Question on doing research

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Citing the OR's is well and good, and a great aid to most research, but I have to say that right now all that they do is clog the net with thousands of words that don't answer the question. Anyone can go buy a CD ROM and post endless quotes ad nauseum, but can anyone answer this guys actual question? The OR's do not assist this endeavor, only cloud the issue. My advice is to find the answer, which a previous poster said will be difficult to impossible to find, you need to start with a check of the National Archives. Often, the only way to retrieve specific information that they may or may not have is to visit it in person, making an apointment. This is a long an arduous journey not for the faint of heart, as you will have to go over alot of information that has almost nothing to do with the task, like reading these OR postings. I will state for the record that I can't answer the question, I can only beg you gentle readers to either help the gentleman answer the question or stop bogging the system with great gobs of uselessness. Methinks the ghost of Walt Mathers is back on here.

[Radar]

Citing the OR's is well and good, and a great aid to most research, but I have to say that right now all that they do is clog the net with thousands of words that don't answer the question. I will state for the record that I can't answer the question, I can only beg you gentle readers to either help the gentleman answer the question or stop bogging the system with great gobs of uselessness. Methinks the ghost of Walt Mathers is back on here.

Thank you Mr. Lamoreaux. Some one asks a "simple" questions and gets pages of the OR posted. I agree with you, normally this extended posting does not answer the poster's question. If you want to post the OR to show your knowledge, just post that extract that answers the question, not pages upon pages of "useless" information.

[GaWildcat]

I agree with you Ross, that the ORs are a wonderful tool, but the poster was asking if there was a way to find out if a specific regiment had scabbards with a certain amount of rivets, issued frocks or fatigue blouses. AARs and orders and reports are rampant, but there is very little unit specific information in the ORs. (Now I am not blessed with the CD... I have the whole gazillion volume hard bound set)

As to the asked question, I doubt that anybody outside the board the decided to change things up really cared whether they had a seven rivet bayonet scabbard or a sewn scabbard, etc. etc. I am sure they knew a dress coat from a fatigue blouse, but the specifics and "types" we catch on to as reenactors and collectors I dont think mattered a whit to them. What the original poster may be looking for may be difficult to find. I know that on the fall 1862 and Spring 1863 muster reports for our unit, all that is noted about uniforms and arms is condition: "Good"

[indguard]

but the specifics and "types" we catch on to as reenactors and collectors I dont think mattered a whit to them.

In fact, most of the terminology we even use to delineate those "types" didn't even exist in the Civil War. WE invented it in OUR century to distinguish one from the other. To a soldier a jacket was a jacket was a jacket!

WTH
The Don'ttellmeaboutyourwarpandweave Mess

[Pvt Schnapps]

The best way to tell what the unit had would be to find diaries, post-war regimental histories written for the veterans, and photographs. While copious paperwork was created during the war, it was generally for the purpose of accounting for money and property, not for the edification of future hobbyists.

In researching the 16th Michigan in the Archives, I found morning report books and a combined letter and order book. The latter might have some information related to clothing and ordnance, but little in the way of specifics. Another member of my company found incomplete ordnance returns on microfilm in the Archives.

Much of the relevant paperwork developed at the time would have been destroyed after the officers' accounts were settled, but the officers' copies might have survived within the family. I suspect that most of the documents you find for sale online were personal copies kept as souvenirs or in the event of future claims.

That said, records kept at the time would include monthly returns of clothing, camp and garrison equipage and clothing receipt rolls (you can see copies of these in the Regs). The receipt roll actually lists the types of items issued to each man, but only for that particular issue. The individual clothing account lists only the financial value of items received.

Taken altogether, there may not be one good, sure-fire source for what you want. Hence the suggestion to look for a diary or other first-hand account and hope for the best.

[hanktrent]

Anyone can go buy a CD ROM and post endless quotes ad nauseum,

Not even necessary to buy a CD. The ORs are online and searchable in at least a couple of places, so there's no need to cut and paste long sections. One could just provide links.

Cornell Making of America (good boolean search, and shows the original page images with an option to see it in text, though the text reader has some mistakes)

eHistory (simpler search engine, but may catch words the Cornell search engine misread)

For example, here's a link to the start of the original passage pasted in one of the posts above.

There's useful stuff in the ORs, but I agree they aren't the best place to find the answers to this kind of question.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[wilber6150]

Thank you Mr. Wolf and others,
if one examines the amounts and percentages of the different clothing from these reports one can estimate what men clothed from these depots might be expected to be wearing; of course some might have unit specific clothing which would be different, or they still might be wearing clothing from an earlier clothing disbursal but still it helps..
My scabbard rivet question was posed as I see units which state on their uniform requirements that your scabbard has to have a certain number of rivets..How do these units come up with something this specific for their dress code, are they doing the research or are they just incorporating what was common for units supplied from certain arsenals or depots..
How do start up units come up with uniform guidelines without doing 10 years of research, do they start with a generic impression and refine it as the research goes on ? Again, I would like to thank everyone who have taken the time to answer my questions..