General Rules:

1. We will be portraying the 9th Louisiana of Stafford’s (formally Starke’s) Brigade, Jackson’s Division.

2. Wear your best stuff. This impression allows for some flexibility in clothing and equipage so there is no reason why you shouldn’t have your best stuff on. As an illustration, let us suppose you have two jackets that fit the guidelines. One is a well-worn commutation jacket that

 looks pretty good but has some flaws and the other is a brand new RDII that is superbly constructed but is perhaps a little clean for this impression. Even though the commutation jacket is preferred in the impression guidelines, we would rather you wear the brand-new but better constructed jacket. Use your best judgment.

3. Overall, condition of uniforms and equipment should be worn. This campaign, like the Maryland Campaign, is one where the “ragged rebel” was a reality. Much of the army had been on campaign since May and, since the depot system was in its infancy, uniforms were in pretty poor condition. This was especially true of the deep-south troops we will be portraying. However, keep in mind that the clothing appearing in photographs of the dead at Antietam frequently do not appear as ragged as many eyewitness accounts. Again, use your best judgment.

4. I am using the term “jean” generically to include jean, satinette, cassimere, etc…

5. Dress to the impression. Try and wear as many preferred items as possible.

6. If you wear any Federal equipment, it should appear brand new so we can interpret the looting of Manassas Junction.

Clothing:

Outer Garment:
-Preferred: Early depot jacket (RD Type I) of tan/brown or gray jean with blue or black trim (black preferred). At the least, please trim your RD Type II in black wool tape.
-Second Choice: Commutation jacket (Hayden/1st MD, Jenkins/21st VA, Gay/4th Georgia, Murphree/6th AL, etc…)
-Third Choice: Frock coat of tan/brown or gray jean
-Fourth Choice: RD Type II of tan/brown or gray jean.

Trousers:
-Preferred: Any documented Confederate style trousers of jean. We can have more color variation here but we should stick to mostly browns and grays. Any trim should be black or blue. (Black preferred.)
-Second Choice: A few pairs of brand new Federal issue trousers can be in the ranks for interpretive purposes. (If you would like to wear US trousers, please contact Rich Taddeo.)

Shirts:
-Preferred: Any cotton civilian shirt is acceptable. Checks, plaids, stripes, and solids are all acceptable. “Louisiana” shirts are strongly encouraged. Please try and keep the colors on the subdued side and stay away from prints.
Please avoid: Confederate issue (Selden and MacRae) and Federal issue shirts.

Drawers:
-Preferred: Any drawers of correct pattern, construction, and materials are acceptable.

Headgear:
-Preferred: Slouch hat. (Well-worn if possible.) Research shows that the units we will be portraying generally preferred slouch hats to caps. For purposes of these guidelines, untrimmed Hardee hats are considered slouch hats. Hat cords should be seen in extremely limited numbers. 75-80% should be wearing hats over caps.
-Second Choice: Cap of tan/brown or gray jean. Plain is preferred over trimmed. Any trim should be black or blue. (Black preferred.)
-Please avoid: Wheel/mechanic’s caps, straw hats, or Federal caps.

Socks:
-Preferred: Wool or cotton socks are acceptable. Well worn or mismatched socks are encouraged.
-Second Choice: No socks.

Shoes: Per NPS regulations, all participants must wear shoes.
-Preferred: Confederate or civilian shoes.
-Second Choice: Federal issue shoes
-Please avoid: Boots. There is strong evidence that boots were a rarity in the ranks at this point. Remember, the army had marching extensively for months.

Equipage:

Leather Gear: Per NPS regulations, cap boxes must be complete with wool and cartridge boxes must be complete with tins.
-Preferred: Any documented correctly constructed Confederate accoutrements.
-Second Choice: Any documented correctly constructed Federal accoutrements.
-Please avoid: English accoutrements. Again, if you have OK Confed. box and a well made import box, wear the import box.

Belts:
-Preferred: Standard CS roller buckle belt.
-Second Choice: Any CS belt buckle combination including: double-buckle, fork-tongue, GA frame, etc… Federal belts are also acceptable but not encouraged.
-Please avoid: “CS”, “CSA”, or state buckles.

Haversacks:
-Preferred: Any documented Confederate haversack. Well-worn is preferred.
-Second Choice: Federal haversack.
-Please avoid: Striped, ticking, or carpet haversacks.

Canteens:
-Preferred: CS tin drum
-Second Choice: US M1858 “smoothside” canteen.
-Please avoid: Wooden canteens and “bullseye” canteens.

Blanket:
-Preferred: Civilian blanket or coverlet.
-Second Choice: US M1851 or Mexican War blanket.
-Please avoid: NC blankets and quilts.

Ground Cloth:
-Preferred: CS tarred canvas or none.
-Second Choice: US gum blanket.

Tentage:
-We are portraying a unit on active campaign, NO canvas will be erected at the demo. site unless approved by the event organizers due to weather. Tent flies and shelter-halves (type IIa and b) will be allowed in limited numbers at the camp/staging area while out of the public’s view.


Carriage:
-Preferred: Blanket roll or short roll. Approximately 80% of us should go without knapsacks. Note: If too many men are wearing packs, some of you will be asked to remove them.
-Second Choice: Documented CS pack (Kibbler, Pritchard, etc…) or US pack.
-Please avoid: Hardpacks, and anomaly packs like Shorts Patent.

Weapons: Per NPS regulations, all firearms must be clean, well-maintained, and have a functioning half-cock. Your musket will be thoroughly inspected.
-Preferred: .69 Caliber Smoothbore. (US Model 1842, Conversions, Belgian Muskets, etc…)
-Second Choice: .58 Caliber rifle-muskets. Enfield or 1855 Springfield (with functioning Maynard)
-Acceptable but not encouraged: 1861 Springfield
-Please avoid: Anything that is not a three-band musket.

Please review the entire website before registering. If you have any questions about the information on this site, please contact Richard Taddeo at richard.m.taddeo@juno.com