Ancestry Magazine

From khaki to camo, we look for visual clues to recognize members of America’s military today. But historically, to what extent did the clothes make the military man and woman?

Dressed for Success?
Every upstart needs a good defense—America included. So when the fledgling colonies were struggling to depart mother Britain’s nest, one of the first steps the people took was to create a defense: an army. The rest is, well, history.

But history isn’t always pretty, particularly in regard to how those soldiers were dressed. Unlike today’s standard-issue clothing, uniforms-past were often anything but uniform, and at times, soldiers supplied their own equipment, their own shoes, and even their own clothes. So just what did the U.S. military look like?

Revolutionary War
At the start of the Revolutionary War, uniforms were hometown specific. Soldiers in Connecticut wore bearskin hats. A regiment from Philadelphia opted for dark brown coats. Another Pennsylvania regiment chose baby blue.

Throughout the war, however, it was common to see soldiers dressed in anything they could find: hunting shirts, old blankets, any donated garment. Other soldiers weren’t even that lucky, as the Inspector of the Rhode Island Continental Infantry noted in the winter of 1777–78: “The naked situation of the troops, when observed parading for duty, is sufficient to extort the tears of compassion from every human being. There are not two in five who have a shoe, stocking or so much as breeches to render them decent.”

In 1797, America settled on an official uniform for its army: blue coats with wool pants for winter and linen pants for summer. Officers were outfitted with ruffled shirts and red sashes. Knapsacks were made of linen, while canteens were made of oak and painted. Hats were made of everything from leather to brass to felt.

War of 1812
Coastline blockades and embargoes made acquiring blue cloth difficult, so America switched to gray. Sashes were out; above-the-ankle shoes, light-colored breeches, and round hats were in.

At the same time, America’s navy got its first uniform: blue pants and coat, red vest, black hat. Warm weather and tropical activity brought about the white duck uniform with a black hat. A little fashion sense was added with bell-bottoms.

Civil War
While uniform regulations existed, not until after the Battle of Bull Run were all Union soldiers instructed to dress alike—and it would be year two of the war before all soldiers in a single regiment finally wore the same uniform. Union soldiers were equipped with wool uniforms that included forage cap, pants, and coat; shirts were also made of wool but proved to be too hot for practical purposes and were therefore discarded. Leather shoes—some of the first-ever shoes that were mass-produced specifically for the right and left foot—were durable; boots were reserved for artillerymen. Additionally, Union soldiers were provided with a cartridge box, rifle sling, cap box, bayonet scabbard, knapsack, and canteen, with a haversack to hold rations.

Confederate soldiers’ uniforms were made from a wool-cotton blend and included a short jacket and pants as well as a cotton shirt. While the Confederate army issued a cap similar to the one worn by Union soldiers, most Confederate soldiers supplied their own wide-brimmed hats for sun protection. Confederate soldiers had similar supplies, but Union canteens and haversacks were far superior—Confederates were quick to swipe these from the battlefields. Because knapsacks were a rare commodity for Confederate soldiers, most personal belongings were rolled into each soldier’s blanket.

In the Union navy, peacoats appeared for the first time. Also debuting were white straw hats and white canvas covers for black hats—both were considered to be cool options for work in warm climates or hot areas of ships, like the engine room.

World War I / World War II
By World War I, like most militaries worldwide, America’s army also donned drab uniform colors, including olive and khaki. To quickly outfit the large army, old uniforms were modified to meet regulations of the day, and more than 700 million pounds of wool and 800 million square yards of cotton were used to create new uniforms. Contractors were used throughout the uniform creation process, leading to variations in uniform style, cut, color, and cloth.

WWI marked the first battles in which military troops wore metal helmets rather than cloth hats. By World War II, the ill-fitted uniforms of WWI were gone, and the U.S. military was able to alter uniforms to fit each individual soldier. Regulations regarding dress of female military personnel were also finally instated.