Shoddy blouse flannel

[wade03]

Hello,
I was doing some research on a local occupying unit here in New Bern, NC in 1862 and found some info on earlier war sack coat material. The regiment in question is the 44th Mass, Daley has an article about one of their frocks on his site. The regiment did not have problems finding funds for privately purchased uniforms, in fact one of their officers offered his help to recruits for finding tailors. The few that opted to not buy their uniforms were shocked at the quality of the Army issue. They described them as "half cotton" and undesirable.
My question is, were these "half cotton" uniforms what we refer to as early war contractor frauds or would this cloth have been present through out the war as a secondary source for blouse flannel? As they did not mention the uniforms falling apart, just that they were or lower quality.
its also worth noting that these guys had no problems with money and were quite use to the fine items of society.

Thanks!

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Shoddy blouse flannel

Did the reference actually use the term "shoddy"? Speaking in Textile-ese, "shoddy" is a particular type of cloth, and may not reference quality precisely, though "shoddy" does tend to be--well--shoddy in comparison to new wool. To produce "shoddy" wool, existing wool fabrics are shredded and re-spun. Other fibers can be spun in with the shredded wool (such as cotton) to increase the strength and workability of the threads. It can then be re-woven into material, and the yardage used. It is not as durable or comfortable as new, unblended wool that's been spun and woven into yardage.

[GreencoatCross]

Re: Shoddy blouse flannel

Wade,

If they were truly half cotton then I'd imagine that they were describing garments made from jean or possibly even a poorly made satinet. I have never seen an extant original or documentation supporting the use of either material in fatigue blouses, however some early state contract uniforms were made from satinet (Don Troiani owns a dark blue satinet 1st Delaware Infantry frock; a frock owned by John Currier, 6th New Hampshire Infantry is wool flannel). There are some surviving greatcoats made from both jean and satinet, as well as some forage caps originating from the state of Maine.

I have seen some truly horrible looking wool flannel used in original blouses though. When I say "horrible" I mean that it's so light weight and loosely woven that you could probably poke a finger through it. There is also an artillery quartermaster sergeant's jacket that I know of lined with even poorer grade flannel; I imagine that this particular fabric was condemned or deemed too poorly woven to use for blouses. The flannel I've seen used for garments as well as linings were all wool, with no shoddy and did not appear to contain "foreign" processed fibers spun into the yarn itself.

I've read several accounts like the one from the 44th Mass. but I have always suspected that the volunteers were being critical of the nature of blouse flannel itself rather than being literal about it's fiber content. If a vendor made blouses from flannel identical to that of most originals I've seen, they would probably generate the same contempt among many reenactors today.

Are you aware of the unlined blouse owned by 1st Sgt. Frank Fitz of the 44th Mass.? Troiani owns this one along with Fitz's dress coat and havelock. The blouse is that medium blue color that everyone loves to much, unlined, mostly machine sewn with hand sewn details throughout. I think this particular garment may be one of the privately purchased "nicer" garments you alluded to earlier, just made to mimic the regular issue blouse. The seam construction is something I haven't figured out yet; it looks like a French seam on the inside and outside. It's shorter than most blouses and Fitz shortened the sleeves at the cuff, added NEG buttons to the front and at the cuffs. There is a small brown silecia pocket on the inside (presumably for a watch) but no evidence of every having an actual breast pocket as we know it. I snapped some photos of Fitz's dress coat but did not examine it closely; if memory serves it was fully lined with dark green cotton and definitely private purchase.