It sounds crazy – “personalize your uniform”! But, soldiers in the Civil War wore their uniforms with their own personal style, and you can too almost 150 years later.
Following are some Civil War Uniform ideas on “being You” in your uniform.
You can also rework and personalize a uniform that you pick up at a blanket sale or from a sutler or the Internet. Take out the machine buttonholes and hand stitch the buttonholes. Add a lining and a pocket or two for your own needs.
Your hat is who you are – your individual statement. If you look at pg. 157 ECHOES OF GLORY, there is a picture there of Confederate prisoners who have every variety of hat that you can imagine – kepis, round peaks, flat peaks. Notice their hats do not have a lot of hat brass or trim on them.
Choose which hat is you and create it. Buy one from a sutler and rework it to fit your personal style – like they did! Add a band or flip up the side.
Hats are a real personality choice – tilt yours to one side or the other, flip up one side or the other or both. Add a hatband. Have two-three hats that are You. Interchange them for different reenactments.
Do a blanket stitch around the edges of your blanket, so it will not look ragged. Yarn can be used for this. Keep a uniform look. Also, embroider or have someone who can embroider your initials or your state in the middle of the blanket.
Get a magnifying glass and examine the details of their uniforms. Also, look at how they wore their shirts, pants, and hats – discover their personality!
Glean the real story of the Civil War Uniform out of photographs: for example, they wore their shirts loose and blousy – be like them but be you.
Look at photos of the soldiers in camp rather than on the march. There is a wealth of information there – you can see all of their personal items more as well as how they lived on campaign.
An excellent photo to look at is in SHADOWS OF THE STORM, pg. 305. Pictured here is “men of the 5th Georgia”. Notice how they wear their neck scarves – some rolled them and put them over their collar, and some rolled them and put them directly around their necks.
Folding chairs, pipes were used, and it looks like one of the men is writing a letter, so having a simple type of stationary is accurate. Choose articles that reflect You.
Facial hair varies on each man. Some have long side burns and nothing else while others have a full beard and finally, others just have a simple mustache. Choose which type of facial hair works for you reenacting and in your modern life.
Emulate their entertaining personalities. In the photos you can see the slight smiles on their faces and the confidence in the way they stand and sit.
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