Confederate Lined Blankets

[High-Private]

Hi,

I am trying to track some info on the CS lined blankets that were used. I did search the past forums and there was not a lot of info, it did mention vendors that carry them. How was the linning attached? Was it stitched on the edges only or were there rows of stitching, which would seem to hold the linning in place better. I did find one reference that states that brown drilling was used. was there a common material used for this purpose? Were lined blankets generally a civilian type item or were they issued? Was a particular type of wool blanket used or would they have modified a army issue blanket?


Thanks,

Kevin Coyle

[Joe Walker]

I believe Tom Arliskas knows how these were done, he has made some. He is an AC member.

Joe Walker

[Clsinclair]

I took some cotton drill and lined my Federal Blanket just using a needle and thread. There was a thread on this before but I couldn't find it.

[mboyce]

I have a lighter weight civilian style blanket I was thinking about doing this to, then I thought, "What happens if it gets wet". Has anyone experienced this, if the blanket does get wet, does it get cold and clammy? Wool alone is fine, but I thought that the cotton might just stay cold and wet.

[markj]

Well, if all else fails, you could always try this (see attachment).

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[Rob Weaver]

I don't know - that looks like it might work, but not wear very well under the rigors of field conditions.

[High-Private]

Hi,

Would modifying a Federal blanket in that fashion be a common practice. I agree that woool would be best for field use, especially when wet.


Thanks,

Kevin Coyle

[huntdaw]

...til England and France rip up the blockade.

Ah, the optimism of the early Confederacy.

I suppose this article also potentially points to how early the blockade began to be effective if there were blanket shortages and statements about foreign intervention breaking it up in August of 1861.

Don't know about quilting varnished paper between my blanket and calico though.

[Rob Weaver]

I think it's a gadget that indeed points to the expectation of a short and largely static war. I just don't think such a blanket would hold up very well to usage. I've never seen one in a civilian home, either. I'm not doubting the provinance of the instructions; I'm just saying that it might work about as badly now as it did then.

[AZReenactor]

I have used a couple of lined blankets over the years and have been pretty happy with the results generally. The cotton cloth cuts the wind that might get through the looser woven wool while the wool insulates. It also works similar to the use of a quilt or dressing in layers where smaller pockets of air are formed which reduce the transfer of heat from the person to the colder surrounding air.

The most telling example and a good lesson of its effectiveness was in 2006 at a streamer 1812 event (no gummies) where I was using a single wool blanket lined with a light cotton shirting. It was cold and drizzling as I settled down with only a low tree for shelter and a large fallen log for a windbreak. A short while after getting settled in, the camp went all to alarm when a nearby tent went up in flames after its owner spilled fuel on his rug as he refilled his kerosene heater and didn't account for the fireball resulting from the fumes when he lit the thing. I jumped up to help beat out the flames neglecting to close my blanket behind me. By the time I returned to go to sleep both sides of my blanket were thoroughly wet. Since damp cotton draws heat from the body I flipped it over with the wool on the inside and after a little bit of rubbing my hands together, shivering, and breathing warm air into my cocoon I managed to fall asleep and slept through the night despite a significant drop in the temperature. The next morning I rolled out of my blanket to discover a light snow falling about me (Southern California in April!).
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/azreenactor/MiscPhotosAndImages/photo?authkey=xiom6ijQsVU#5144222381541402610"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/azreenactor/R2PzADFjp_I/AAAAAAAADQw/HPJiSooBcVM/s144/Troy%20in%20Snow_jpg.jpg" /></a>


I have a lighter weight civilian style blanket I was thinking about doing this to, then I thought, "What happens if it gets wet". Has anyone experienced this, if the blanket does get wet, does it get cold and clammy? Wool alone is fine, but I thought that the cotton might just stay cold and wet.

To answer the question. yes, cotton gets cold and clammy and will draw heat from your body. The key when using a wet lined blanket or if you are saturated with perspiration is to put the cotton fabric on the outside of the blanket and keep the wool next to you. The cotton on the outside will actually help to wick away the moisture from the wool without drawing your body heat along with it.


Advice to Volunteers—How to Prepare for the Campaign.—A writer who signs himself "An Old Soldier," gives the following advice to young soldiers:
1. Remember, that in a campaign more men die from sickness than by the bullet.
2. Line your blanket with one thickness of brown drilling. This adds but four ounces in weight, and doubles the warmth.
3. Buy a small india-rubber blanket—only $1,50—to lay on the ground, or throw over your shoulders when on guard duty, during a rain-storm.
4. The best military hat in use is the light-colored soft felt, the crown being sufficiently high to allow space for air over the brain.—You can fasten it up as a continental in fair weather, or turn it down when it is wet or very sunny.
5. Let your beard grow, so as to protect the throat and lungs.
6. Keep your entire person clean. This prevents fever and bowel complaints in warm climates.—Wash your body every day, if possible. Avoid strong coffee and oily meat.—Gen. Scott said that the too free use of these, together with neglect in keeping the skin clean, cost many a soldier his life in Mexico.
7. A sudden check of perspiration by chilly or night air often causes fever and death.—When thus exposed, do not forget your blanket.
STANDARD (CLARKSVILLE, TX), June 8, 1861, p. 4, c. 1. From Vicke Betts' website (http://www.uttyler.edu/vbetts/blankets.htm)


Apparently that old soldier who's advice I had read knew what he was talking about. The damp cotton worked remarkably well at sealing in the air and keeping out the wind. The thin cotton drys fairly quickly (at least once the sun comes out and thaws the frozen blanket. ;)) I was so satisfied that this winter I even added a lining to a Charlie Child's US Issue blanket for those occasions where a gum blanket doesn't fit in with the situation being reenacted.

[huntdaw]

I've no doubt that a lining would help especially when it comes to sealing out air from the looser weave of many woolen blankets and have toyed with experimenting with it myself. Sounds like it would be a good idea from Troy's experiences.

I really do wonder about that varnished paper though. I would think the varnish would break down or the paper would tear up quite easily with use, especially the folding and rolling a soldier's blanket was subjected to. It just sounds like a bad idea and I wonder what the writer based his assertions on.

[Rob Weaver]

Household magazines and papers used to be filled with advice from budding Heloises. Most of the ideas work, albeit they tend to be a little bit fiddley. At the very least, these instructions are a great reminder that paper is a good insulator. Remember that period newspaper folded up in your pack the next time you're freezing around a dinner-plate sized fire. Some are utter nonsense. One old cook-book I have says cheesecloth over the top of a jar will preserve the contents as well as zinc lids. I think finding out the hard way that your entire shelf of preserves rotted would be a harsh way of finding out this one didn't work.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Tennessee Baptist, December 7, 1861, p. 4, c. 2

Cheap Blankets.

Newspaper blankets are coming into vogue. They are no joke. A correspondent of one of our exchanges thus refers to the matter.
"I have recently heard much about the value of newspapers as a substitute for blankets, and have considered the statement to be apocryphal. But last evening I was induced to make the experiment. I took four full-sized newspapers and pasted them together by the edges, making one large sheet the size of a blanket. I then removed the blankets from my bed, and placed the newspaper sheet between the one remaining blanket, and the counterpane. The result was a comfortable night's sleep, without any feeling of cold. I pledge my word to you, gentlemen, that this is literally true; and my object in making the communication is, that through the medium of your paper, the fact may be generally circulated; for it is no trifling matter to the poor to know that for an outlay of a few pennies they can supply themselves with comfortable bed coverings [rest obscured].

Curt
Bankie Mess

[KyCavMajor]

I have used one for two years now, it defiantly helps. Throw a painted cloth over it and you are good to go. On really cold nights I add my horse blanket to the mix although the horse is offended by the smell the next morning.

[plankholder]

I have an old pair of Swedish wool pants that were modified by sewing on wool panels from another pair of trousers on , with a layer of brown paper in between-they are the warmest pants I have ever worn, but they make a faint "crinkling" sound when you bend the knees!-ELI GEERY

[Slouch]

read the book "How to Camp Out" by John Mead Gould. It is a post-war book about, well, camping out! He was a Federal soldier during the war.

He speaks of lining a blanket. He recomends sewing only 3 sides of the cotton lining, leaving one end open. This aids in drying out the blanket. Also, he noted that you can stuff extra clothes, leaves, etc in the opening to further insulate yourself.

[Matt_E_Wright]

Wouldn't the paper used have been "rag" based, as oppposed to "pulp." From the many conversations on this board concerning paper cartridges, the consensus seemed to be that "rag" paper is much more durable.

Maybe someone w/ more specialized paper knowledge will chime in and let us know if using rag paper as opposed to pulp would have any pragmatic effect, here.

Thanks,
Matt Wright

[plankholder]

Yeah, I would love some paper insight as well, I am thinking that this might me a cool project.-ELI GEERY

[Spinster]

'Twould take a brave (or desparate) man to try this one:

Another practice was, just at sundown, when we were forced to "go to bed", to dip the top blanket in water, wring it out fairly dry, so that, thus being made more impermeable, it would retain the warmth generated by the body.

From an article in the Century Magazine, Cold Cheer at Camp Morton, 1891. Earlier in the account, the writer explains that one blanket was placed under, and two on top, each group of three men, on a strawless bunk.

[Pvt Peck]

read the book "How to Camp Out" by John Mead Gould. It is a post-war book about, well, camping out! He was a Federal soldier during the war.

He speaks of lining a blanket. He recomends sewing only 3 sides of the cotton lining, leaving one end open. This aids in drying out the blanket. Also, he noted that you can stuff extra clothes, leaves, etc in the opening to further insulate yourself.


Just found this book on Google Books, WOW! Full of neat insights. He even goes into some cool details of the shelter half, what it was made of, how it changed to a 3 piece "duck" material etc.. Lots of neat tips from a real vet. Funny how he seemed to dislike the knapsack! I know its post war but this book is a peach, thanks for posting it up here.

Edward Parrott

[westphalia]

I'd like to sew a cotton backing onto a blanket. I've searched around the forum for a couple of hours, and saw a photo or two of blankets that have backings, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

Do I apply the cotton in large patches, since it might be difficult to find a single piece of correct cotton the size of my blanket? What stitches should I use around the edge?

And am I correct in understanding that the bottom edge should be left unattached, to facilitate drying?

Any help is appreciated.

[Spinster]

Much of this is an educated guess, based on the widely circulated accounts in period newspapers for drill lined blankets, and a modicum of knowledge of period sewing techniques. Your mileage may vary.

Seam your cotton backing to the correct size. Depending on how you wish to bind the edges, you may wish to leave a 2 inch margin of cotton all around. Cotton drill is the preferred material in the various newspaper accounts.

Place the two layers together. Thread a large needle with heavy thread. Starting in the middle and working out, make running stitches to secure the two layers, being careful to avoid wrinkles. Your job is to sew the blanket in such a manner that the two layers are secure, but this is not close sewing. Depending on the size of the blanket and the weight of the layers, you will likely want to divide the blanket into quarters with the stitches, and then bisect the quarters on the diagonal--always working from the center towards the edges.

The two layers can then be bound on the edge with a wide twill tape--or you may turn the lining over the blanket edge, press under the raw edge of the cotton, and bind all layers together with a running stitch.

I've not seen any accounts of leaving one end unbound.

[GrumpyDave]

I gaurntee if that "double" blanket gets wet any you have to carry it, the coton backing won't be there very long.

[10TnVI]

Friend-this is from a post war book on camping written by an ex-soldier

'A lining of cotton drilling will perhaps make a thin blanket serviceable. This lining does not need to be quite as long nor as wide as the blanket, since the ends and edges of the blanket are used to tuck under the sleeper. One side of the lining should be sewed to the blanket, and the other side and ends buttoned; or you may leave off the end buttons. You can thus dry it, when wet, better than if it were sewed all around. You can lay what spare clothing you have, and your day clothes, between the lining and the blanket when the night is very cold."

Note-drill is not cotton sheeting but a heavier tighter weave, used in modern time for safari jackets and army khaki uniforms. Having worn both items of clothing, the cloth does have a limited water repellancy. I think the use of the tern lining is deceptive,since we tend to think of lining as being something inside a garment.The reference above to not needing to double the parts of the blanket tucked under the body suggest the intent was for the blanket to be used with the drill outermost. It seems the tight weave would aid the heat retention of the wool nap as well as retard the blow-through effect of wind on heat loss.

[lukegilly13]

I've researched this myself. I even tried it. It is a little more comfortable when sleeping (like using a sheet indoors) but not practical to carry. I could tell some difference in heat retention. If you put the cotton to the outside and dampen (not soak) it then it will help to reduce wind penetration. However, not sure if I would try this in the field. Especially in cold scenarios. It is similar to lined clothes v/s unlined clothes except the desired out come is opposite. Lined clothes-cotton wicks sweat away from body making occupant feel cooler and more comfortable. Not really the desired effect from a blanket. Hope this helps.

If you are set on doing it...i'd use a swoop stitch along the top and a back stitch along the sides. Leave the bottom open. This will allow for airflow in between the layers and will DRASTICALLY reduce drying time. This is not based on an original, just a personal field test. However, I think in this case personal experience might be more authentic as I do not know of a Depot lining blankets. I'd like to see one if there is one that exists! Good luck and wish you well!

[Ryan Halsey]

I would go ahead and just don't do it. Luke is right. It doesn't hold heat as well. I know a guy that has one.