Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

[Daniel]

I basically know what you are suppose to do when you are converting a Richmond Depot Type 2 into a Type 1. I really do not sew but I am having to sew the tape on myself. What type of black tape do you use and where do you get it? Also what type of stitch do you use? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dan Stewart
WIG/Old Guard

"I wish this hobby would fit into my life instead of my life fitting into the hobby."

[Cameron]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

Dan sending a pm

[Philip cav]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

I think Richmond Depot has the black tape for sale.

[rmilstead]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

Dan,
Why black? This has been the subject of several discussions on this Forum. Use the search function to find them. Basically this is all speculation since no RD1 is known to exist but why not the service color, yellow for Cavalry, Red for Artillery, and Blue for Infantry. That's what the regulations called for.

Dick Milstead
Hardaway's Alabama Battery
Company of Military Historians

[Doughboy]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

Dick,
Regulations are a good guide but again there seems to be no physical evidence for branch of service colors. Regs call for tunic but we know they were not widely issued.
It is a tough call what trim to use in the absence any physical examples.

[rmilstead]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

Christopher
I was using the term "Regulations" as a short hand (perhaps incorrectly) for the relative standardization of the service colors. That these colors were used by branch of service in the various Confederate Armies throughout the war is beyond doubt. Numerious "physical" examples exist with the service colors used and direct provenance linking them to soldiers that were in the respective branch of service to verify their actual use. The John Blair Royal jacket is but one example out of many.Not every uniform had branch of service color decoration ,maybe not most, but they were used to consistently represent the various branches of service throught the War.

Dick Milstead
Hardaway's Alabama Battery
Company of Military Historians

[Doughboy]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

I understand that, just pointing out again that no existing RD type jacket exists with infantry trim so color is still a guess

[PieBoy96]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

A few friends (Dabney, Gruber, and Hurst) are transcribing an account book from a private tailoring company in Petersburg, which between 1862-1864 (and early 1865), did a ton of work for Confederates of all ranks and branches. Thus far, they noted that almost 3/4 of the transactions in the book show that anything trimmed/taped/welted is in black. No red thus far, another 1/8 is yellow, and the other 1/8 is in blue.

Disclaimer: do not take this as strict percentages of anything. This is a work in progress. But it does initially show that black was a widely utilized color for trim, and blue was indeed used, but perhaps not to the extent as black. As with so much CS stuff, we can only form "generalizations" and not rules.

Dan: I would recommend a 3/8" or 1/4" inch tape, cotton or wool, in black or blue (I'm presuming you're Infantry). Call Needle and Thread in Gettysburg for supplies. A simple whip stitch with a similar color thread would work best in this application. Black thread would work well for black or dark blue tape; N&T sells spools of cotton thread for around $5 -- for this work I would recommend the smallest size they supply, No. 24. When sewing, don't pull your stitches super tight or it will give the tape a rippled effect. Also, there is no need to stitch deep back into the tape; even going back 1/16" from the edge is enough. Do some tests and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. Good luck!

[Secesh]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

There is a jacket in the MOC worn by a sergeant at Gettysburg that is a tailor copy of an RD1...It is trimmed in dark blue tape.

[Iceman]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

Or you can go rogue and wear a jacket with branch of service trim that is not your branch of service. It happened.

[Daniel]

Re: Converting a Richmond Depot Type II jacket into a Richmond Depot Type 1 jacket

Thank you all for the great advice and instruction.

Dan Stewart