the 18th century settlers of the Gulf Coast, and their 'sabots'. The styling of the uppers changed over time, and they also changed from the 'straight last' shoes of the 18th century to the rights and lefts of the 19th century.

When I'm not wearing my own wooden soled shoes, I find them to be a valuable living history prop, a fine thing to show the school children.

[brown30741]

And the Atlanta History Center has both a pair of wooden soled CS shoes and a pair of unused soles sent home by an Iowa cavlary man.

[hanktrent]

Googled wooden sole confederate shoe and got the following thread:

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?2723-CS-hinged-wooden-sole-canvas-shoe

The images from 2004 no longer show, but it sounds like something similar. One might be able to track them down through Paul Calloway, though someone else in the thread says there is, or was, a similar pair in the Daughters of the Confederacy Museum in Charleston.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[jademonkey]

Hey, sounds interesting - here's another thread from the AC http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?13880-Atlanta-Depot-Cloth-Shoes&p=80495
According to the thread a pair of wooden-soled shoes are located in the Wilson Creek museum as well. Apparently, there was also an articale in North South Trader. I've seen the unfinished ones at the Atlanta History Center/Troiani Book photo, but i'd be interested to see pics of the finished originals.

[akcampaigner]

They appear to be similar to these Confederate shoes housed in the MOC.

[marktaylor]

There is also a pair of yet-to-be-constructed canvas shoes with wooden sole (hinged) on display at the UDC museum in Charleston, SC.
I also have notes on a wooden soled shoe with CS provenance in a New York museum.
From what I've read these shoes were certainly a stop-gap measure and were disliked by the men.
I've had the pleasure to examine a pair of these reproduction shoes up close. They differ greatly from the union 'camp shoes' which are over represented in our hobby and not exactly P-E-C. One can find accounts of CS issued cloth shoes, most notably in the Chickamauga-Atlanta campaign time period.

Mark Taylor

[PMB1861]

though someone else in the thread says there is, or was, a similar pair in the Daughters of the Confederacy Museum in Charleston.

There are Hank, I've seen them but my memory alone is insufficient to compare them to anything at this point. Someone who still lives in the Holy City could pay the fine Ladies at the Museum a visit to take some notes. I know that photography isn't allowed there.

[flattop32355]

While the existance of such shoes appears to be beyond doubt, is there any data referencing how common they were at particular times and locations during the war? Were they commercially manufactured, or a homemade expedient? Are we talking of tens of thousands of pairs, a few hunderd, or something in between?

[FloridaHoosier]

Folks, this is a post for selling items, and discussions are best left via PM to the seller. As Mrs. L mentioned previously, he's working on supplying more information to the masses, but until then, you are free to buy them or not buy them. All of that aside, rather than bombard someone who is attempting to supply the market with an item that isn't often see by the masses, lets see what he has to say about documentation and authenticity. There is alot of potential to learn something here.

[Ross Road Mercantile]

The originals that were copied are housed in the Museum of the Confederacy and were PROBABLY worn by the troops in the siege of Chattanooga, because they are in such good shape, the wearer of this particular pair of shoes probably was captured and then died shortly there after in a Northern prison, but like previously mentioned these shoes could have been worn in the Eastern and Western Theaters.

http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=164&pictureid=1050

http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=164&pictureid=1049

http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=164&pictureid=1048

http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=164&pictureid=1045

[ThehosGendar]

Hello all!

While it's impossible to know the type of sole of this particular pair, to my eye, this looks like a canvas shoe similar to the private purchase Edgar Yergason shoe in EOG, as well as the type made in this thread.

http://www.jrwickerstytypefaces.com/gburgcanvasshoes.jpg

This comes from the LOC image LC-DIG-cwpb-00865 "Confederate dead gathered for burial at the southwestern edge of the Rose woods, July 5, 1863."

Cheers!

[Lwhite64]

We have accounts of Canvas shoes being issued before Chickamauga, dont know if they had wooden soles or not. They appear in several units, one that I can think of off the top of my head is the 4th GA Sharpshooter Battalion received some. I have also seen an account of them being issued before Vicksburg. Comments are correct on them not being popular though, one account calling them "a humbug".

[Spinster]

Then of course there are multiple mentions of wooden soled womens shoes in the Deep South, especially as the war wore on.

Ersatz in the Confederacy holds multiple accounts of 'make do' footwear.

[Sam Harrelson]

Canvas wooden sole shoes can be traced to both theaters at several different points during the war. I have one of the pairs that Rocky actually originally posted and they are a pretty unique thing. Suprisingly they are not too uncomfortable. I have some pictures of an original pair that are on display at the MOC if any one is interested in seeing them. And for the record these shoes are really nothing like the "union camp shoes" that people originally thought they were. Although I have never heard them referred to as a "trench" shoe either.

I am glad someone is finally breaking out of the box and starting to market something like this. Honestly I am suprised it took this long for the hobby to progress and start reproducing something that would have been as common as these.

[Provost-ADC]

I am glad someone is finally breaking out of the box and starting to market something like this. Honestly I am suprised it took this long for the hobby to progress and start reproducing something that would have been as common as these.

One of the sad lessons to learn in this hobby is that unusual items or unusual efforts in the hobby are often shot down by 'sharpshooters'. These are hobby participants who know, or think they know, a great deal and choose to undermine the efforts of another.

Sometimes the 'sharpshooter' knows a lot, but only in a narrow area of expertise. Other times, the 'sharpshooter' has his own agenda.

Either way, we don't tolerate that here.

[VetArms]

I have found this thread very interesting. (I am a long time reader, but rarely comment.)

Confederate brogans with wooden soles and uppers made of leather, canvas, or jean wool were manufactured in large quantities and saw considerable use. This has been a subject of particular interest to me for several years, and I have managed to pull together a significant amount of information and quite a few photographs that I will try to share in this and following posts (I do not have access to all of my own research at my present location).

During my research of war-time manufacturing in Columbus, GA I encountered information about the production of wooden bottom brogans made with leather and canvas uppers. Estimates are that of the nearly 300,000 pairs of brogans produced in the city for military use, that as many as half may have had wooden soles. From my recent book:

"Other products of use to the army were produced in Columbus in huge quantities. Two factories produced both conventional brogans and shoes with wooden soles. When leather became scarce, the uppers of the wooden shoes were made with canvas from the mills in town. What the wooden-soled shoes may have lacked in comfort, they made up for in thrift. Whereas leather shoes commanded premium prices by mid-war, often in excess of seventy-five dollars per pair, the government could purchase wooden-soled shoes with cloth or canvas uppers for as little as ten dollars." - Columbus Georgia 1865: The Last True Battle of the Civil War (Univ of Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa, 2010) page 31.

Somewhere in my papers I have copies of the files for the John Tibbet's Shoe Co. & Gov't Shoe Shops (Columbus, GA) showing orders and receipts for wooden soled shoes with leather and cloth tops as well as equipment purchased for their production and employment information for the factory.

Wooden-soled brogans are mentioned several times in period newspapers from Columbus in addition to wooden-soled shoes of manufacture elsewhere. The following is an example:

"Wooden-Soled Shoes. - We learn that the Georgia made shoes with double maple sole are in very good demand. Mr. Markstein has already filled a considerable order from Virginia, for army demand, we suppose. Several planters have been testing their merits, and the result in all cases proved favorable. In our own immediate vicinity, or in what might be properly called “The Army of Mobile,” they have been tried, and the report is so favorable that only yesterday an additional lot was ordered. We have no hesitation in saying that they will prove an excellent marching shoe. Some other article might better suit the double-quick movement, but for an all-day lick they will prove less fatiguing than a more elastic shoe. Besides, the foot is less liable to heat in them, no matter what kind of sock is worn, or even should the soldier find himself without any. One thing we must say - though that will not diminish their value among our boys - they’ll never do to run away in; indeed, they are a Southern shoe, and not designed for that kind of service." -Columbus (GA) Enquirer - January 21, 1862

For other CW newspaper mention:

"SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY [ATLANTA, GA], October 6, 1861, p. 3, c. 2
*************** Wooden Shoes.--We have received, from Mr. McKinlay, a pair of shoes, very simply and ingeniously made of a species of gum wood, of which our swamps contain an everlasting supply, and which, when seasoned, combines the lightness of white pine, the strength of hickory, and, to some degree, the elasticity and endurance of horn.* They can be made water-proof by the addition of a coat of oil or varnish.* In the present scarcity of leather, the suitability of these shoes for plantation use is a matter of grave moment.* Specimens of the shoes may be seen in our office--Charleston Mercury, 2d October."

Wooden-soled boots were also produced by A.F. Purejoy (Forrestville, NC). These shoes conform to the most commonly encountered style - solid wood sole with metal rails and leather uppers. (They are also similar to the traditional English clog that had been common in Europe and in America since colonial times.) A photo of one of these brogans can be seen in the work: The Illustrated History of American Civil War Relics by Stephen W. Sylvia & Michael O'Donnell (Moss Publications: Orange, VA, 1978) on page 138. The shoes depicted were captured from a Confederate soldier. Attached is a photo of a pair of almost identical boots.

From Entrepreneurs In The Southern Upcountry: Commercial Culture in Spartanburg by Bruce W. Eelman: "Military demands and civilian shortages also resulted in greater diversification of products made at the mills. In 1864 John Bomar's Bivingsville factory was reportedly turning out six hundred wooden shoe soles per day." page 124.

There were several patents for wooden-soled shoes issued by the Confederate Patent Office including:

M.G. (*G.M.) Rhodes and A. Bingham of Talladega, AL for Wooden Bottomed Shoes - 69
02/03/1862

E.S. Collins of Aspinwall. VA for Wooden Soled Shoe - 131
12/19/1862

Robert Creuzbaur of Travis Co., TX for Wood Soled Shoe - 168
05/04/1863

Sylvester L. Burford of Lynchburg, VA for Wooden Shoe Sole - 172
05/25/1863

Robert Creuzbaur (*Creugbaur) of Austin, TX for Wooden Sole Shoe - 196
08/28/1863

Robert Creuzbaur (*Creugbaur) of Austin, TX for Half Wooden Sole Shoe - 197
08/31/1863

A.T. (*A.F.) Purejoy of Forrestville, NC for Wooden Shoe Sole - 265
11/23/1864


The style of other documented CW wooden-soled shoes/brogans vary significantly. Some have relatively flat bottoms, while others are curved. Most feature a one-piece sole, while others were produced (or were modified) with a split sole to allow the foot to flex. Many feature toe caps of brass. The soles frequently have iron plates or rails on the toe, heel, and often both. Toe shape also varies with some having square toes, some more rounded toes, and few with a more pointed toe (resembling early English clogs from the colonial period), the latter probably having started life as civilian shoes. The style and height of the uppers also vary.

For a photo of an unfinished pair of CS brogans with jean wool tops, see the following link:

http://www.historicalimagebank.com/gallery/main.php/v/album02/album22/album74/CWz17ds_Unfinished_Confederate_shoes_nys_copy.jpg. html

In addition to wooden-soled shoes produced for military use, civilian wooden-soled shoes were common enough to have made an appearance within CS ranks. Mill and factory workers sometime wore them as did slaves. I am attaching a photo of a pair of documented CW period "slave shoes" which are almost identical to the Purejoy shoes with the exception that the uppers are of "brogan" height as opposed to the taller "boot length." Attached is a pic.

The civilian shoes, of whatever quality, were not just for men either. From Scatterlings: Blair, Williams, and Turner To Texas 1858-1973 by Rusty Williams: "But her last pair of boots had fallen to pieces from wear and there were no more to be bought. What boot leather was available in Texas had gone to the army for saddles and harness. So now she wore sabots, homemade shoes with carved wooden soles onto which coarse leather uppers were tacked. They rubbed blisters on the tops of her toes and raised painful red growths on the sides of her feet; her ankles would swell, and the edges of the unfinished leather chafed her skin. The sabots were just one more "Confederate makeshift" that Virginians in Texas had to deal with."

I will dig around and see if I can find my Columbus shoe files and photos to post later. In the meantime, there is another company offering reproduction wooden soled brogans for CS impressions:

http://www.veteranarms.com/ReproductionMuzzleloadersandFlintlocks/Boots.html

Fun thread.

Charles

[Spinster]

The civilian shoes, of whatever quality, were not just for men either. From Scatterlings: Blair, Williams, and Turner To Texas 1858-1973 by Rusty Williams: "But her last pair of boots had fallen to pieces from wear and there were no more to be bought. What boot leather was available in Texas had gone to the army for saddles and harness. So now she wore sabots, homemade shoes with carved wooden soles onto which coarse leather uppers were tacked. They rubbed blisters on the tops of her toes and raised painful red growths on the sides of her feet; her ankles would swell, and the edges of the unfinished leather chafed her skin. The sabots were just one more "Confederate makeshift" that Virginians in Texas had to deal with."


Charles

I often break out my sabots at wet events, especially when a quick slip on shoe is needed in the early morning.

I can certainly attest to the properties and attributes detailed above :p. At least, until a nice amount of wool batting was stuffed around the edges.

[Artyman]

It is rare to see a photo of dead waiting to be buried that still have their shoes on. I could presume that the demand for canvas shoes was so low that they were better left to the dead than to the living!

Harry

[Dkjarnagin]

I have been doing shoe research for a couple years and I have found in period information that shows wooden soled are not that uncommon. I found a record of them being made in Philadelphia in the 1850’s and listed them as being used in wet locations. I also have a period tannery picture where they are wearing the wooden soled shoes. This is one of those cases where just because they have wooden soles do not necessarily mean they are Confederate. This is also applies for single loop cap pouches since some have been ID to a NY regiment.
I have included this post in this thread for clarification only and I do know some were made in the south but the big question is how many. I have found 1850’s records of slave shoe factories in both Alabama and Louisiana. These were a rough shoe for slaves that were russet in color. There also was a large trade from the north for the same shoes sold into the south.

[1 Yellowhammer]

I'm working on a pattern for Civilian wear as we speak. It will be a canvas upper with a wooden sole, with the hinge.

[cwtrailrunner]

Russell Wolf of Orangeburg, SC has several pair of original wooden sole shoes that he purchased from a Northern State. Russell's private Civil War collection would rival what is displayed in many museums. The WW1 collection at the SC Confederate Relic room is on loan from Russell.

The wooden sole shoes he showed us had leather uppers and were in good condition. One sole was in two parts while another shoe was three parts if you count the heel. Pictures were not allowed.