Civil War Uniforms

If there is one thing that the uniforms worn by both Federal and Confederate troops have in common, it’s that neither consistently showed any consistency.

Both the Federal and Confederate troops were mustered, at least initially, from volunteer corps. Often, these volunteer brigades chose their own style of uniform, giving the troops who rallied for both sides a varied, rag-tag appearance.

As you can see in the above composite of six portraits, the Federal soldiers’ uniforms vary greatly from portrait to portrait. This variation was the rule rather than the exception, at least for the Federal soldiers, for the first half of the war.

Much of the variation in Federal uniforms is due to the fact that many of the volunteer brigades who assembled for service were comprised of ethnic groups. Often the dress of these ethnic volunteer groups reflected that of the military dress of their homeland. The Scots were represented, kitted out in tartan Scots caps and trousers, including the 79th New York, who even included kilts in their dress uniform. New York City’s Garibaldi Guard wore uniforms that borrowed heavily from their Italian brethren, including hats decorated with chicken feathers. One of the most memorable were the French Zouaves, pictured below in their French-styled uniform.

By 1862, most of the Federal troops were outfitted in the regulation U.S. army uniforms, both for practical reasons – easy recognition of fellow troops in the field – and because by the mid point of the war, most of the volunteer troops could no longer outfit themselves.

As for the regulation uniform, infantry officers and enlisted men were outfitted in dark blue, mid-thigh length single-breasted frock coats, while lieutenant colonels, colonels, and all general officers’ coats wore double-breasted dark blue frock coats.

Like their Federal opponents, Confederate troops were also outfitted in an array of uniforms. However, this variation in uniform was due more to the inability of the Confederacy to provide enough uniforms for all their men than anything else. Confederate soldiers often wore combinations of uniform pieces and items of personal clothing, and the infantrymen were often without shoes. As for the uniforms themselves, when the Confederacy’s fortunes started to turn during the mid-point of the war, many of these uniform pieces were handmade from homespun materials, and dyed a yellow-tan with butternuts, hence the Confederate term “butternut” to describe this color. John Roberts, in the picture below, wears the official Confederate uniform.

The better appointed Confederate generals often wore uniforms that were similar both in style, and sometimes in color to those of the Federal generals. The long, double-breasted frock coat was used by both armies, although the more popular color combination for the Confederate Army was the butternut coat or grey coat with grey pants.

However, as you can see from the picture below of General Isaac Stevens and his men, sometimes the Confederate Army ended up in dress identical to that of the Federal troops. And Stevens and his men were not alone; the New York Zouaves were not the only volunteer brigade donning a French-styled uniform – a volunteer militia from New Orleans, also Zouaves, adopted the same uniform! Imagine the confusion on the battlefield…