1st Sgt. Norman, being an educated man (we are indeed fortunate to be one of the few Companies in the Brigade with a literate 1st Sgt.), has been reading stories and accounts from the Civil War period. In some of the accounts that 1st Sgt. Norman has recently read, they describe the Confederate Soldiers that they see as "having no real uniforms", or "wearing all manner of colors of clothing".
1st Sgt. Norman's question for me, was why am I saying that we should be wearing a specific type of uniform (Richmond Depot Jacket and Trousers), when observers from the time have written that the Confederate Soldiers were not wearing uniforms at all.
The account that 1st. Sgt. Norman had been reading, was written by an English businessman who had traveled in the South during 1862 or 1863.
I will try to explain why these contemporary accounts (I have read several myself that say essentially the same thing), seem to often remark that the Confederate Soldiers did not look "Uniform".
What Is a Uniform?
First, it helps to try and determine what was considered a "Uniform" of the period.
Prior to the outbreak or the Civil War, when a person thought of a "uniform" they would probably equate the term to that which was worn by the relatively small, pre-war Federal Army (20,000 men before the war, rising to over 2 million by the end of the war), or what was being worn by the pre-war State Militia units.
As we all know, the Federal Army was well outfitted in Blue and Sky Blue uniforms. Many of the State Militia troops wore fancy gray wool uniforms with black or colored trim, or even fancier, more colorful uniforms patterned after the "Elite" foreign units of the day—uniforms such as those worn by the Fierce and colorful French Moroccan "Zouave" troops in the Crimean War of the 1850s, or those of the Regular French Army "Chessaurs".
When we think in terms of English visitors, what they considered to be "uniforms" may well be what they saw being worn by the British "Red-Coats" in their own country.
Now compare all of that to what the Confederate Depot system actually issued to their troops, and you may begin to see why the casual observer of the day did not think that the Confederate Soldiers wore actual "uniforms", per se.
Regulation Uniforms
To look even closer at the confusion on Confederate uniforms, compare the well-known color plates of the "Regulation CSA Uniforms," published in 1861, to a simple Richmond Depot Shell Jacket made from wool-jean. In these color plates, the "regulation" uniform was a gray wool, double breasted frock-coat with colored trim on the cuffs and collar. Again, this was in keeping with the European uniform styles of the day. However, what the troops were actually issued bore little or no resemblance to the fancy , colorful uniforms.
Depot-Supplied Uniforms
To take it a step further, we can look at what was being supplied by the Depots and why.
At the outbreak of hostilities, the Confederate States could not have been prepared for such a long and bloody war. Existing stocks of uniform quality gray wool were quickly used up. The South had long relied on trade with the North and with Europe for the bulk of their woolen goods, and simply could not keep up with the demand.
They continued to import woolen goods from Europe through the blockade all during the war, these imports actually increasing dramatically towards the end of the war—to the extent that, from late 1863 until 1865, most if not all of the uniforms being supplied by the Richmond Depot were made from imported "English Army" blue-gray wool.
But back to 1862-63. For reasons that were never really specified in writing, almost all of the Confederate Depots began making some type of short, waist length "Shell Jacket" or "Round About Jacket", rather than the "frock-coat" that was actually specified by regulations. There is some speculation that this was a cost saving measure, as a Shell Jacket used considerably less material than a frock-coat, and further that it was easier to make and much closer in style and construction to the civilian work garments of the day.
One commodity that the South did have an abundance of was cotton. It had also been a long established practice of making a coarse material called "wool-jean" by weaving together half wool and half cotton, to expand the available supplies of wool. This coarse cloth was used to make a cheaper variety of working clothes for farmers and workmen.
So now lets look again at the Confederate Soldier of 1863. He is wearing a jacket and trousers made of a gray or brown coarse weave wool or wool-jean. The jacket looks much like a regular field or work jacket with no real embellishment or trim, except possibly some brass buttons. He is wearing a "slouch" hat which, once again, looks exactly like what a farmer would be wearing in his field. Looking at a Confederate soldier through 20th Century eyes, it is easy for us to recognize his "uniform" as it is quite a bit different than what we would see people wearing in a park or at the local shopping mall. But if we try to look at him again through 19th Century eyes, what we would see would look quite a bit like an average farmer or workman of the day.
My thanks here to 1st Sgt. Norman for asking an insightful question, to which hopefully I have been able to provide a "reasonable" answer.
—Lt. R P Mason