| Your shell jacket is one of the finest articles of your | | | | were cut out of the same cloth. The same depot |
| Civil War Uniform Impression. Your jacket and hat are | | | | might turn out uniforms made out of wool, jean cloth or |
| what is noticed first about your uniform. Check your | | | | whatever was on hand. |
| shell jacket against these amazing shell jackets right | | | | One cannot really say that one depot turned out a |
| out of the history books and know that your jacket will | | | | particular uniform unless you can find a uniform that is |
| be "right out of yesterday" authentic and you will have | | | | documented to be worn by a certain soldier and was |
| preserved a celebrated piece of our illustrious | | | | produced by that depot. It's very difficult to trace a |
| American Civil War history! | | | | particular uniform down. Basically, pants and shirts |
| Confederate regulations did call for a double-breasted | | | | were made from the civilian patterns of the day. If you |
| frock coat with sky blue pants with a kepi with trim for | | | | want to do a civilian impression, feel free to use a |
| branch of service, but these regulations never seemed | | | | military pattern with civilian cloth. Some of the civilian |
| to really make it to the forefront. For example, colored | | | | outfits were rather amusing in appearance with |
| trim was used to indicate branch of service: buff for | | | | checks and large prints. |
| staff; red for artillery, yellow for cavalry, light blue for | | | | By about October 1862, the depot system took on the |
| infantry, black for medical. This trim was on the cuffs | | | | responsibility of supplying practically all clothing. |
| and collar and anywhere else where it might show up. | | | | Everyone knew the Confederate government had |
| Regulations also called for light blue trousers for | | | | shortages of all kinds. To put out good woolens was |
| enlisted men and a darker blue for higher-ranking | | | | difficult. Cotton products such as shirts and underwear |
| officers Special buttons were prescribed such as "E" | | | | were not that difficult to turn out. |
| for engineers; "I" for infantry; "A" for artillery; "C" for | | | | Cotton was used to stretch the wool; hence, fairly |
| Calvary, and "R" for riflemen. | | | | large quantities of jean cloth were used instead of |
| By mid-July of 1861, the Confederate government in | | | | pure wool. Blankets and overcoats were difficult to |
| Richmond took on most of the responsibility for | | | | turn out and f oreign supplies were contracted to help. |
| providing uniforms for the ragged volunteers. A clothing | | | | As early as 1862 large quantities of British army wool |
| factory was set up in Richmond and other cities | | | | started to arrive in Confederate depot areas. Along |
| throughout the South around September. The major | | | | with the British wool came shoes, knapsacks, and |
| depots were Atlanta, Athens and Columbus. | | | | accoutrements, as well as many other items. Georgia |
| The depots maintained groups of tailors, who cut out | | | | and North Carolina did particularly well in supplying their |
| the uniforms in pieces and provided buttons, trim and | | | | troops, but some states could do little. Please feel free |
| so on in a kit form. These kits were given out to | | | | to supplement civilian items because this situation was |
| seamstresses who numbered in the thousands. These | | | | common throughout. |
| seamstresses put the uniforms together. This system | | | | There was actually very little difference in the jackets |
| proved amazingly successful, and they were producing | | | | that came out of the various depots. There was also |
| thousands of uniforms a year. | | | | a sack coat that was a looser fitting type of coat. |
| Army regulations were rarely if ever adhered to | | | | Even the Army of the Northern Virginal could get |
| instead producing short-waisted shell jackets that did | | | | jackets out of other depots. They moved the jackets |
| not eat up alot of cloth. Some depots turned out sky | | | | to wherever they needed them, and it's hard to say |
| blue, but the vast majority of the jackets and pants | | | | from which depot jackets were originated. |