Military Overalls

[Charles W. Mood]

Gents,

After reading the Inspector General reports on the Utah Army before they left Fort Leavenworth for Salt Lke City during the Utah War in 1857, I was surprised by the continual reference to "overalls" being packed inside their knapsacks. Apparently the issuance of overalls was universal to the Utah Army for all branches.



From the Inspection Report of the 5th Infantry (26 July 1857):
"-And each soldier besides the fatigue dress on for the march, had in his knapsack, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 blanket, 1 great coat, 1 uniform coat, 1 overalls, 2 draw(er)s, 2 shirts, 3 socks all amounting in the aggrigate to 30 lbs weight,..."

From the Inspection report of Phelp's Light Battery, 4th Artillery (25 July 1857):
"The men of the battery were well supplied with two pairs of boots each in the knapsack, with the following clothes besides that they had on for the march; to wit, 1 blanket, 1 great coat, 1 coat, 1 overalls, 2 shirts, 2 draw(er)s, 3 socks: and were furnished with haversack and canteen."

From the Inspection Report of the 10th Infantry (24 July 1857)
"Each soldier had his two pairs of shoes in his knapsack in addition to those on, 1 great coat, 1 blanket, 2 shirts, 2 draw(er)s, one overalls, 3 socks, 1 uniform coat; and supplied with canteen and haversack,..."


The only reference I found regarding overalls in the 1857 Uniform Regulations to overalls was for the Engineers:
"144. Canvas Overalls for Engineer Soldiers - of white cotton; one garment to cover the whole of the body below the waist, the breast, the shoulders, and the arms, with narrow wristband buttoning with one button; overalls to fasten at the neck behind with two buttons, and at the waist behind with buckle and tongue."

A similar description is in the Regulations of 1861:
"1572. Canvas overalls for Engineer soldiers - of white cotton; one garment to cover the whole of the body below the waist, the breast, the shoulders, and the arms; sleeves loose, to allow a free play of the arms, with narrow wristband buttoning with one button; overalls to fasten at the neck behind with two buttons, and at the waist behind with buckle and tongue."

Does anyone have any information or leads on what these overalls actually looked like?

Chuck Mood
LtColMood@aol.com

[Utley]

Re: Military Overalls

Mr. Mood,

I'm not sure when terminology changed, but I would say they are referring to trousers. Frpm the mid-18th century up through the mid-19th century, the term overalls commonly meant military trousers.

[GreencoatCross]

Re: Military Overalls

I always thought that the soldier in the center of this image might be wearing overalls. There are details of the garment that point to them not quite being trousers but not quite being drawers either; the wide waistband that appears to button at the hip, no pockets, no cuff vents of any kind, and what appears to be a triangular piecing at the seat similar to those found in S.A. trousers. The bulky appearance of the seat piecing/leg seam and the faint puckering of the leg seams suggest to me that the garment is hand felled.

I also believe that the engineer corporal seated at right, holding the shovel, is wearing a pair of similar overalls or over-trousers. Details are very hard to discern but a few things stand out to me. Notice that the lower legs of the garment appear to be lighter in shade than the rest. I initially thought it was because of piecing but it's actually a flaw in the image itself that reveals the color of the garment to be much lighter in shade, possibly white or greige. Another little detail are the natural folds in the garment fabric that appear to be much more crisp than in the kersey trousers, shirts, and blouses of the other soldiers. IMO, this is because of the hardness of the cellulose fiber (cotton) that was used to weave the fabric from which the garment was cut. According to regulation the material would be canvas.

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/item/cwp2003001652/PP/

[Bill52]

Re: Military Overalls

During my study of the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics I found the term use for the trousers. When first formed Michigan issued the engineers overalls and over shirts both made in Detroit. These were in addition to their normal uniforms.

William T. Carr

[CompanyWag]

Re: Military Overalls

Chuck,

In all three of your references, I notice that "trousers" are conspicuously absent in the list of clothing. In my line of thinking, that supports the notion that the term "overalls" may indeed signify military trousers.

[ScottCross]

Re: Military Overalls

The "US Army Uniforms and Equipement, 1889" decribes a white cotton duck pair of trousers with a cotton jacket or body that buttons and buckles in the back as the Overalls, Engineer. The two garments then button together at the waist, but could certainly be used seperately. This sounds similar. The image brian White posted seems to show a similar style trouser in use.