Re: Richmond Depot Jackets
To reply to Andrew's question regarding the removal of shoulder straps-
The average CW-era soldier was like soldiers of every other era and epoch: he was interested in function over form. While shoulder straps look dandy, they serve no great purpose. And if you've ever had one of the shoulder strap buttons, whether it's associated with a functional or non-functional buttonhole, auger into your shoulder beneath a cartridge box, canteen, or haversack strap or a pair of knapsack straps, you'd be pretty fast in hacking those things off. Envisioning 25-mile marches with a pair of brass buttons mashed into your upper shoulder seems like good enough reason to me.
A recent thread on cartridge box straps showed some other good "field-altered" methods for uniforms/equipment. I'm thinking of the cartridge boxes with slits cut in the leather to allow belts that weren't originally intended to be worn with the box.
My two cents.
To reply to Andrew's question regarding the removal of shoulder straps-
The average CW-era soldier was like soldiers of every other era and epoch: he was interested in function over form. While shoulder straps look dandy, they serve no great purpose. And if you've ever had one of the shoulder strap buttons, whether it's associated with a functional or non-functional buttonhole, auger into your shoulder beneath a cartridge box, canteen, or haversack strap or a pair of knapsack straps, you'd be pretty fast in hacking those things off. Envisioning 25-mile marches with a pair of brass buttons mashed into your upper shoulder seems like good enough reason to me.
A recent thread on cartridge box straps showed some other good "field-altered" methods for uniforms/equipment. I'm thinking of the cartridge boxes with slits cut in the leather to allow belts that weren't originally intended to be worn with the box.
My two cents.
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