Overalls in the field?

[MuddyWaterMess]

I have just recived a pair of overalls i was gonna use for a few civilian events but i was curious how accurate if accurate at all would this be for early war. Any chance that these may have been carried and worn during the winter. Sent from home. Worn into battle early war. I dont know so i was just throwing it out there. I checked the search engine didnt find any awnsers. Thanks (now just to add i do not plan on doing so but i think it would be neat to know if there are any accounts of it being done)

BEN

[Todd Watts]

Re: Overalls in the field?

I don't know of any records of men wearing them, but I would assume they would at least be fine for a civy impression. Probably they'd be o.k. for early war use among Confederates. The design was aroudn in the 1700s and quite common by the time of the Civil War. I have seen some pictures of slaves and white boatmen and farmers wearing them from the era.
http://http://www.npr.org/programs/m...lls/index.html
Here's a link about them.

[BrettKIllinois]

Re: Overalls in the field?

retry that link it should be

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/overalls/index.html

[MuddyWaterMess]

Re: Overalls in the field?

Thanks, for the info. I thought it would be neat to have during the winter months to wear over the clothes. I will do my reading and see what i can dig up appreciate it guys. Thanks

BEN

[BrettKIllinois]

Re: Overalls in the field?

From all I know is it's a lower class status thing, so if your portrayal is a soldier who is above that status I'd imagine he'd avoid wearing something like this. The people of the 1860s were very much into fashion, it's not like today where folks have huge wardrobes, back then clothes ment a lot because you didn't have a lot of outfits... well unless you were really really wealthy.

[BrettKIllinois]

Re: Overalls in the field?

Another thing to think about is this is "work clothes" not "town clothes" or "traveling clothes" the wear of a garment like this to town I doubt was as acceptable as it became in the 1900s
I'd stress finding documentation of it happening in the file prior to doing it. I'd be very interested if you could find this!

[DougCooper]

Re: Overalls in the field?

Other than the white canvas overalls issued to US Engineers, I can't recall any reference to overalls among soldiers. Since overalls don't cover the most cold sensitive areas of your body very well (sides of the chest and shoulders) I would not pick such a garment for the cold as the extra layer. Better to have the homefront send an overcoat, extra shirt or extra blanket.

[coastaltrash]

Re: Overalls in the field?

Ben,
The one thing to remember is that overalls went OVER ALL your clothing, so it was something to wear while working in a field or something more along the lines of physical labor.

That being said, I've seen reference to overalls being issued to CS troops, I believe it is in "Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown" among a few other sources, although those notes are buried under Chickamauga, Stone's River and 6th Mississippi regimental research.

[Minieball577]

Re: Overalls in the field?

Other than the white canvas overalls issued to US Engineers, I can't recall any reference to overalls among soldiers. Since overalls don't cover the most cold sensitive areas of your body very well (sides of the chest and shoulders) I would not pick such a garment for the cold as the extra layer. Better to have the homefront send an overcoat, extra shirt or extra blanket.

Doug, the engineer overall are something I have been thinking about lately, but have not had the time to research them much. Do you know of any source material that may give examples of original U.S. engineer overalls? I am probably missing something obvious.

Thanks.

[Todd Watts]

Re: Overalls in the field?

A form of "dress" overalls were used as regular soldier uniforms in the Rev-War. I am not sure whether or not any early war companies brought the attire into the Civil War, but there are references to Rev-War styles as companies evidently tried to mimic the "romance" of the Rev-War. That would be something neat to research to see if it was done.

[Rob Weaver]

Re: Overalls in the field?

I think it's worth mentioning that 18th century overalls were nothing like the bib overalls we associate with the word. 18th c. overalls were essentially trousers that narrowed down the leg and ended in a built in pair of gaiters/spats. They protected your hose and shoes, both of which were expensive, and showed wear easily. They didn't cover the torso. If you wanted your upper body clothing protected, you wore a smock. The NPR article is a little sketchy on the 18th century origins. I have never seen a pair of 18th century bib overalls, but the above combination occurs frequently in period artwork.

[BrettKIllinois]

Re: Overalls in the field?

Rob I disagree, some overalls did cover part of the torso, absolutely. True isn't not like the carhardts or others of today, but they had the fronts covered.

[pipthelimey]

Re: Overalls in the field?

Not in the 18th century. The article of clothing we now refer to as "overalls" weren't called that until sometime in the 19th century.

[Kiev Thomason]

Re: Overalls in the field?

I am not saying that all the info is 100% and Speedy or Chris please add on,but if you look at the pattern by Past patterns#910.It covers (overalls ) from about 1812 to 1915.It has a bibliography and you can backtrack with it to do further study.Maybe this will help you find your answer.Also you can find specs in the 1865 Q.M. manual.