Although the Civil War is often described as the "War between the Blue and Gray," it was actually a conflict of many colors.
When the war started in 1861, there were Northern regiments that wore gray uniforms, and Southern regiments that wore blue. At Bull Run that July, there was so much confusion in the uniforms worn by the opposing soldiers that there were numerous incidents of fatal friendly fire.
There was little regulation of the clothing and equipment for soldiers of North and South at the beginning of the war. States quickly formed regiments and provided uniforms inconsistently. Some regiments were financed privately and adopted their own styles. Given the crisis at hand, regiments were accepted into service without much regard for how they were uniformed or equipped.
New York City's famed 7th Regiment left for the war in 1861 wearing gray uniforms. At the same time, The Clinch Rifles — a Georgia unit that fought for the Confederacy — wore privately-tailored blue uniforms that were frequently confused on the battlefield.
Before the Civil War, there was much excitement over the rise of military drill teams that toured the country and provided public demonstrations of military maneuvers. The uniforms worn by such units as Col. Elmer Ellsworth's United States Zouave Cadets were inspired by the French uniforms of the Crimean War and were ablaze in color and style. The touring companies electrified the nation and inspired an image in the public mind of what crack soldiers should look like.
When the Civil War erupted in 1861, it was understandable that many sought to fulfill that image by organizing elite Zouave regiments to impressively march to the battlefield.
The Zouave concept knew no geographic boundaries. Regiments of elaborately dressed Zouaves were formed by both sides. During the Civil War, the North raised 70 Zouave regiments, while the South organized 25 units.
The first Zouave regiment of the Civil War was the 9th New York Infantry (Hawkins' Zouaves). The men wore the classic Arab-inspired short jackets with baggy red pants and white gaiters. Appearing on the battlefield, the Hawkins Zouaves stood in circus-like opposition to the concept of camouflage and suffered dearly for their colorful expression. This hard lesson in bold battlefield visibility was also inflicted on the famed 5th New York Zouaves.
While the Zouaves learned the lesson the hard way, units like Berdan's Sharpshooters adopted custom-made dark green uniforms with black rubber buttons (instead of shiny brass) in order to better apply their stealthy tactics of war. Their ability to become one with their environment, along with their proficiency with the latest in rifles, made for a deadly combination on the battlefield.
Col. Ellsworth's New York Fire Zouaves left for the war early in 1861. Ellsworth's death in May 1861 became the subject of patriotic and romantic imagery that inspired thousands to join the ranks of the Zouaves. In Pennsylvania, Baxter's Zouaves formed, with their elaborate brass-buttoned coats and chasseur-styled pants, while in the Deep South on New Orleans' roughest streets, the Louisiana Tigers organized, with their blue and white striped pantaloons. New York fielded several Zouave regiments, including the Albany Zouave Cadets, all wearing variations on the French uniform that did not even attempt to conform to the formal uniform regulations adopted by the U.S. War Department.
As a result of the great variety of uniforms worn by the Civil War soldiers, the war was hardly a conflict of the Blue and the Gray; it also involved the red and the green, as well as other bold color schemes.
The headgear wear soldiers wore into battle was even more varied. Most common was the soft kepi — a cloth cap that is familiar to anyone who has seen Civil War-era photographs. Although the Zouaves often wore kepis, many of the smartly adorned units wore the soft tasseled fez instead (think sleeping cap). Others wore headgear that can best be described as turbans. Regardless of the color or style, Civil War headgear offered no protection against bullets or shrapnel.
The Civil War uniform was hardly practical — and was intended more to fulfill common understanding of what a soldier should look like rather than what was truly utilitarian on the battlefield.
Of course, soldiers left to their own devices adapt, and midway through the war, the Zouave uniform largely disappeared. A few regiments continued to use it, but the hard battles of 1863 convinced most officers and soldiers that practicality trumped style. By the summer of 1863, the romance of war had largely disappeared and most Union soldiers were fighting in the regulation nine-button frock coat, or the more slovenly four-button sack coat. Wool reigned as the fabric of supply and the soldiers of both armies suffered greatly.
In the South, as the supply of uniform materials became scarce, many Confederate soldiers took to the field in simple homespun battleshirts. These shirts were immensely practical and could be mended in the field when required. Surviving photographs depict Southern soldiers in white or buff shirts as well as checkered or floral pattern designs. Buttons were usually made of wood or bone. In a war without much uniformity, the South was far more free-spirited than the North.
It is easy to view the war in black and white, or blue and gray, but it is the varied nature of the war that makes it so interesting 150 years later. The Civil War was a conflict that split our nation and forever changed the course of our common history. The uniforms worn by the combatting armies, and the way that the soldiers expressed their individualism, is a truly American concept and one that would not have been embraced by most armies of the 19th century world.
The Civil War was a conflict of many qualities and many components. It was a war that was not any one thing that can easily be understood. It was a war of many colors.
Bill Howard is an author and historian who lives in Delmar. His latest book, "The Civil War Memoir of William T. Levey," was published by the Northshire Press.