Infantry Uniforms 1866

Within four years after Fort Sumter was shelled, the Union army had swelled to well over 1 million men in blue.

Supplying this immense force was an extreme undertaking, and it was the job of Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs. Within a short period of time, Meigs had led one of the largest bureaucratic machines which kept the Union Army clothed, fed, and well-equipped.

By 1865, government warehouses swelled with supplies that had been amassed during the war. Also, government contracts would end, and the army eventually downsized to its peacetime force of roughly 56,000 men.

As the nation was involved with Reconstruction, much of the Army’s attention was focused West. At the outbreak of the Civil War, many of the military posts scattered across the West were depleted to fill in the ranks of the armies fighting in the East. Now, that the war was over, those posts, and some new ones, were being occupied.

For the soldiers of the 13th Infantry, under the command of Captain William J Rankin, who pulled ashore in the summer of 1866, the uniform and equipment at this time was similar to that of the Union Army during the Civil War. Government warehouses bulged with uniforms and equipment and those supplies needed to be used first. One thing Meigs couldn’t foresee was that much of these uniforms and accoutrements were unsuited for Western service.

Many uniforms were made of unsuitable material, much overlooked under the old contract system and some uniforms simply didn’t fit.

The standard uniform for infantry troops was a dark-blue woolen 4-button blouse coat that was officially adopted in 1858. The blouse coat was reflective of the style of civilian wear at the time and worn for just about every duty besides formal occasions. Trousers were the 1861 Pattern, which was made of heavy sky-blue wool kersey. Underneath his uniform, a soldier would wear a pullover shirt of flannel and drawers made of the same material. His hat was the Regulation-issue 1858-pattern forage cap, which was worn for fatigue and garrison duties. His footwear was

Immediately following the Civil War, accoutrements worn by soldiers was a mixture of Civil War-issue. Soldiers wore a black bridle-leather waist belt, roughly 2 inches in width, and completed with a brass, oval plate featuring the letters “U.S..” Soldiers carried a bayonet, that was suitable to their rifled issued. The bayonet scabbard was bridle-leather, with a brass ferrule tip. Models varied between the 2-rivet and 7-rivet 1862 pattern, which was made with a separate piece of leather curved and folded.

Infantrymen, carried roughly forty rounds of .58 caliber musket ammunition in a large leather cartridge box, that roughly measured 7 inches wide, 5 1/2 inches deep, by 1 1/2 inches. Given the amount of ammunition and tools a soldier carried, it was made of heavier leather that had tin compartments inside to house arsenal ‘packs’ of ammunition. The M1857 cartridge box was made with an outer and inner flap, one that cover the entire box and one inner that covered the upper part of the box, thus protecting the ammunition. The outer flap also had an oval brass plate, similar to the waist belt, but bigger, that featured the letters “U.S.” Another variation of this box was adopted in 1864, that was made of lighter leather and had an embossed “U.S.” on the outer flap. The cartridge box was held from the shoulder by a bridle-leather with a brass-filled round plate featuring an eagle coat of arms. There are accounts of soldiers disregarding these as they restricted movement. The cartridge box was then held on the standard waist belt. Completing the accoutrements was the cap pouch, that housed musket percussion caps. It was made of bridle leather, either stamped “U.S.” or with a contract mark, and was lined with lambs wool. Similar to the cartridge box, it had an outer and inner flap to protect the brass caps.

The Army intended soldiers to carry their belongings in a knapsack, but its popularity varied throughout the Civil War. Much of this perception carried over after the war to the Frontier. Also, many knapsacks were deemed unusable after the war as storage led to their deterioration.

Still issued over a decade later, the knapsack was made of black, painted canvas and formed two bags approximately 12 inches square. The bags were connected along the top by a gusset and opened to the inside. The pack was folded together and closed by three narrow leather straps and buckles. To carry the knapsack, there were two, 2 in wide straps that were sewn to the back of the knapsack. In the absence of footlockers in the barracks, soldiers also carried all their belongings in a knapsack. Much serious campaigning over time made the knapsack less used due to longer marches, and less weight to carry. Blanket rolls became more popular and eventually phased out the use of the knapsack.