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GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

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  • GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

    While waiting on the website to get up, I want to put the guidelines up here. Some company commanders will issue more strict guidelines for their individual companies.

    Clothing

    Coats – jean, cassimere, satinette construction with hand sewn buttonholes at a minimum.

    1. Frock coats
    2. Commutation shell jackets
    3. Civilian Sack Coats
    4. Overshirts. Gray, brown, etc. NO RED OVERSHIRTS

    NO DEPOT JACKETS. Period. None.

    Pants– jean, cassimere, satinette construction with hand sewn buttonholes at a minimum.

    1. Military pattern
    2. Civilian pattern
    NO federal sky blue trousers will be allowed.

    Shoes

    1. Civilian pattern shoes
    2. Confederate Issue Shoes
    3. Infantry Boots
    4. Federal Brogans- Last Choice

    Headgear
    1. Civilian slouch hat
    2. CS kepi

    Quality Hats are expected for all events

    Shirts

    1. Civilian pattern shirt made of woven material with 3/8 inch bone, china, or mother of pearl buttons
    2. CS issue shirt

    Drawers – Canton flannel or cotton muslin / osnaburg of military or civilian pattern

    Socks - Woven wool or cotton socks with natural colors. NO elastic or rag wool socks-

    Accoutrements

    Cartridge Boxes

    1. CS issue boxes – preferably something early war western theater – Magee and George, Baton Rouge Arsenal, etc.
    2. English Import Cartridge Box
    3. US Issue Cartridge Box

    Cap pouches

    1. CS issue cap pouches – same as cartridge boxes
    2. English Import Cap Box
    3. US Cap Box

    Belt

    1. Fork Tongue Frame Belt
    2. Georgia Frame Belt
    3. English Import Belt

    No Federal Belts allowed.

    Bayonet scabbards

    1. CS issue
    2. English Import Scabbard
    3. Federal scabbards- strongly discouraged, but if you lack a CS scabbard these will be accepted.

    Haversacks - Documented Confederate issue haversack of painted or unpainted cloth. No federal haversacks.

    Canteen

    1. CS tin drum
    2. Documented pattern wooden drum canteen

    Knapsacks

    1. Mexican war
    2. CS single bag including English Import Knapsacks
    3. Militia hard packs

    BEDROLLS are also allowed. NO Federal Bags,.

    Long arms

    1. 1853 Enfield
    2. 1842 Springfield
    4. 1855 Springfield, 1816/22 conversions

    Blankets

    1. Civilian coverlets or 2-piece blankets
    2. CS issue blankets

    Eyewear

    1. Period frames only.
    2. NO modern eyewear of ANY kind! (Contacts excluded)
    Patrick Landrum
    Independent Rifles

  • #2
    Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

    Pat -

    I take it there will be no tentage - blankets and/or coverlets only correct?

    Thx.
    R
    Rich Libicer
    Fugi's Brown Water Mess

    6th North Carolina - 150th First Manassas, July 2011
    4th Texas Dismounted, Co. C - 150th Valverde, February 2012
    6th Mississippi Adjunct - 150th Shiloh, April 2012
    4th Texas Dismounted, Co. C - 150th Glorieta Pass, May 2012
    21st Arkansas Adjunct - 150th Prairie Grove, December 2012
    5th Confederate, Co. C - 150th Chickamauga, September 2013
    Haitus...... Until Now

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

      Rich,
      There will not be any form of tentage for us this weekend. Stretch a ground sheet, sure. But it's pretty bare bones.
      Patrick Landrum
      Independent Rifles

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

        Looking forward to a recommended reading list, pictures...etc.

        Paul B.
        Paul B. Boulden Jr.


        RAH VA MIL '04
        (Loblolly Mess)
        [URL="http://23rdva.netfirms.com/welcome.htm"]23rd VA Vol. Regt.[/URL]
        [URL="http://www.virginiaregiment.org/The_Virginia_Regiment/Home.html"]Waggoner's Company of the Virginia Regiment [/URL]

        [URL="http://www.military-historians.org/"]Company of Military Historians[/URL]
        [URL="http://www.moc.org/site/PageServer"]Museum of the Confederacy[/URL]
        [URL="http://www.historicsandusky.org/index.html"]Historic Sandusky [/URL]

        Inscription Capt. Archibold Willet headstone:

        "A span is all that we can boast, An inch or two of time, Man is but vanity and dust, In all his flower and prime."

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

          Paul,

          This is by no means official, but my personal reading list of secondary sources so far has looked like this:

          Basic stuff:
          - Larry J. Daniel, Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee
          - Thomas Lawrence Connelly, Army of the Heartland: The Army of Tennessee 1861-1862

          Uniforms:
          - Tom Arliskas, Cadet Gray & Butternut Brown
          - Bobby Roberts and Carl Moneyhon, Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Mississippi in the Civil War
          - Ron Field, The Confederate Army 1861-65 (1): South Carolina & Mississippi, part of Osprey's Men-at-Arms series

          Soldiering:
          - Andrew Haughton, Training, Tactics and Leadership in the Confederate Army of Tennessee: Seeds of Failure

          Sixth Mississippi Regiment specific:
          - H. Grady Howell, Going to Meet the Yankees

          Shiloh:
          - Larry J. Daniel, Shiloh: The Battle That Changed The War
          - James Lee McDonough, Shiloh: In Hell Before Night
          - Wiley Sword, Shiloh: Bloody April

          Should be a good start for anybody wanting to delve into it. If anyone has any primary accounts from the Sixth Mississippi, I'd be very interested if you would share. Thanks.
          Last edited by GenuineInformation; 07-25-2011, 09:51 PM.
          Joe Knight

          Armory Guards
          Yocona Rip Raps
          "Semper Tyrannis."

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

            [QUOTE=coastaltrash;204024]While waiting on the website to get up, I want to put the guidelines up here. Some company commanders will issue more strict guidelines for their individual companies.

            Clothing

            Coats – jean, cassimere, satinette construction with hand sewn buttonholes at a minimum.

            1. Frock coats
            2. Commutation shell jackets
            3. Civilian Sack Coats
            4. Overshirts. Gray, brown, etc. NO RED OVERSHIRTS

            NO DEPOT JACKETS. Period. None.

            does it matter if the overshirts have trim
            Nick Sparks

            Breckinridge Greys

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

              Joe,
              Thank you for posting the suggested reading list! I hadn't previously heard of "Training, Tactics and Leadership in the Confederate Army of Tennessee: Seeds of Failure". That one goes on the obtain as soon as possible list.
              Here are a few others that I've been perusing lately, and am finding helpful in preparing the impression:

              "The Army of Tennessee", by Stanley Horn, specifically chapters I through IX. Horn's work is now a bit dated in light of more recent research by Connelly and others, but still well worth reading.

              "Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862" by O. Edward Cunningham. A good read about Shiloh.

              "Struggle for the Heartland, The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth" by Stephen D. Engle. A great book, focused on the Western Theater from Feb-Oct 1862. Outstanding.

              "Military History of Mississippi 1803-1898" by Dunbar Rowland (edited by Grady Howell). Can't say enough about it.

              "Brassey's History of Uniforms, American Civil War Confederate Army" by Ron Field. Much of the information here was replicated in the Osprey book by Field, but the chapter on Mississippi early war uniforms has a good deal of info not found in the Osprey volume. Unfortunately, there is no specific mention of the Sixth Miss, but there are several references to the uniforms of other units that would serve in the Army of the Mississippi at Shiloh.

              "A Hard Trip, A History of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, CSA" by Ben Wynne. The 15th served in the same brigade as the 6th for much of the War, although not at Shiloh. (The 15th was in Breckinridge's Reserve Corps in that battle.) I highly recommend the first few chapters of this book for anyone interested in the motivations and sentiments of Mississippi volunteers early in the Civil War. Wynne does a superb job of examining the demographics of the communities from which the 15th hailed, and although they were from different counties than the 6th, the backgrounds are likely very similar. Not a long book...But well worth the read.

              Additionally, I am trying to lay my hands on a copy of "History of Rankin County", but have thus far been unsuccessful. I understand that it goes into great detail concerning antebellum Rankin County, MS, which would provide fine background for those of us portraying soldiers from that county.

              Your Comrade,
              Chad Teasley
              Chad Teasley

              "Mississippians don't know, and refuse to learn, how to surrender to an enemy."
              Lt Col James Autry, CSA, May 1862

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

                Quote from "Going to Meet the Yankees" pages 43-44, concerning uniforms of the Sixth Mississippi in 1861 and early 1862:

                "In January the Military Board had adopted as the official dress of the Mississippi State Trooper the 'gray frock coat and trousers, with red trimmings for infantry, yellow for cavalry, and orange for artillery; hat of black felt, looped up on three sides with horse-hair pom-poms for men and plumes for officers.' Despite this directive many and varied were the uniforms that appeared at Mississippi's training centers. The first item to become inaccessible was the black felt hat. These were almost universally replaced by the standard gray kepi. Although the companies were well clothed, not all were elegantly uniformed in grey. Several had turned up in civilian attire.

                With Mississippi's few textile mills largely monopolized by the Confederate government before they were finally destroyed by advancing Union troops, many of the State's troops were forced to wear homespun material early in the War. In fact, Scott County women were learning to make due with homespun cloth as early as March of 1861, and by October of the same year grey cloth and dye had become extinct commodities in their county. (43)

                These shortages were noted in the October 23rd letter of one Scott County volunteer's wife, Mrs. Matilda Chamberlain, to her sister:
                'We have been very busy for the last month, making clothes for the soldiers. And I made three suits of Jeans. The first I ever made at home and Taylor pronounced it as the best piece of cloth he cut. And while I think of it, if you have any samples of pretty homespun for dresses please send me some as I intend as soon as we get through making for the soldiers to make some homespun dresses and would like to have you send me a sample if you have it.' (44)

                While Scott County soldiers were apparently among the first men in the Sixth Mississippi to feel evidences of the hard times that lay ahead, the remaining companies would soon experience similar shortages. Years later after the war, Lieutenant Patrick Henry of the 'New Guards' extended a special word of praise for the ladies of Brandon whom he claimed 'wrought with their needles to equip us for service'. (45) "

                Footnotes:
                43 - John K. Bettersworth; Mississippi in the Confederacy; vol. I, p. 272
                44 - ibid. Also, Letter; Malinda Chambers to her sister; October 27, 1861; Mathew N. Love Papers; M. D. A. H.
                45 - Speech; Patrick Henry to people of Brandon, MS, July 4, 1925; Patrick Henry Papers; M. D. A. H.

                Unfortunately, Mr. Howell's contention that black slouch hats were quickly replaced by kepis is not footnoted. However, I think that the gist of the passage strongly supports the quotation from McDonough's book that Joe posted earlier, implying that the Sixth's clothing was varied in appearance, and didn't appear very standardized when compared with a regiment such as the Louisiana Crescent Regiment, which was nearly uniformly clad. Also, given the stated difficulty in obtaining grey cloth in at least some of the Sixth's home counties fairly early during the commutation period, I believe it's likely that there was a substantial leavening of butternut and brown uniforms in the ranks by the time of Shiloh. It's documented that ladies' sewing circles in both Scott and Rankin Counties created large amounts of clothing for the Sixth, and it's very likely that the ladies of other counties represented in the regiment did the same.
                Chad Teasley

                "Mississippians don't know, and refuse to learn, how to surrender to an enemy."
                Lt Col James Autry, CSA, May 1862

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

                  Excellent post Chad. The other thing I get from those quotes is that, though soldiers may have turned up in civilian attire, I would imagine the ladies sewing "suits of jeans" for the Scott County men were making military-style clothing.

                  Of course, Nashville could represent a later source of civilian clothing, as the Sixth spent the winter of '61-'62 less than 70 miles by rail from the Tennessee hub. I think I posted in another thread a quote about how some soldiers of the Sixth, in the doldrums of winter, would feign illness for the opportunity to ride the train to the hospital at Nashville.

                  Howell neglects to mention that Mississippi changed its state-designated trim colors for uniforms twice more, finally settling on blue for infantry by the summer of '61. For this reason, I would imagine that for any from-home garments that bore trim at all, that trim would likely be blue, as it was not only the Mississippi but also the Confederate color for infantry.

                  Regardless of the regulations, though, the reports from Fort Donelson's captors (and it must be remembered that the Sixth only by a stroke of fate was re-routed from Columbus, KY, to Bowling Green) indicate that the troops there wore black stripes on their pants legs as a lone symbol of uniformity. This is noted in Arliskas's Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown. It wouldn't seem too far fetched to envision a Sixth Mississippian clad in pants trimmed with black, a jacket or coat either untrimmed or trimmed in blue, and a kepi (Howell notes the 6th was issued caps while at Bowling Green) with black trim (also per the Donelson reports).

                  Thanks again for posting that.
                  Joe Knight

                  Armory Guards
                  Yocona Rip Raps
                  "Semper Tyrannis."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

                    Outstanding, Joe! Thanks!
                    Chad Teasley

                    "Mississippians don't know, and refuse to learn, how to surrender to an enemy."
                    Lt Col James Autry, CSA, May 1862

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

                      Nick,
                      Trim is entirely up to you. I would prefer to see something within reason rather than overloaded however.
                      Patrick Landrum
                      Independent Rifles

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

                        Hello Guys,
                        Is there any documentary evidence that the 6th carried Lorenzes at Shiloh?

                        Thanks
                        [FONT="Times New Roman"]David Slay, Ph.D[/FONT]
                        [COLOR="Red"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Ranger, Vicksburg National Military Park[/FONT][/COLOR]

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

                          Hey Dave,
                          The information I dug up on their weapons was that the two flank companies had Enfields and the other was a hodge podge.
                          Patrick Landrum
                          Independent Rifles

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

                            Patrick or anyone who would know,

                            In a recent email, you mentioned that we need to bring our A-tents because the 6th spent the night in the Federal camps on April 6th. Is this still kosher? I ask because I am more than happy to purchase a good tent - I just don't know where to start. I've never owned or used a tent in the last 10 years of reenacting, preferring to go campaigner. What models of A-frames would be appropriate and where can I find them? I've already searched the forums and haven't had any luck yet.

                            Thanks!

                            Ryan Alcaino

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: GUIDELINES FOR 6th MISSISSIPPI

                              Colonel Cleburne immediately began drilling and training the green Mississippi soldiers. The brigade soon became one of the best drilled in the division. The Sixth settled in north of Bowling Green for the winter. The first winter in the Confederacy was not kind to the Sixth. Diseases such as typhoid fever and measles, combined with colds, pneumonia and such, took its toll on the army. May died or were weakened from these infirmities. But by January 1862, the worse was over and many of the sick were well enough to return to duty.

                              Early 1862 was busy for the new Confederacy. The January battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky was a Union victory. The Confederate troops in that area withdrew from the Cumberland Gap, creating a hole in the Confederate lines. In February, General Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Henry, then headed to Fort Donelson. The Confederates in and around Bowling Green withdrew because the defenses were inadequate.

                              Cleburne's Brigade provided the rear guard for the withdrawl from Bowling Green. The weather proved to be the army's worst enemy. Rain turned to sleet, then snow. Roads became muddy and travel was very difficult.
                              Rod Miller
                              [COLOR=SlateGray]Old Pards[/COLOR]
                              [COLOR=DarkRed]Cornfed Comrades[/COLOR]
                              [COLOR=Navy]Old Northwest Volunteers[/COLOR]


                              [FONT=Palatino Linotype]"We trust, Sir, that God is on our side." "It is more important to know that we are on God's side."
                              A. Lincoln[/FONT]

                              150th Anniversary
                              1861 Camp Jackson-Sgt. German Milita US
                              1st Manassas- Chaplain T. Witherspoon, 2nd Miss. Inf. CS
                              1862 Shiloh -Lt. ,6th Miss. Inf. CS
                              1863 VicksburgLH-Captain Cephas Williams, 113th Co.B US
                              Gettysburg BGA- Chaplain WilliamWay, 24th MI US
                              1864 Charleston Riot-Judge Charles Constable "Copperhead".
                              Bermuda Hundred Campaign-USCC Field Agent J.R. Miller

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