S

oldiers were not known

as skilled practitioners
of the Feminine Arts. How
ever, a soldier handy with
needle and thread was a
prized commodity in a com
pany for several reasons.
The army's method for fit ting
clothing to the soldier was anything
but scientific. Clothing was issm.d
in large parcels in a variety of sizes
called a Tariff of Sizes; more me
diu m sized clothing in sizes 2 and 3
than the extremes of 1 and 4. Sol
di ers were expected to trade with
their comrades and thus red istrib
ute the sizes by trial and error (with
much trial and frequent error). It
was inevitable that some individu
als would be left holding the short
end of the stick-- or trouser as the
case may be. If these men lacked the
skill and patience to alter thei r cloth
ing themselves, they were sent to a
soldier bearing a l1uClsi-official title,
the Compa ny Tailor, who would
perform [hese adjustments for a
nominal fee.
- The
Field Alterations
of Government-Issue
Clothing
By Paul McKee
A silk pllrsefrom a sow's ear? This
soldier's standard Jour-button
blouse has sprouted extra buttons
bringing him a {otal oj seven to
polish jor Sunday inspection. CDV
by NlI shviLLe photographer T.M.
Schreier (Scott Cross Colfection)
Second, all clothing is bound
to wear ou t. If a soldier were far
from a quartermaster or nearly over
drawn on his clothing allowance,
he might gamely d raw out his
"housewife" and resolut Iy attempt
a repair as he had seen his mother
do. But many avoided that d rudg
ery by again avail ing themselves of
the Company Tailor.
.. a tly, government
clothing did not always
suit a soldier's sense of
style, comfort and util
ity. Collars were often
uncomfortably too high
and pockets too few and
poorly arranged
fo r many indi
viduals. It was in
th se alterations
that company tailor
made a thri ving
busin ss.
Neither sack nor shell
nor frock:
The 7 Button Sackcoat
A corrunon alterati on of issue
clothi ng was to add extra buttons to
the 4 button sack coat. The soldier
would hack an extra hole between
each button hoI , sew the button
hole sti teh as neatly as his skill would
allow and add the extra button,
from some discarded uniform. But
why? I have a theory ...
Many of the images of
soldiers in 7 button
sack oats are from
western regiments.
Many regim nts
from Illinois, In
diana and Obio
and Kentucky
went to war in
state-i ss ued in
fantry shell jock
ets. Illinois regi
ments in particu
lar, w re qui te
proud of their
Conrinued

TOP: Soldier in a 7 button sackcoat with
breast and waist pockets added. This soldier
has also moved the huttons over for a
tighter fit to his slenderfrome
l
(Scott Cross
Collection)
LEFT: COIpomZ Louis McKaney, 31st
Illinois Infantry. McKaney sports a 7 button
sackcoC/l Ihat has been cut shari wilh a
waist band added. (Court esy Steve Sullivan)
state-issued shells and wore them
long after federal quartermasters
took over the supplying of clothing.
But what if you were among the
first in your company to wear out
your prized shell jacket and no more
could be had? Or what if you were
a new recruit in such a regiment and
your "newness" was only more evi
dent by your brand new 4 button
blouse. Certainly there would be
plenty of motivation to alter your
clothing to blend in with your com
rades'
In some instances, the skirt
would be cut away from th e
sackcoat to make it appear even
more like a shell jacket. The shell
jacket illusion could be strength
ened by the addition of cuff buttons
that were removed from some
greatcoat's cape. The material from
the removed skirt was often used to
construct slash pockets. Bu t despite
all these modifications, a close ex
amination of the fold-over collar,
tapered facing seams on the front,
"Have turned taylor for
the last day or two. Been
lining the cape of my coat
with rubber so that on
unbuttoning it off the
collar and turning it
wrong side out it becomes
waterproof"
Henry Campbell
18th Indiana Artillery
and every other buttonhole just a
little wider and cruder give away
the uniform's origin as a common
sackcoat.
If the aim was to create a shell
jacket, then why not convert a
mounted shell jacket or a frock coat?
To be certain, some soldiers did.
When ColonelJ.T. Wilder's infantry
brigade was converted to mounted
infantry in early 1863, they were "
obliged to draw cavalry shell jack
ets "from which the men removed
the distinctive yellow markings so
they would not be mistaken for cav
alrymen, who were not highl y re
spected by the foot soldiers." A close
examination of group photos ofIlli
nois soldiers in state-issue shells
turns up soldiers with suspicious
jackets bearing 12 tiny buttons in

stead of the cus tomary 8 or 9 usu
ally found on an Illinois shell. And
certainly frockcoats with the skirts
cut off are occasionally spotted in
period photos, their identity be
trayed by the remaining cuff and
collar trim.
Bu t maybe froc ks and
mounted shells could not be readily
obtained from the local QMC. Or
maybe certain soldiers would rather
not me's around w ith trying to
manip ula te 12 tiny buttons (which
woul d a\so have to be poli shed from
ti me to time). 7 was enough, the nk
you. Orrnaybemany sold iers wisely
realized ti1a t a frockcoat with re
moved skirts is shorter than a shell
jacket at its in tended length .
The humhlc sClc kcoa l could be
cut to any length, was lighter in
weight, all owed for conversion to
only 7 buttons, was widely avail
a ble and ccrtilinly its low cost p ut
less of a strai n on a soldier's lothing
allowance.
Just a little below the
ears, please ...
There was one corrun on alter
ation which truly was a concession
to comfort ra ther than s lyle. Frock
coat') were notorious forhavinghigh
collars that would cha fe)he neck. 11
compelled to wt:!aI' them, some
troop:; would have the collar' low
ered to a less troublesome height.
Numerous original specimens ha ve
been examined by the author, and
the frequency that they app ' <Jr in
photographs would indicate thal
th is was a very comm n alterat ion.
The ea 'iest method for lowering a
collar was simply to fold it in half to
the in ide of the coll ar and stitch in
place. This method would easily
have been within the capabilities of
most soldicr . More commonly, the
coUar wou ld be cut down about an
inch and then the resulting wound
cross the top f the collar sewn
IEhe CompanyWag
shut as neatly as possible without
the p iping across the top edge.
Occaisionally specimens are seen
where the piping across the top of
the collar was carefully re-inserted
and sewn back together onthe new1y
lowered collar. Definitely a trickier
procedure requiring a ski lled hand.
Pockets, pockets
everywhere
ThE.' a rmy was not exactl y gen
erous with providing soldi rs with
plenty of pockets for stor ing per
sonal effects. h refore many sol
diers sought to relieve this d ' fi
ci ency lh em selve . The usua l
method was to cut a slash inlo the
RIGHT: David Harvill, 96th Ohio
Volunteer Infantry. Harvifl 's collar
has been lowered in a more
careful manner with {he trim
replaced.
(ALlthor's co/lectioll)
outer garment and constru ct a
pocket on the inside from mat rial
cut from a coat lining, an old shirt or
canvas scrounged from a discarded
tent. Sometimes this same method
was applied to coa t linings to create
addi tional interior pocket . Exte
rior pockets are commonly found
added to sackcoats and overcoats;
interior pockets were added in t he
breast of enlisted froc kcoats a nd
shells.
Issue trousers sported side
scam pockets, a rather n w fas hion
statem 'nl in the 1860's. Before the
wa r, most civili a n t rou er s had
pockets that opened from the top,
similar to the wa y pockets are m de
on modern blue jeans. But soldiers
LEFT: A.I McKee. 116th Illinois
In{anlly. file collar of this frock
coat has simply been cut short alld
sewn /Juck tugether without the rup
trim. (A lii /lOr's collection)

found that their valuables would
only too easily fall out of the side
seam pockets on issue trousers when
lying down. Therefore, company
tailors found a steady stream of
customers for converting trouser
pockets. Usually the side seam
would be sewn shut and a new
opening slashed into the top of the
pocket. Converted trouser pockets
such as these can be clearly seen in
the famous photograph of the
artillerymen serving the 13" mortor
"Dicta tor" in front of Petersburg.
Sometimes the top of the pocket
was more neatly finished off into a
narrow flap called a "french pocket."
The french pocket more closely re-
Trousers in the Milwaukee County
Hi storical Society ID'd to the 49th
Wisconsin Infant ry. The side-seam
pockets have been sewn shut and
new opening cut into the top of the
pockets lhrough the ji'-ol1t of the
trOilser legs. The cuff and
waistband vents have been sewn
shut as well. (Photo courtesy of Ken
Smith)
sembled the common styling for
civilian trousers and private manu
facture officers' trousers.
The Milwaukee County His
torical Society has a pair of trousers
identified to a member of the 49th
Wisconsin that sport the slash
method pocket conversion. The
pockets bags on the interior are con
structed out of a stout, blue and
white striped cotton material. Ad
ditionally, these trousers also show
further evidence of field altera tions.
The cuff vents are sewn shut, and
the rear waist vent is sewn shut all
the way to the top of the waist band.
At least some soldiers were
able to get their trouser pockets
converted by means other than the
company tailor. Private John
Harper, 113th Illinois Volunteer In
fantry wrote the following letter
home while at Camp Butler, Illi
nois:
As J have a chance to send by Mrs.
Gray, I will send the two shirt s I drawed
for Aleck and pair of pants which I got
myself. I want them lined . Tell Mother
to turn down the hem so as to make
them as long as she can. They are a
good fit, on ly a Jittle short. I would not
have drawed them now but Twanted to
have the m lined. They last twice as
long as they do without being lined.. .I
want the pockets changed in the pants.
Sew them up where they are now and
put them square across with the belt.
The reason J want them changed is
whenever I lay down I am always losing
something. If they are the other way, it
don't Jose so easily. I will st ick some
pins where I want the pocket.
Other fiel d alterations
Headgear was not immune to
the soldier' s chronic need to alter
and improve. Hardee hats were
commonly lowered in height or
might have their brims shortened to
suit the wearer. The author has seen
several original forage caps with
ventilation holes cut into the top
reinforced with grommets manu
factured from percussion caps!
Original greatcoats were
manufactured with the capes merely
sewed onto the collar seam. It was a
simple and common alteration to
clip the threads with a pocket knife...
and remove the cape. If the soldier
were more ambitious,he might con
struct a buttonhole on the rear of the
cape so that it could be buttoned
back on at his discretion. Or the
cape could serve as material to con
struct pockets in the front of his
greatcoat.
The author owns an original
great coat that shows these alter

ations. The cape has b e ~ n removed
and a single small button has been
sewn to the back of the collar pre
sumably for the purpose of re-at
taching the cape (now long since
missing). Two pockets have been
added at the waistline. These pock
ets were constructed with a sewn
facing piece (similar to pockets
found on vests) with rather imper
fect artfulness. The pocket bags on
the interior are constructed of sky
blue kersey. Two additional but
tonholes have been added under
neath the original five, allowing the
soldier to button the skirts together
down to the knee.
Overcoat in the author's collection
showing extensive field alteration.
The cape has been removed,
horizontal pockets added at the
waist and two additional huttons
have been added to the front
closure.
A stitch in ti me...
Monthsofhard use
and the frequent lillavail
ability of new clothing to
troops on an active campaign made
clothing repair a necessity. Modern
reenactors may feel it's quaint and
colorful to apply a patch of calico to
a blown trouser seat or knee. But
this practice would have been highly
frowned upon in the 19th century,
particul arly in the Army of the
Cumberland! Clothing was to be
mended in the least conspicuous
way possible.
Original clothing showing
field repairs were pa tched from the
inside with the same type of mate
rial tha t the garment was con-
n ... I got an overcoat that
was about two sizes too
large for me, and the tails
loosely flopped about my
heels as I walked. I soon
remedied that by cutting
off about 4 inches
of the tail. /I
Alfred Bellard
5th New Jersf?lj Infantry
The CompanyWag
structed of. The offending hol e
would be clipped in the corners so
all raw edges could be turned under
and securely stitched to the patch
whose edges would also be turned
under and stitched. Making this
kind of repair is really not as hard as
it seems I The result is a particularly
strong and inconspicuous repair.
Conclusion
Hopefully this article may
serve to suggest some new dimen
sions for our impressions as west
ern federals. I certainly don't advo
cate that everyone start hacking
away at their uniforms. But a sprin
kling of these field al tera tions
throughout our company, as well
as correctly mended uniforms,
would surely serve to heighten the
illusion we have been striving so
hard to create for ourselves and the
public.
Sources
Alfred Bellard. Gone For A Soldier,
Boston, Littl e, Brown & Company,
1975
John Harper. Letters of Alex Harper,
John Harper, Co. D, i13th lI/inois
Volunteer infantry, Springfield,
JIIinoi s State Historical Society,
(Courtesy of Charles G. Kratz, Jr. )
Robert Huntoon, Historical Not es,
Past Patterns, 1990
Captain August V. Kautz, Customs of
Service for Non-coml1lisioned
Officers and Soldiers, Philadelphia,
Lippincott & Co. , 1864
John W. Rowell. Yankee
Artillerymen. Knoxville, The
University of Tennessee Press, J975