Confederate made Shelter Tents

[Mississippian]

I think this has been mentioned in a few different threads, but has never had a thread of its own. Today I came across a very interesting QM rec and thought I'd share it.

CSR of M. Callaway Co. B 11th GA Art. Battalion (Sumner Artillery)

Received in the field Nov. 30th 1864 (near Petersburg)

1 Wall Tent, Fly, poles and pins
2 Tent Flys
18 Shelter Tents

This is not the first time I've seen issues of "Shelter Tents" or "Halfs" in a Confederate unit, several are in the ANV but more in units along the NC coast. And all date from the Fall of 1864 or later. So can we safely assume that the QMD in Richmond or maybe in NC were making their own copies of the federal shelter tent starting in the late summer/early fall of 1864? We have the Alfred May (61st NC) tent. I know there was a school of thought that that tent had been a battlefield pick up or repaired Federal tent....

Thoughts anyone?

Will MacDonald

[Uncle Pig]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

About 18 years ago I was at the Kentucky Military History Museum and they had a shelter half that they claimed was CS issued. It was a litle smaller than a US one. They had documentation on it at that time but you might start with them and see if it is still documented as CS made.

Thanks,
Mark C. Foster

[fahnenschmied]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Will, whoever thought Alfred Mays shelter half was "repaired" has never seen it. it is in excellent condition, not even missing a button. As to being a battlefield pickup - I think not. The quality of the canvas is not so good, also, it is made from 28" wide stuff - there is no other in the Gaede book made of canvas that narrow. Also, the wooden buttons are rather larger than they should be, at 7/8ths, and I doubt a Federal inspector would pass that. The ropes are all cotton, not hemp or otherwise, which means nothing really, as they could have been replaced. It is neat that it has been field altered with a third rope loop at the bottom, just poked through raw holes. I think the likelyhood it is Federal is very slight, and the possibility it is NC or Confederate is very high!
Interesting to me is the point made on this list that there is both "tent fly" AND "shelter tent" - I have seen some argue that they are the same. Evidently they are not.

[4vaadjutant]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

The task of supplying the Confederate Army was a challenge throughout the war. I don’t know if the information below helps this discussion or not, but I offer it for what it might be worth to this conversation about Confederate Army property. From my notes taken when studying requisitions for the 4th Virginia Infantry at the National Archives, I found the following entry:

March 26, 1863 Camp and Garrison Equipage, &c., in the possession of Co. I, 4th Va. Infantry 6 Tents
2 Boilers
1 Skillet
Signed by Capt. Givens B. Strickler
(This return was prepared while the Stonewall Brigade was bivouacked in “Camp Winder” at Moss Neck south of Fredericksburg. It occupied the area from mid-December, 1862 until it broke camp at the end of April, 1863 to meet Hooker’s advance on Chancellorsville.)

Company I, the Liberty Hall Volunteers, numbered about 27 officers and enlisted men at
the time of this requisition, so it is not likely that the six tents reported on the return are
wall tents. They could be tent flies, which would possibly have served as roofing for log
huts built at this winter camp site. It can be argued that for 27 men reporting for duty, a
report of 1 skillet, 2 boilers and 6 tents as company property shows it was definitely not
oversupplied!

Respectfully,
Tom Williams
4th Virginia Infantry
Indianapolis

[ContinentalMorganGuard]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Not that it helps much but also of not it that July 1862 John Casler 33rd VA in his memoirs mentions sharing a “dog-tent”.

[Mississippian]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Tom,

They could be "A" Tents, they seem to be quite common in C.S. records, but with out looking at the records (if any) of the 27th I couldn't be sure....

Will MacDonald

[CSchneider]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Major William Bentley, QM in Richmond, described the dimensions and materials (and associated costs) needed to make the four types of tents that were then in production. These included hospital tents and flies, wall tents and flies, shelter tents, and "Fly Tents." Doing a little math shows that Fly Tents were essentially hospital tent flies and could fit about 15 or 16 guys if they got really cozy. Check out his CSR.

-Craig Schneider

[Andy Ackeret]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Craig, I might be missing the obvious, but what does CSR stand for?

[10TnVI]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

CSR- Compiled Service Record-these are in the possession of the national Archives. Due to a lack of an army bureau(caused by the lack of an army after 1865;-)) to file CS records with, the various papers and reports were filed with the CSR of the respective signing officer.

[Andy Ackeret]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Thank you, Mr. Hares!

[PenPusher]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

According to Major Bentley, a Shelter Tent was composed of two squares, each 5 feet 3 inches square. This required 8 yards 4 inches of 27 inch cotton duck, the material cost was $3 per yard and the cost of making was $7.50. The link to the record on Fold3 is http://www.fold3.com/image/#271|64992709

[Mississippian]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Alan,

That is an interesting read for sure. Too bad it isn't dated.

Another record for Shelter Tents, this time in the VA Reserves:

http://www.fold3.com/image/#249271139

Will MacDonald

[PenPusher]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Will,

That works out at 3 men per shelter half, unless one third were on duty at any one time!

Alan

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

In practice three men to a tent works out the best.

[poilu1917]

Re: Confederate made Shelter Tents

Quick question in regards to this topic, has anyone seen any mention to the weight of cotton duck used (like 7 or 10oz)? I know 8 oz cotton drill was primary for most federal gear and have seen references to 9oz osnaburg for haversacks (CS depot) but what would be the best modern weight single ply cotton duck to best match period cotton duck material used in tent flys and haversacks, etc... Thanks!