Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

[militiaman1835]

While doing search for CS blankets I came across a reference to a CS pea ridge blanket. It was sold several years ago by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Can anyone tell me details on this blanket? Color? size? historical documentation? etc? Jim Hensley

[rogue]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

Jim,
The blanket was lightweight, two pieces sewn down the middle. It is based on a blanket in the collection of the Wisconsin Vets Museum in Madison.
You might be able to get information from them directly, Google them, and ask to e-mail Bill Brewster if possible.
Steve Sullivan

[myster]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

From what I heard from those who owned the blanket, the month of March in the Ozarks and this blanket make for a misserable night.
Sean Harla

[coastaltrash]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

I remember reading on here or hearing it at an event that someone actually turned theirs into an overshirt, a light overshirt I might add.

[Andy Ackeret]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

That would be Steve Acker whose blanket is now a shirt. The blanket is authentic to the original, it's just not going to keep you warm.

[Infantry Grunt]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

The blanket in question would make for an excellent night during the warm summer months. It is a awesome copy of the original. The others are right, don't count on keeping you warm if it is cool outside. If memory serves me correctly, the color is off white with a couple of brown stripes on each end. I don't recall the size or construction details though. :confused_

[Tom Ezell]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

John Schwarz had one of these things a couple of years ago... It's a really thin wool, white or off-white in color, made of two lengths of material sewn together with a center seam. It's small... John is not a real large guy, maybe 5'4" if we stretched him out and pulled real hard, and this blanket fit him about like a bath towel, but not as warm.

Last time I saw it was at the Mansfield living history in 2000, when he was trying to use it to warm back up after a dip in a creek one dark and frosty night. It didn't work.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

Last time I saw it was at the Mansfield living history in 2000, when he was trying to use it to warm back up after a dip in a creek one dark and frosty night.

That swim didn't happen to involve any boiled bacon?

[Tom Ezell]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

That swim didn't happen to involve any boiled bacon?

The very same... The blanket didn't go in the creek, but sure got its warming/comforting capacities put to the test.

Needless to say, none of our other little messmates were interested in acquiring a Pea Ridge blanket after seeing John's, and especially afterward.

By way of comparison, though, I had invested in one of the County Cloth English/"North Carolina" blankets the winter before, and despite having taken my blanket into the creek with me during my unscheduled bath, was able to roll up in it, spoon up to the fire on the side farthest away from the bluff, and get comparatively warm again.

The Pea Ridge blanket is a wonderfully authentic item, but part of that is an experience in being authentically cold and miserable any time the temperature dips toward the dew point!

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

Hallo!

Indeed..
I have one.
It arrived in a 4 X 6 inch box.

IMHO, it is an excellent copy indeed, but I pity the Confederate who used it other than to ward off mosquitoes and biting flies.
Basically it is "homespun" type expedient along the lines of shirt-weight linsey-woolsey woven on a hand-loom with the two strips sewn together side-by-side to double the narrow loom width.

I was going to take it apart and make an 18th century linsey-woolsey shirt out of it...

;) :)

Curt

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

IMHO, it is an excellent copy indeed, but I pity the Confederate who used it other than to ward off mosquitoes and biting flies.

That's exactly how I used mine at Vicksburg. Unfortunately, those Mississippi skeeters love a challenge. Within about 20 minutes, getting at me through the blanket became a timed competition. About an hour later, skeeters were arriving from all over the park to compete.

I think that chiggers just use blankets as markers to locate their next dinner.

:cry_smile

...not one fly bite, though! :sarcastic

[Coatsy]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

John, I actually think that you got half of the skeeters since the other half came over to where Tripp, Kiev, and I were staying. I slept with my socks pulled up, shirt on, button up to the top, sleeves rolled down. I placed my hankerchef over my face to try to keep the pests away from my face. My hands suffered. I slept on top of my blanket and used my coat as a cover. Those were two hot HOT nights in Mississippi.

It also remind me of the Port Gibson 'o3 event where I slept in a corn field on TOP of my blanket with my head covered by my sack coat and my knapsack and cartridge box as my pillow. The skeeters were vicious there as well.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Wisconsin Veterans Museum confederate Pea ridge blanket?

Hallo!

It is "off white-ish," or to use the Homeland Terrorist Alert color code, Bisque or Almond.

And attracts insects...

:-)

Curt