White Gloves

[Michael Mantini]

I despise white gloves. I do not like seeing them at inspections, city holiday parades or dress parades at living histories. When I am the company commander at an event I instruct the lads to put them away whenever I see them come out.
I am having a running debate with another member of my unit who claims he has seen "countless photos" of civil war soldiers wearing white gloves at dress parade. As of yet he has not produced one let alone countless photos.
Does anybody have any evidence of wide spread use of white gloves by soldiers?

Below are links to two images I found clearly showing white gloves. One is of CTs in a column of companies probably at an inspection. The other is of officers and a few NCO posing for a portrait. I know I have seen one or two more but, for me this is not enough to warrant their use in our unit.

26th USCVI at Camp William Penn, PA 1865

http://www.civilwarphotos.net/files/images/006.jpg

63rd NYVI

http://www.civilwarphotos.net/files/images/297.jpg

What's your opinion?

Mike Mantini
5NHV

[trippcor]

Re: White Gloves

According to the US Army regulations white gloves were part of the uniform. Here are some references I found to white gloves:

1530. For General Officers and Officers fo the General Staff and Staff Corps - buff or white

1531. For Officers of Artillery, Infantry, Cavalry, Dragoons, and Riflemen - White.

[Johan Steele]

Re: White Gloves

They were part of the uniform, may not like them but in certain very specific situations they were worn. All of the pics of soldiers involved w/ President Lincolns funeral that I have seen show gloves and I have seen others. They were a dress item to be worn for special occasions, not everyday useage and certainly not in the field on campaign.

It will all depend upon what the scenario calls for.

[AZReenactor]

Re: White Gloves

A few more Pics from Mark Herman's Article on Support Arms of soldiers that appear to be wearing white gloves.

[Kace]

Re: White Gloves

There are also a number of references in All For The Union where Rhodes says he made sure the troops had gloves for an inspection.

Kace

[FranklinGuardsNYSM]

Re: White Gloves


(29th U.S.C.T.)

It is recorded that, while at Camp Prospect, VA in the spring of 1862, the 14th Brooklyn "received new uniforms...with white gloves and paper collars."

[ThehosGendar]

Re: White Gloves

Here's an odd place to see shoulder scales and white gloves - ferrying a company in a test of the experimental blanket boats in Alexandria, VA.

LC-DIG-ppmsca-10422, "Military construction in northern Virginia: raft of blanket boats ferrying soldiers across the Potomac River."

[Michael Mantini]

Re: White Gloves

There are some good photos in these posts. In some of them I'm not sure they are gloves but, there are more than I thought. I notice a lot of them are CT units. Do you think its because they are US Regulars or because of some racist element?

Mike Mantini
5NHV

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: White Gloves

Okay, there's some images of soldiers at parade with white gloves. It sort of strikes me that a lot of these regiments were band box soldiers, and even had a photographer present. How common were white gloves on these guys really?

And further, how common were white gloves on front-line, veteran troops? Because white gloves for enlisted men were certainly a frivilous nicety, Army Regs-specified or not, I'd reckon (without evidence to support it) that white gloves were probably extremely rare on enlisted troops who actually marched and fought.

One of the two photos Mike M posted was of the 63rd New York of the Irish Brigade (each of the Irish Brigade's regiment had numerous photos taken in the late spring or summer of 1865 in front of that same tent and fly, so the image posted is a very late-war or post-war image after the fighting stopped and the regiment had been resupplied with a lot of nice new gear), but appears to show commissioned officers wearing white gauntlets instead of enlisted men with gloves. Now on that particular topic, I believe gauntlets on commissioned line officers were probably not an everyday thing, but I'd suspect they were more common than white gloves for enlisted men. Among other things, I have an account by a relative of mine who was a company commander in a regiment of the Third Corps, Army of the Potomac, and of the battle of Chancellorsville he wrote that he was wearing white goatskin gauntlets (this account is now easier to find in print than it used to be: it's published in Peter Cozzens's Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 5, 2002, under the same title it was published as in Hearst's Magazine in 1913: "When the Rappahannock Ran Red".)

About the Army Regs saying that white gloves were part of the uniform, perhaps it said that, but what was actually the practice? The Army Regs said a lot of things that weren't actually done, or were rarely done.

[ThehosGendar]

Re: White Gloves

Below are some more images of the white gloves appearing on parade and posed comapny shots in Washington, but, in line with what Kevin was saying, these are Veteran Reserve Corps soldiers, stationed in Washington at the end of the war. Regs, here, are obviously strictly enforced, as several soldiers are indeed wearing leather neckstocks as well.

Now, as for out the in the field, again, as Kevin mentioned, they could be a frivolous nicety. While a tiny load to bear, would one rather keep some white gloves for parade, or make room for paper to write home in their knapsack? Culling first person accounts and the ORs are the only way to surely know, here.

Images used: LC-DIG-cwpb-04310 - "Company F, U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps at Washington Circle," LC-DIG-cwpb-04301 - "Company C, 10th U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps" (mislabeled, actually Company D, 8th VRC), LC-DIG-cwpb-04292 - "9th U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps," LC-DIG-cwpb-04234 - "Company K, 9th U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps, at Washington Circle."

[Michael Mantini]

Re: White Gloves

Kevin is articulating my point better than I. Havelocks, gaiters and shoulder scales are all part of the US regs and I put white gloves in that category. I'm looking for "wide spread" use of gloves. Kevin used the term "band box soldiers". I like to say that I don't want to see "civil war nutcrackers" in the field. Obviously if you are recreating a specific event were evidence exists that they were wearing them then so be it. I do appreciate all the pictures. I didn't think there were that many out there.

Mike Mantini
5NHV

[FlatLandFed]

Re: White Gloves

From Jason: "…are some more images of the white gloves appearing on parade…"

Gents -- isn't that the point?

Many of us are attempting to pay our respects to the CW veterans every time we put on our reproduction kits. In the field, we dress as appropriate for a given scenario.

When we're "on parade" shouldn't we go that extra step to do as they did? Sure, it seems obvious that soldiers didn't like white gloves on a day to day basis and "probably" tossed them in the same heap as neck stocks and even gaitors buttttttt for a truly important event such as the funeral of a respected leader, guard duty at headquarters, Grand Parade at war's end, etc the photos say they put a little more into their formal attire whether voluntarily or not.

Should we do any less in support of our veterans tomorrow?

Just my two flying eagles,
Paul Hadley
Marching tomorrow WEARING white gloves

[Rob]

Re: White Gloves

If I may be permitted a slight digression:

To all of the fresh fish out there - please note the positioning of the weapon while performing Support Arms.

[Hargis, G. 5 A-1]

Re: White Gloves

If I may be permitted a slight digression:

To all of the fresh fish out there - please note the positioning of the weapon while performing Support Arms.

Digression IS the norm around here.
Note the position of the left forearm – some level and some at an angle with hand higher up on the chest.
Then (as now) THE WAY things were done was really the wayS things were done.

[Watchdog]

Re: White Gloves

The men of the Seventeenth Michigan went into their first battle (Fox's Gap at South Mountain in Maryland on September 1862) with their gloves on their cap box belts accordinmg to diary accounts.

Apropriate application and common sense applies here:

What is the situation? In camp on the march or in the middle of a battlefield?
Were they issued and how many would have still had them for a morning or evening parade--which should be done at almost any occasion except, perhaps in the midst of a battle.

The Civil War was over a fourteen hundred days long. Each day was different and many scenarios apply. Some of us seem to have our imressions set to one particular day.