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Looking for info on uniforms for a unit that I'm sure is high on everyone's "must portray someday" list, the 56th New York National Guard. This is NOT the 56th New York of X Legion fame, but the National Guard unit from Brooklyn.
Here's where I am so far:
In 1862, the 56th utilized a new provision contained in the Militia Act of 1862 to be provided with uniforms through local sources.
The state would only pay for an amount equal to the prices for uniforms set by the federal government ($16.94 for an overcoat, frock and trousers). However, the low bid on the uniforms for the 56th was $22.50 for the uniform approved by the Quartermaster Department, so the regiment came up with the additional $5.56 per man. "The uniform selected by the board of officers was a plain Chasseur uniform, according to a sample furnished the Department." Whether that is "plain" as in completely untrimmed, or "plain" as in less gaudy than some other chasseur uniforms I've seen, I don't know. A copy of the ad inviting bids is attached, and represents the best description of the uniform I have: light blue kersey overcoats, dark blue chasseur jackets, and light blue chasseur trousers (Source – Report of the Quartermaster General's Department, New York, December 31, 1862, included in the Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, Eighty-Sixth Session – 1863).
The only photo I've been able to turn up of the 56th NYNG is of an officer in a standard line officer's frock and doesn't show the enlisted uniform.
From the description of the uniform and the timeframe in which they were procured, I assume that they were similar to the chasseur uniforms adopted in September of 1862 by the 22nd New York National Guard, but that is purely a guess.
If anyone has additional info on their uniforms (or their arms and accouterments, for that matter), which may help my efforts, I'd love to hear from you.
Other sources already consulted:
Here's where I am so far:
In 1862, the 56th utilized a new provision contained in the Militia Act of 1862 to be provided with uniforms through local sources.
The state would only pay for an amount equal to the prices for uniforms set by the federal government ($16.94 for an overcoat, frock and trousers). However, the low bid on the uniforms for the 56th was $22.50 for the uniform approved by the Quartermaster Department, so the regiment came up with the additional $5.56 per man. "The uniform selected by the board of officers was a plain Chasseur uniform, according to a sample furnished the Department." Whether that is "plain" as in completely untrimmed, or "plain" as in less gaudy than some other chasseur uniforms I've seen, I don't know. A copy of the ad inviting bids is attached, and represents the best description of the uniform I have: light blue kersey overcoats, dark blue chasseur jackets, and light blue chasseur trousers (Source – Report of the Quartermaster General's Department, New York, December 31, 1862, included in the Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, Eighty-Sixth Session – 1863).
The only photo I've been able to turn up of the 56th NYNG is of an officer in a standard line officer's frock and doesn't show the enlisted uniform.
From the description of the uniform and the timeframe in which they were procured, I assume that they were similar to the chasseur uniforms adopted in September of 1862 by the 22nd New York National Guard, but that is purely a guess.
If anyone has additional info on their uniforms (or their arms and accouterments, for that matter), which may help my efforts, I'd love to hear from you.
Other sources already consulted:
Militia Law of the State of New York – 1862
General Regulations for the Military Forces of the State of New York – 1858
History of the Twenty-Second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York, General George Wood Wingate
Our Campaign Around Gettysburg… by John Lockwood (1864) (you'd think the 23rd NYSM won the Gettysburg campaign singlehandedly)
Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Confederate Expedition to the Susquehanna River, June 1863, by Scott Mingus (2011)
Anything but Dull – The Personal Letters of R.E. Jack: His Legacy From Maine to California 1856 – 1869, by Marilyn L. Darnell (2013)
General Regulations for the Military Forces of the State of New York – 1858
History of the Twenty-Second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York, General George Wood Wingate
Our Campaign Around Gettysburg… by John Lockwood (1864) (you'd think the 23rd NYSM won the Gettysburg campaign singlehandedly)
Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Confederate Expedition to the Susquehanna River, June 1863, by Scott Mingus (2011)
Anything but Dull – The Personal Letters of R.E. Jack: His Legacy From Maine to California 1856 – 1869, by Marilyn L. Darnell (2013)
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