captured fed fatigue blouses?

[BigYankee]

I was wondering if there was any documentation of Confederates wearing captured Fed. blouses. I know it would create confusion on the battle field, but was this ever done in any theater/time of the war?

thanks.

[tenfed1861]

At Perryville,Cleburne's boys took massive casulities because they were wearing Fed stuff,(trousers,hats,jackets).So,yes,it was done alittle bit.

[Frenchie]

At Antietam Creek, some of A.P. Hill's men were wearing Union blue outfits that they had captured at Harper's Ferry.

[Rob Weaver]

Captured Federal coats were a common part of the Missouri guerilla look, too.

[huntdaw]

Many of Price's Missourians East and West of the river wore captured blouses at times. I emphasize that it was done at times.

While East of the big river, Rosecrans sent Price notice that he understood why his men were wearing them since they were not in any supply system at the time but if it kept on, any captured men would have to be treated as spies.

In 1864, when Price undertook his Missouri expedition, a goodly number of his men were wearing not only blouses but, in some cases, trousers too. At the battle of Westport, Federal cavalry remarked on how the Confederates were shedding their blouses as quickly as they could after their lines broke. They did not want to be captured in them and possibly executed.

So, yes, it was done but it is very dependent on time and place and not something to be done just because one thinks it might look cool.

[amontalvo915]

Weren't there some early war Confeds wearing the Union Blue due to them being in the regular army pre-war?

Ashley Montalvo

[tompritchett]

Was an issue at 1rst Manassas as was some Northern units wearing gray militia uniforms. And let's not talk about the confusion caused by the 1rst National Confederate flag.

[69TH NYSV CO.C]

I Think i read this from a book once but not exactly sure but there was one time when J.E.B Stuarts Cavalry Raided union supply trains some of his men wore the uniforms confusing federal troops as yankee cavalry and made there way towards north i think this was around 1863 or 1864 ......:confused:

[69TH NYSV CO.C]

on the quiet little town of CHAMBERSBURG, which surrendered to the rebels on their approach. They spent the night there, and finding a large quantity of soldiers' clothing in one of the stores, helped themselves to it freely.the rebels casting off their tattered and filthy butternut attire, and equipping themselves in the comfortable costumes provided for our soldiers. In the morning they fired the railway buildings and a large store-house containing a quantity of Government stores, including the ammunition lately captured from Longstreet.

This rebel raid—during which some 2,000 cavalry completely "circumnavigated" the whole of the army of the Potomac, crossing the river, passing through Chambersburg, making a complete circuit behind McClellan, and finally returning into Virginia, without losing a dozen men in the operation—is one of the most surprising feats of the war. The rebels bagged a large quantity of clothing, boots, and arms; they likewise carried off some 500 horses. Some authorities estimate the property destroyed and seized by them at $800,000. crazy huh?

[Doug Cooper]

The best documented case of the the capture and then reissue of federal uniforms was likely the Brasheer City LA July 63 captures by Taylor's Army. These uniforms (including blouses) were issued out over the next 6 months or so, running out by late winter. Source is OR's and QM records from Taylor's army - various reports listed the value of the supplies (QM, Commissary and Ordnance) at at least $5,000,000.

[reb64]

I was wondering if there was any documentation of Confederates wearing captured Fed. blouses. I know it would create confusion on the battle field, but was this ever done in any theater/time of the war?

thanks.


hundreds of prices's soldiers who surrendered or were captured at mine creek kansas with captured fed uniforms or possibly for other reaons were mass executed like malmedy and buried in mass grave there.

[ncc1701]

Sibley's Texans in NM were wearing captured US blue and civilian clothes. They were ordered to bleach the blouses and dye them black and replace the eagle buttons with civilian buttons. They were trying for a little uniformity.

[BigYankee]

anyone know of early war usage of Fed. blouses on rebs?

[69TH NYSV CO.C]

Battle Of Manassas A.k.a Bull Run 1861

[WestTN_reb]

After capturing the supply house at Holly Springs, MS, Gen. Van Dorn attempted to take the rail bridge at Davis' Mills. His men were able to capture the Federal pickets because they were wearing uniforms taken from Holly Springs.

[Picket Post]

Battle Of Manassas A.k.a Bull Run 1861


Im not sure where Confederates would have found stores of Federal blouses this early in the war.

[Tarheel57]

I was reading "The Warrior Generals" by Thomas Buell the other night, and it mentioned an incident where Federals looted a captured supply train and grabbed new Confederate issue to replace their worn out items. I was surprised because I've often read about the Confederates appropriating Federal uniforms, but I'd never read about it happening the other way around. This book also described a case at Chickamauga where a Confederate regiment was dressed in blue coats and this caused some confusion. I think this was one of Longstreet's units.

[Picket Post]

I was reading "The Warrior Generals" by Thomas Buell the other night, and it mentioned an incident where Federals looted a captured supply train and grabbed new Confederate issue to replace their worn out items. I was surprised because I've often read about the Confederates appropriating Federal uniforms, but I'd never read about it happening the other way around. This book also described a case at Chickamauga where a Confederate regiment was dressed in blue coats and this caused some confusion. I think this was one of Longstreet's units.


Yep, Longstreets Corps. They were not wearing federal clothing. They were wearing English Blue/Grey kersey jackets with CS light blue trousers. This is well documented, most recently in the book "Cadet Grey and Butternut Brown". It appears a large supply of sky blue kersey was coming through the blockade, from which trousers were made and issued out of Richmond (and probably Staunton as well). Longtreet's Corps was issued new uniforms in Richmond in route to TN.

The blue/grey kersey jackets and light blue trousers were issued in such large quantities and cause so much confusion that orders were issued to limit the purchase of the light blue kersey, and to use the cloth for "special purposes" only (I read this to mean officers trousers or trousers for persons not on the front, such as clerks).

Just goes to show that you must be carefull interpreting sources describing Confederates in blue "federal" clothing.

[plankholder]

John Hunt Morgan's men had a fancy for wearing captured Federal uniforms, it became a big enough issue that Morgan had to issue a standing order in mid '62 that his men had 14 days to dye captured uniforms black or brown. -ELI GEERY

[Doug Cooper]

While I wish some of the posters here would attempt to document their assertions a bit more, I hope most of these posts help folks understand three things:

1. It was not the policy of the CS government to outfit its solders in Yankee uniforms - it being against the Articles of War to wear the enemy uniform.

2. In extremis (no alternatives) individual CS commands did authorize the wearing of captured federal uniforms, but in many cases attempted to get the men to dye or somehow alter the uniforms - not for uniformity but to avoid the men being charged as spies if captured.

3. CS issue blue gray kersey jackets and medium blue kersey trousers on CS troops at battles like Chickamauga were sometimes a disaster for the wearers, being mistaken as Union by friends, or a boon, being mistaken for Union by the enemy.

Oh, and there were no federal fatigue blouses on CS troops at Manassas in 1861. Pre-war militia and some regular army blue officer uniforms were present, but no fatigue blouses.