Why was color Gray chosen as the color for the Confederacy

[Michael McComas]

Re: Why was color Gray chosen as the color for the Confederacy

stupid as this sounds, I was speculating that maybe they chose gray because they used that color for the VMI uniforms? :confused_

VMI used the same material as the USMA. :)

[Rittmeister Frye]

Re: Why was color Gray chosen as the color for the Confederacy

According to mythology, the reason which the USMA uniforms its cadets in "Militia Grey" is due to the victory of then Brigadier General Winfield Scott over British forces in the War of 1812, during our invasion of Canada at the Battle of Chippewa, July 5 1814. According to all I have read, Scott's troops, made up primarily of Regulars, were wearing their worn-out regulation blue uniforms and Scott demanded replacements for them prior to the invasion. The Quartermaster had only grey "militia" cloth on hand in sufficient quantity, so Scott, not quite the "Fuss 'n' Feathers" of Mexican War mythology, went the practical route and clothed his men in what was available: grey cloth.

The interesting part came when the American troops were for (some reason) celebrating Independence Day on July 5, and after a whiskey issue Scott had them drilled. Supposing the grey-clad infantrymen he saw parading in front of him were mere militia, the British forces under Major General Phineas Riall chose this moment to mount an attack on the Americans. The ability of the American infantry to immediately change front and respond in the face of a surprise attack caused Riall (according to legend) to cry out "Those are Regulars, By God!" The resulting American victory was one of the few won by the Army during that war, and thus raised Scott and his Regulars to national fame.

Note however that at least according to the sources I consulted, the actual reason for the original issue of "militia grey" to the Corps of Cadets was more practical in that it wore better than blue, and was considerably cheaper as well. In cases where the War Department had to issue out cloth to various militia/volunteer organizations, this may be the reason that militia grey was the preferred colour of cloth used by the militia in the first place. It's an area of study which definitely could use more research and documentation though.

Cheers!

Gordon Frye