Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

[jigadier brindle]

Pards,
I'm looking forward to trying my hand at reproducing a civilian type ground cloth/ floor cloth, but I have been unable to find much scholarly research available on the topic. I've seen many different types of repros out on the market, some with an extremly glossy finish, and others much more dull, almost like a C.S. issue groundcloth. I'm curious if anyone has any pictures of originals, or any information at all on reproducing an item such as this. I'm also curious if there is a distinction between a floorcloth and groundcloth, as I believe there was a discussion on the old forum on this very subject, but alas that discussion is lost.

Your chum,
-Nicholas Redding

[Emmanuel Dabney]

Re: Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

One of the best websites out there on floor cloths are www.floorcloths.net .
They have images of originals, the most common patterns were geometric figures. I have two floor cloths. One is blue and yellow triangles and the other has a center of burgandy and faux green marble diamonds. AGSAS has had two floor cloth workshops and I attended the last one where I made the burgandy/green marble diamond floor cloth. If you wish to make one, dedicate no less than two days and depending on the pattern three-four days.

Other sites with floor cloths:
McLean House in Appomattox Court House
Monticello in Albemarle County (green, no pattern)
White House of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia

Not having found any nineteenth century paints, unfortunately acrylic is the only other paint source I've found to get a long lasting paint. When you coat with shellac, for preservation of the paint, ensure that you don't do it too heavily as it will turn it as flat as a piece of posterboard and hard as a rock. Then you will find storage difficult, taking it out to events will be off, and it's liable to break if there is too much shellac.

Making floor cloths are a lot of fun, especially with friends and to see all the different patterns you come up with. Mine was definitely one of the most difficult at the last AGSAS floorcloth workshop because of the faux marble.

[jigadier brindle]

Re: Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

Chum,
When I reproduced my C.S. issue groundcloth I used a mixture of black pigmented latex paint, and part modern boiled linseed oil. I'm curious if the same mixture is what I should use for the creation of this civilian piece, and if the shellac is necessary, as I have seen reproductions with such a coating, and they seem almost impossible to carry in the field. Also, I just need a clarification if there is indeed a difference when it comes to a civilian groundcloth vs. a floorcloth?


Your Pard,
-Nicholas Redding

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

From what I understand, decorative floor coverings that substitute for woven carpets can be made of canvas, painted in an interesting design, and preserved with the linseed or shellac stuff. This makes a covering that may block some draft from the floorboards of a house, protect against splinters from a rough wooden floor, and make the surface quite easy to sweep out; it's also flexible and portable, so if a family moves house, the "carpets" can be taken up and taken with.

I'm not aware of their use as "groundcloths" in tenting situations, with the possible exception of use as a floor in a soddy or dug-out house, which would usually be made by frontier settlers, on the Great Plains and westward. Again, they cover a dirt floor, and make cleanliness easier.

I don't know how likely a soldiering sort of fellow would be to take the "carpet" from his family home, to use in a bedroll. But I do know that decorative floor cloths continue to make a great floor covering if you happen to rip up old nasty carpets, but lack the money to lay down hardwood right away--paint the subfloor, tack down decorative floor cloths, and everyone thinks it's a deliberate fashion statement. LOL

[jigadier brindle]

Re: Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

Pards,
Okay... well I guess my question now is what would be correct for a refugee type civilian to be carrying while on the move in a "camping" type of situation. Was there any sort of groundcloth made for civilians during this period, and used for use during periods of travel, and would they're design be similiar to that of a floorcloth, and what about construction, and materials? I apologize in advance if it seems like I'm restating the same question over and over again, but I want to be sure I'm making the correct item for a mid to low class refugee impression, as well as an item which could find a dual use as an item for a Confederate soldier to carry from home.

Your Chum,
-Nicholas Redding

[Emmanuel Dabney]

Re: Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

Well Nicholas,
The floor cloth option is the best. In the 19th century, camping for "fun" was not "fun" and popular. So the whole idea of this is you cut it up from the floor in a mass hurry from the house. A lot of home did have carpets, but even in the mass running away from the home, cutting up the Brussells may have been a bit much (there is the possibility you will come back to a relatively undisturbed house), and for the average citizen floor to floor carpeting would not be affordable until years after the war.

19th century civilians had some advantages over us if they wished to move and one was to be prepared for the elements. When it rains, we usually head into the forest and hope the canopy of trees will help. Not to say 19th century refugees didn't do the same, but they also had access to ownership of rain gear (umbrellas, oiled silk, rubber) where we don't in general. And I would like to see that change asap.

Floor cloths are handy for refugees, so please don't be afraid to make one, plus it's fun too. :-)

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

Consider, though, how long the average refugee is gone from home... in many cases, it's more a matter of taking shelter at the next farm down the way, or in the next town over, until the fighting has passed through and they can return home. It's less commonly a situation of planning to sleep rough for days... if a person is being displaced by fighting, there's a good chance he's fairly close to other settlement, and will plan to cram in with neighbors until returning home.

From what I understand, it would be rare for a community to be totally surprised by nearby fighting... and if you were totally surprised by it, doesn't it make more sense to retreat to the cellar, hunker down, and wait it out, rather than venture out into the fray and risk death while you try to get past one or both lines, on your way to be a refugee somewhere else?

If it's a more orderly, permanent evacuation, the chances are that a family will have time to take up the carpets and pack a wagon with worldly goods, rather than setting off across fields with some hastily gathered items.

I don't question the utility of a groundcloth for a "rough" refugee--I just question the actual occurance of refugees who are planning to sleep rough long enough to need one. It seems like it's a more rare event than what is done for reenactments.

[MrsArmstrong]

Re: Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

Elizabeth,
This makes a lot of sence. Why take a floorcloth in the first place, unless you are moving as much as possible from point A to point B or in the instance of the people that took shelter in the caves, possibly/
Would not a piece of canvas/tarp have been a common item around the home or farm used to cover things in wagons or uncovered buggy? Seems to me one would use something like this instead of a floorcloth. Canvas should be somewhat waterproof as long as you do not touch it when it rains. Anyone know how common a piece of canvas would have been to use? I would think even a poorer person would have something like this, even a scrap or well worn piece.
In one journal while traveling during a storm a lady had to sit under a canvas cover in the wagon.
Susan Armstrong

[Emmanuel Dabney]

Re: Original civilian ground/floor cloths?

Well, here I offer a couple of thoughts of Southern refugees during the war, these being people who were forced to camp.

Pauline Barker Riley near Savannah, Georgia...

"Never can I forget the first night we slept in the open, in an improvised tent made of carpet spread over poles, and how it rained in the night and mother had to spread extra covering to keep it from falling right on our heads." From: When Sherman Came: Southern Women and the Great March by Katharine Jones.

Kate Stone wrote about her time in the great outdoors in a "camp", the mattresses divided only by a curtain. She said, "I never felt so out of place." From: A Woman's War: Southern Women, Civil War, and the Confederate Legacy.

Petersburg residents fled to the countryside outside of the city to escape falling shells in June 1864. The people cooked in the open. Their protection overhead was mainly blankets. Furnishings including parlor suites, beds, trunks, etc. stood in the open. By fall, many of these people had returned home to deal with the Union bombardment. From: Petersburg in the Civil War: War at the Door by William D. Henderson.

It's probably true that we have popularized perhaps the idea of floor cloths as a ground covering. However, I'd be more likely to believe that someone took a floor cloth than having military groundcloths. Though probably, the most common things included a lot of blankets and bedding from home.