Jacket with vest

[malachi]

At Olustee this weekend I saw an infantryman wearing a waistcoat (vest) and cravat underneath a shell jacket. I don't remember having seen this before. Then again I may well have simply overlooked it a hundred times before. My wife could easily attest to my deficiency in powers of observation, listening, compassion........well you get the idea.
Was it common?
Greg Tucker

[Beanbomb]

Re: Jacket with vest

Depends on the kind of vest I would think. The military style vests with raised collars were not as common as civilian vests, especially for the south. A vest was a normal part of a man's attire, and so when men joined the army some continued to wear one. I would not say it was the norm, but certainly was done. In the trans-Mississippi theater, Confederates had much more civilian clothing in the ranks. I am no expert on this though, hopefully someone has a better answer.




I may be wrong, but it seems the 3rd man up is wearing a vest

[malachi]

Re: Jacket with vest

Depends on the kind of vest I would think. The military style vests with raised collars were not as common as civilian vests, especially for the south. A vest was a normal part of a man's attire, and so when men joined the army some continued to wear one. I would not say it was the norm, but certainly was done. In the trans-Mississippi theater, Confederates had much more civilian clothing in the ranks. I am no expert on this though, hopefully someone has a better answer.
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I may be wrong, but it seems the 3rd man up is wearing a vest
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I hope you all understand that I have seen the vests and cravats with frocks, and sack coats for years, I only recently saw them used in conjunction with a shell jacket. Sorry to have sounded so ignorant.
Greg Tucker