Brown colored material for CS uniforms

[NCfighter]

I have heard that not many browns were used in uniforms. I am getting a pair of jean wool trousers that are brown jean wool. Does anyone have any imput on this subject?

I have heard also that many parts of the Confederate uniforms were assembled from civilian clothes or items made by locals to uniform CS soldiers early in the war.

Please give me your two cents on that. (Dollars would be apprecieated too)

[wmkane]

If you want your money's worth, pick up a copy of cadet grey and butternut brown. It's well worth the cost and will answer your questions with documentation.

[Jim Mayo]

There used to be a frock coat in the Chancellorsville visitor center, If my memory is correct it is brown and I think made of jean or another cotton wool blend and home made.

The whole subject of CS uniforms can consume many hours of conversation. Suggest you start by buying the book recomended in the previous post. This book was selling at the Richmond show last weekend for $17.00 from Thomas Publications. It is well worth the money for a basic understanding of the subject.

[agrnbrt]

I have to agree with the above posts. I have seen that book on e-bay for as low as $14+ shipping. It's well worth the price.

Also I recommend: Confederate Uniforms At Gettysburg. A great book for mid to late war impressions.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Jeans that is dyed with unmordanted logwood dyes brown.
Jeans that is dyed with logwood mordanted with iron dyes gray.

Logwood, sumac, and several other period vegetable dyestuffs can be made to dye brown or tan, but they are not color fast or light fast. Meaning with exposure and use, the gray "fades" to weak browns and tans.

A long standing discussion in the Hobby centers around ignorance or misunderstandings of natural dyes.
For example, Once Upon a Time there was a notion that repro Federal garments had to be sewn with tan or brown thread because so many original garments were sewn with tan or brown lookng thread. What was missed was that they were original dyed blue with mordanted logwood as a cheap substitute for indigo and what we were looking at was not brown thread but rather once blue thread that had turned from blue to brown or tan over time.

CHS