Over the past two years, the 4th Virginia has made a real group effort to upgrade our uniforms. We have been particularly successful with upgrading our jackets. Other units are definitely starting to take notice that we are beginning to look better than they are.

Given that our target time frame is spring of 1863, and the 4th Virginia was an Army of Northern Virginia regiment, it has been fairly well established that our unit "should" be primarily wearing Richmond Depot Type II jackets, with a few older style Richmond Depot Type I jackets interspersed.

We also have access to a primary source document in the photograph of Chuck Anderson's Great Grandfather, Barney B. Cannoy, who served in Company "F", 4th Virginia until his capture at the battle of Spotsylvania in 1864.

In the photo, Barney Cannoy is wearing a Richmond Depot Type II jacket. The belt loops and epaulettes, typical of the Richmond Depot jackets, are clearly visible. The jacket appears to be made of a thick, coarse weave material that is probably wool-jean.

Also of interest are the wooden "dish" buttons, instead of brass military-type buttons. (You can see this picture in the insert on Uniforms that appeared in the April 1999 issue of this newsletter.)

Years ago, Confederate reenactors were sharply divided into two camps: those who insisted that Confederate troops did not wear uniforms, and those that insisted on "Uniformity".

The "non-uniform" proponents pointed to civilian observations that Confederate troops were not wearing uniforms when observed on the march as proof that uniforms were not issued.

However, what must be considered is that the style of jackets and trousers issued by the depots closely mirrored what was commonly seen in civilian work garments, and that these bore little resemblance to pre-war militia uniforms, which the populace would have recognized as "uniforms".

On the other end of the spectrum were those who believed that everything should be the exact same type and color. I have belonged to units, where they specified that your jacket had to be exactly this color and type of wool and you needed to buy it from "such and such" suttler. The result was that you had a group of guys (and gals) that were perfectly matching, in identical uniforms.

The question then arises—how correct would either of these extremes be for Confederate Soldiers? My goal (and hopefully yours as well), is for the overall appearance of the 4th Virginia to look uniform enough that we are definitely recognizable as belonging to the same unit, but not so alike, that we look like we were cut from the same "cookie cutter" mold.

There are not that many original photos of Confederate Soldiers in the field, and fewer still of Confederate units in the field.

There is however, a very good photo of a group of Confederate prisoners in "Echoes of Glory, Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy" on pages 156 and 157.

If you look at this photo, you see different shades of color in the uniform (yes the photo is black and white, but there is a lot of variance in shades, light medium, and dark).

If you look closer still, you can see epaulettes on many of the shell jackets and belt loops as well on some, strongly suggesting that they are Richmond Depot issue.

It is important to note that even among Richmond Depot issue jackets, tremendous variation in color and type of fabric is readily apparent.

With this in mind, let’s talk about what we would like to see in our unit. We have already discussed above and in other articles, that everyone (except for Officers) should be wearing a Richmond Depot Type II or Type I shell jacket (the Type IIIs were not issued until the Fall of 1863, so they would NOT be correct for our time period).

What kind of options would be available in the Type I and Type II jackets ?

The Type II jackets could be made of wool, wool-jean, satinette (similar to wool-jean, but with a smoother, finer finish), or imported "English Army" gray wool.

Most of the surviving originals are made of wool-jean and a few are made of the "English Army" gray. The colors varied quite a bit. Most did not have trim on the epaulettes.

The Type I jackets would not be near as common, but they could still have been present by this time. There are no surviving original depot-issued Type I jackets (although a tailor's copy of this depot jacket is privately owned), but there are a number of period photos that clearly show them. The principal differences between the Type I and Type II jackets is (as is evident from photos) the Type I’s have colored trim around the top and bottom of the collar, around the epaulette, and coming to a point above the cuff on the sleeves.

The Type IIs usually did not have any trim and if they did, it was only around the epaulettes. Also, in all of the photos of the Type I jackets, they appear to be of a fine weave, light colored wool (as opposed to the heavier, coarser weave and wide range of color shades of the Type IIs).

Now let’s discuss some of the other jackets that we see currently being worn within our unit and other units.

A large number of Confederate re-enactors are wearing what C & D Jarnagin (a mail order suttler that has been in business for about 30 years) used to call the "Common Shell Jacket".

The main problem with the "common shell jacket" is that it is not based on any surviving original jackets, it is a jacket that they just more or less "created" out of similarities between jackets.

The jacket is probably closest to the Richmond Depot Type III, but as mentioned above, these jackets are not correct unless they are made out of the "English Army Gray" (which is expensive and hard to find), and they are not correct to our time period.

Here are the preferences for the 4th Virginia:

First Choice: Your first choice for a jacket should be a Richmond Depot Type II made out of wool-jean, with or with out trim on the epaulettes.

Preferably, this would be made from Charlie Childs pattern with hand done button holes and hand finished top-stitching. This same type of jacket made by Jarnagin or Quartermaster is acceptable, but is not recommended.

Second Choice: Is a Richmond Depot Type II jacket, the same as above, but made out of wool instead of wool jean.

Third Choice: Is a Richmond Depot Type I made of a light gray wool, with the proper colored piping or tape trim at the top and bottom of the collar, the epaulettes and around the cuffs. Trim should be French Blue, Dark Blue, or Black.

If you do not already have one of the above listed types of jacket, you need to get one. We have been slowly changing over for two years now. That should have been ample time for most people.

If you are planning to wear a jacket that is different than those listed above, I need to talk to you about it, and discuss whether it is an authentic alternative. Please be prepared to provide historical argument for this variation from accepted norms.