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Loyal Union Volunteers in Western Virginia in 1861-1862:
Arms, Accouterments and Uniforms
by Philip Hatfield, Ph.D.
1861: Antebellum Militia and Loyal Volunteers
The antebellum Virginia Militia system, like those of other states, was based on the Federal Militia Act of 1792, requiring all men ages eighteen to forty-five years to serve in the militia. Compulsory military service laws required men to be enrolled of a company in their district, creating what was known as the "line militia", although they were not uniformed and drilled only once annually. 1
There was also another body of militia, the “Virginia Volunteer Militia” or "V.V.M." in existence since 1792. These companies consisted of volunteers, although were ostensibly uniformed and armed through a limited state supply of guns and clothing allotments. These units normally used their allotment as well as private funds to buy their own uniforms – most of which were extravagant in contrast to extant regulations prescribed by the state Adjutant General.
Volunteer militia companies in western Virginia usually had their own armories, unlike the line companies who often either had no weapons, or brought their own flint locks, shotguns etc. to the annual musters. They held regular drills, meetings and primarily provided a military presence at patriotic celebrations, parades, etc. These companies were exempt from attendance at the annual musters of the line units after seven years successive service, two of which must have been in the same company.
A drill or muster event during the pre-war antebellum era in western Virginia, like many others, was often little more than a company picnic. A good example of pre-war militia companies that would remain loyal to the Union was the one commanded by Capt. James Dayton. This unit is known in surviving records as "Company A", "4th Company of the Line, 192nd Virginia Volunteer Militia." The 192nd V.V.M. was assigned to the 20th Brigade, Commanded by Brig. Gen. C.B. Conrad 1860-1861, which included the 125th, 192nd, (Lewis County) and 133rd Regiments (Upshur County). 2
The exact date of formation is unknown, but Dayton’s "4th Company" was one of the earliest known pre-war militia companies in western Virginia. It eventually mustered into the 4th West Virginia Infantry as Co. A during June 1861. This unit consisted of men who previously belonged to a battalion commanded by Major Michael Egan, and existed at least two years before the war. Egan described a typical muster event that sounds more like a family reunion than military training:
"About two years prior to the outbreak of the Great Rebellion of 1861, I was in command of a battalion of militia consisting of about three hundred men, in Lewis County Virginia; a county central to what is now the State of West Virginia....On "muster days" the boys ...after drill would usually indulge in horse-trading, or "swapping;" talk of, and appoint log-rollings, rail-maulings, house-raisings, apple-cuttings, corn-huskings, and many other kinds of "frolics" as they were entitled by these sturdy farmers..." 3
When the war broke out, Egan and other sources indicate that most Virginia militia units had to be re-organized due to many companies joining the Union army, or dividing as a result of numerous members leaving to enlist for the Union. It is unfortunate that most records of the pre-war Virginia militia have been lost. However, many Virginia line militia members also volunteered to serve in the union army in 1861, including Capt. Jonathan Young of Coalsmouth, Virginia. 4
Young was a loyal Union man residing in Coalsmouth, Virginia and organized a volunteer company of infantry at Coalsmouth, Virginia (now modern St. Albans West Virginia) that mustered into U.S. service during March 1861. His company consisted of men who had previously served in various local militia units as well as green recruits. 5
His company became Co. G, 13th West Virginia Infantry, throughout 1862 - 1864. Oddly, Young’s company was initially mustered into the 11th Virginia Regiment, causing some conflict among the officers in the two regiments. Brig. Gen. Jacob Cox was commanding the Kanawha District and wrote to the Secretary of War requesting guidance on which regiment Young’s company belonged to, after the commander of the 11th Virginia had complained of his missing company:
“Inclosed I hand you a communication from Lieutenant Colonel Frost, Eleventh [West] Virginia Volunteers, in reference to the position of Captain Young’s company. The company is acting with the Thirteenth, into which part of its men have been mustered, but Captain Young, the other officers and the rest of the men were originally mustered into the Eleventh. Will you be kind enough to give me such information as to the course taken in that matter as may enable me to determine what should be now done in the premises?...” 6
Co. G was eventually transferred to the 11th West Virginia Infantry and fought in the 1864 Valley Campaign, achieving recognition at Cloyd’s Mountain in May 1864, as the 11th West Virginia lost their entire color guard during vicious hand to hand combat inside confederate earthworks following several attempts to charge and break the lines.
However, the antebellum years of relaxed military training as militia and inexperienced officers and recruits combined to make for a difficult transition to regular Army discipline in 1861. Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans was placed in command of western Virginia troops and supply operations in 1861. He wrote on 6 August 1861 to Col. Edward Townsend, Assistant Adjutant General, about his concerns regarding the inexperienced Union volunteers in western Virginia:
“Every day’s experience with volunteer troops convinces me of the absolute necessity of having some officers of military education among them…regiments are mustered into the services and sent upon active duty without a single officer who knows thoroughly company drill, much less the organization or drill of a regiment. I am convinced that the detail of a second lieutenant from the Military Academy to act as Major even would in six weeks increase the military power of a regiment at least one-third.” 7
By mid-1862, the early union volunteers in western Virginia had nearly all mustered into U.S. service. After the battle of Antietam, Cox was concerned about the limited number of Union men in the area. He wrote to Governor Francis Pierpont on 15 December 1862 about the lack of protection for Union citizens in the valley, urging for completion of the new government of West Virginia:
“…I have also feared…a flight of the Union men from the valley again...I suggest the matter as a reason for pushing forward, with as little delay as possible, the final completion of the new State organization, whilst the force in Western Virginia is large enough to prevent hostile interference…” 8
Cox goes on to note that his supply lines from Ohio were also at risk due to weather conditions:
“...The advantages of keeping watch of our supplies and transportation, which the lowness of the rivers make most important at present, determined me upon making headquarters temporarily here...” 9
The following discussion will show that not only did the weather and mountainous terrain impair supplies in the 1861 Kanawha Valley campaigns, but also poor planning and preparation for war on part of the state of Ohio, on whom the western Virginians had to largely depend on for supplies. The political and organizational complications faced by the fledgling West Virginia state government, contributed to the inconsistent and often incomplete Quartermaster supply for early Union volunteers serving in western Virginia.
Uniforms
An often debated question found in most literature written about the early war Union volunteers is the question of whether they were really better clothed than their confederate counterparts. This subject has been addressed in detail in larger works 10 although little has been said of the appearance of early Union soldiery in western Virginia. For the early volunteers, extant sources indicate uniforms were limited, at best, and most simply wore civilian clothing until they began receiving supplies from the federal government. Even then, western Virginia Union volunteers lacked adequate uniforms for several months in contrast to their Buckeye counterparts serving in western Virginia.
In June, U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron wrote to the Governor of the newly forming government of western Virginia with a promise of support from the federal government that their troops would be properly supplied. However, he apparently meant that they would be supplied only after purchasing supplies from civilians, i.e. the limited number of Union citizens' still living in western Virginia, who were promised reimbursement by the federal government. He wrote:
“…assure you that this department will do all in its power to carry out your wishes. All the supplies that can be obtained in Western Virginia for the troops there concentrating will be purchased from the people residing in that section, and every proper effort will be made to encourage the loyalty and promise the interests of your people.” 11
Cameron followed though on his word, at least in theory, as he also wrote again on the same date to Maj. Gen. George McClellan, commanding Union forces in western Virginia, and directed him to aid the new Virginia Unionist volunteer regiments in his district by requiring other federal units (mainly from Ohio) to supply them from their own stores. Cameron stated:
“It is deemed highly important that the Union men in Western Virginia be aided and encouraged in every way possible, and it is desired that you and those under your command should do so as far as you can. One mode of doing it is to obtain, as far as possible, the supplies for your forces from them, and you are requested to give instructions to this effect to those who are charged with the duty of providing supplies.” 12
Subsequently, in July 1861 all troops serving in Western Virginia were ordered to be supplied by the U.S. depot being established in Cincinnati by Rosecrans, then acting under orders of the U.S. Army Adjutant General.13 This meant that the new Union supply depots forming in Marietta and Gallipolis would provide uniforms to both Ohio and western Virginia volunteers. In other words, most loyal Virginia Union volunteers were wearing uniforms issued by Ohio after July 1861.
Much of their uniforms were manufactured by various local contract agents in the state of Ohio, who were required to approximate uniforms patterned after the 1861 U.S. Army regulations in cloth quality, workmanship and patterns. The contractors acted on the pretense that Federal Quartermasters would reimburse the state when they eventually took over the supply system as state volunteer units mustered into federal service.14
Yet, in early 1861 the Ohio Adjutant General and Quartermaster did not know when the transition would occur, and ultimately did not fully relinquish functional quartermaster duties to the Federal government until early in 1862. The result was a majority of Ohio’s 90 days volunteers wearing civilian clothing or their militia garb, and receiving only piecemeal issue of uniform clothing for many weeks in April-June 1861. 15
Another problem was that Ohio had been persistently delinquent in maintaining appropriate documentation on weapons, supplies and uniforms of the militia in the decade before the war, causing lower Federal allotments for arms and equipment when the war came, since those funds were determined by pre-war Annual Reports filed by state Adjutant Generals.16 Hence, Ohio’s early supply problems were largely self-inflicted and compounded by Rosecrans July 1861 quartermaster order to supply not only Ohio regiments, but also newly forming infantry regiments in western Virginia.
However, in practical application, Rosecrans' supply order had little effect on western Virginia units. Loyal mountaineers and Buckeyes alike often waited for weeks in the harsh mountainous climate between issue of items such as coats, trousers and hats, giving them a rather haphazard appearance wearing a mixture of federal clothing with their civilian garb. 17
The latter point surely contradicts any notion of a well dressed, fully supplied Union army, particularly those occupying the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia during the 1861 Kanawha Valley campaigns. Hence, Ohio’s early cloth shortage precluded consistent issue of U.S. Army regulation dress uniforms, and so the “Undress Uniform” was substituted by Ohio Army Quartermaster Capt. John H. Dickerson in June. This kit consisted of a black felt Hardee pattern hat, regulation dark blue wool blouses with four regulation U.S. Army buttons, and gray satinet pants. 18 No evidence was found indicating western Virginia units were issued this uniform in 1861, however.
Likewise, in spite of shortages, data reviewed herein did not clearly indicate resentment by Ohio units having to provide quantities of their supplies to western Virginia volunteers, it seems reasonable to infer some frustration about the orders by Ohio’s military officers in the field who had to relinquish said supplies and uniforms, particularly since Ohio was still having problems clothing it’s own regiments. This factor may account in part for the fragmented supplies delivered to western Virginia regiments.
There is some evidence of political conflicts and organizational problems in the department, as Rosecrans wrote to McClellan on 16 November 1861 complaining of a convoluted chain of command between his Ohio based supply depots:
“…I respectfully call your attention to the fact that I have to draw my supplies from Cincinnati. My staff are now left in another department; an anomaly that ought not to exist. I have to use Gallipolis as a hospital station and depot for stores, also in another department. I have no control…”19
The newly forming Union supply system from Ohio slowly began to deliver new coats, caps, woolen shirts etc. to at least some Ohio regiments in western Virginia that summer. However, as evidenced by the letters of Orderly Sergeant John Palmer, of Company G, The Salem Light Guards, 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment who wrote to his mother from Camp Piatt near Gauley Bridge on Christmas Day, 1861 that his unit was well furnished with uniforms:
“...Our clothes are of wool from socks to overcoats and of good quality, and we have as any as we have a mind to draw, knit drawers, dark blue pants, grey shirts, dark blue blowse. Some black and some blue overcoats & felt hats.”20
However, for many Ohio infantry units, uniform delivery was still piecemeal in spite of Ohio’s main supply depot in Cincinnati being under federal control. Another example is the 44th Ohio Regiment, which in was only beginning to receive its dress or frock coats in January 1862, according to Private John A. McKee, of Company F.38 He also implied that the 44th still was still wearing dark blue regulation U.S. trousers, but was due to be issued sky blue trousers, sent from Cincinnati. McKees stated:
“...We will get dress suits in a few days. They are in camp and some of them have been issued out. We will get dark blue frock coats and sky blue pants. The colonel has not decided yet whether to get hats or caps...”21
On the other hand, most Union volunteers serving in loyal Virginia regiments were still lacking adequate supply. The regiments garrisoning Point Pleasant and surrounding areas in the Kanawha Valley were still not fully uniformed in January 1862 according to Colonel James Lightburn, 4th West Virginia Infantry. Lightburn described numerous soldiers wearing only random parts of uniforms, such as caps, gray wool shirts, and other items while stationed at Point Pleasant. He requested that the Quartermasters send his regiment 600 over coats, shirts and caps, complaining that his regiment was still lacking complete uniforms and equipment and that cold weather had set in. 22
Oddly, newly formed Companies A and B of the 9th Virginia Regiment (Union) acquired 200 Enfield rifles in October 1861 purchased by their commander from his private funds while recruiting at Guyandotte. The good fortune had in acquiring good weapons did not apply to uniforms. The 9th Virginia (Union) commander, Col. Kellian Whaley, wrote from Guyandotte, Virginia in early November 1861 to the Army quartermasters that his men were still wearing civilian garb, and had only pieces of their union uniforms, although noted most had received "dark felt hats". 22
Warren (2005) cited a humorous account from the Cincinnati Daily Commercial on June 6th 1861 describing those regulation Army black felt issue hats: “They are as ugly as a scolding woman.”23
Yet, in spite of Ohio’s administrative quandary and whatever political barriers may have existed to getting loyal western Virginia regiments uniformed, some individuals in western Virginia managed to acquire complete uniforms by mid-late 1862, albeit many contract or privately purchased clothing items made at variance with Army regulations. One example found is a rare photo image of Private George Washington Smith of Co. K, 13th West Virginia Regiment taken in August 1862 when he enlisted.24
This image demonstrates that at least some union Volunteers were wearing uniforms digressing from both U.S. Army and 1861 Ohio state militia regulations, (recall that Ohio was supposed to be supplying western Virginia Union volunteers after July 1861 and that the U.S. Army Quartermaster had taken over the Cincinnati supply depot in January 1862) such as this Mexican war pattern “roundabout” or infantry jacket shown with blue collar trim and plain sleeve cuffs.
Ohio purchased at least 5,000 jackets for 90 days volunteers in April-May 1861, and then began issuing sack coats to their units in June 1861.25 The former were commonly made of cadet grey kersey or dark blue wool. One can only speculate at this point, but potentially some left over jackets were given to the new western Virginia Volunteers since Ohio had to clothe its own regiments with the newer regulation sack coats.
Trousers
The U.S. Army changed the regulation enlisted infantry uniform trouser color from sky blue to dark blue in 1858, then changed back to sky blue trousers in late 1861, and the Army Quartermaster policy was to exhaust the existing inventory before producing new colors. 26
The result was a mixture of colors for Army issue trouser initially sent from federal supply depots. Ohio provided an even more broad range of trouser colors from contract agents in 1861, including gray wool, sky blue cassinet, as well as cadet gray cloth, in spite of the Ohio Quarter Master's intentions to comply with U.S. Army regulations. 27
Ohio purchased at least several thousand uniform suits from in 1861 from various contract sources, including John C. English & Co., for 1,000 uniforms including trousers "of regulation pattern" and coats "to be furnished with shoulder scales, also J.H. Shun of Cincinnati for 1,000 uniforms, and A.T. Lane & Co. of Philadelphia, PA who delivered 4,013 pairs of regulation sky blue wool kersey trousers in July. 28
Inspection and quality control standards were limited, if not non existent among early Contract garments. The soldiers complained loudly about the cheap materials, such as blue cassinet. One eyewitness wrote that the trousers had “so much cotton warp in it, that it looks like steel-mixed colored stuff.” 29 A variety of other original sources also illustrate the variance in color and quality, including 3rd Corporal Orris McGonigol, Company F, 19th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, wrote on May 30th 1861:
"We received a part of our uniforms to-day. Our pants are a light blue...” 30
Initially, contract trouser quality was quite poor. The 1st and 2nd Ohio regiments received trousers of grayish color in late May, and one witness stated they "are in a dilapidated condition…” 31 just a few days after receiving them. 29 Private Pembrook M. Cowles, Co. F, The Geauga Rifles, 19th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, wrote from Camp Goddard, at Zanesville Ohio on 15 June 1861 about several of his new uniform items:
“Our uniforms consist of light-blue satinet pants, of so poor a quality that near half of them were very badly worn out in a week; a pair of drawers (we shall have another pair,) a bluish-gray flannel shirt, (another coming,) a pair of shoes, (mine are nearly gone now; the second sole is made of pasteboard,) a blue cloth cap with a wide front piece, a pair of havelocks, and a blue-gray blanket.” 32
3rd Sgt. James McCleery, Company C, 19th OVI, also complained from Camp Goddard in May 1861 of the poor quality found in the dreaded light blue trousers:
“We have grey army shirts and the notorious “sky blue breeches” of which a friend truthfully remarks: “We were those detested, those perpetually damned and evidently deplorable “sky blue breeches” – those breeches whose seams all rip – those breeches that you can run your fingers through – those breeches that the boys don’t go to town in – those breeches in whose pockets there is never a dime of State funds to buy a plug of tobacco – those infernal breeches destined to a dreadful immortality in the annals of Ohio – those breeches of which ere long hundreds of the most dilapidated specimens will be sent home as curiosities – those breeches, the meanest swindle of the times – that will cling forever to the political destinies of some Ohio politicians, and be worse than the garment of Nessus or a dozen shirts of fire.”
(sic - original) Author's Note: “garment of Nessus” refers, in Greek mythology, to the blood-poisoned garment of Nessus the Centaur, which was sent to Hercules by his wife for its supposed power of winning back his love. Instead the agony of
wearing it led to Hercules' death on a pyre.) 33
As noted earlier, John Palmer indicated that by Christmas Day 1861 his regiment's supply was vast. Palmer noted his regiment had received their regulation army blouses (sack coats), and the overall quality appears to have been adequate:
“...Our clothes are of wool from socks to overcoats and of good quality, and we have as any as we have a mind to draw…dark blue pants, grey shirts, dark blue blowse. Some black and some blue overcoats & felt hats.” 34
Federal uniforms worn by the loyal western Virginia Union volunteers in the early Kanawha Valley campaigns were usually incomplete, or non-regulation. In contrast, by January 1862 the many Ohio regiments serving in western Virginia had complete regulation federal uniforms, although original sources indicate a few still wore dark blue kersey wool trousers, while others had received sky blue kersey wool trousers. The overall picture for federal uniforms in western Virginia during 1861 is inconsistent at best, and contradicts the notion of a highly uniform, regulation appearance.
Weapons
Other original documents indicate that many early Union volunteers in western Virginia initially armed themselves with shotguns and flintlocks,35 although Francis Pierpont, Governor of the newly forming state of West Virginia managed to acquire 10,000 .69 caliber smoothbore percussion conversion muskets from Massachusetts in 1861. Pierpont wrote:
“Wheeling , Va., August 19, 1861 Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War: The enrolled uniformed militia or home guards do not exceed 1,500 men, and they are scattered in single companies throughout North-western Virginia, and most of them are watching organized bands of secessionists in their respective neighborhoods. The number that could be spared even for temporary service would be inconsiderable, and from their scattered positions, and the want of improved means of communication could not be got to move for several days. I don’t think you can rely on this force for immediate service, and under the circumstances a requisition such as you propose would retard the enrollment of U.S. volunteers. Home guards are without improved arms and other equipments, never having received any from the General Government. The arms they have are smooth-bore muskets loaned us by Massachusetts.” 36
Ordnance receipts for many early western Virginia regiments are not available, leaving us to speculate as to whether they were the 1850’s Remington 1816/1822 percussion conversion or a variety of the M1842 U.S. Percussion Musket. .69 made at the Springfield Armory. The latter was the primary manufacturer of the M1842 U.S. Percussion Musket, in the 1840-1861 period. 37 M1842 and 1816 muskets commonly appear in images of pre-war militiamen from Virginia and 1861 volunteers. Likewise, in the 1820's numerous 1816 flintlock muskets were converted to percussion systems by Harpers Ferry and Springfield armories.
A letter written on 22 August 1862 by Capt. N.D. Helmick who commanded a newly formed volunteer company requested that the Governor release "percussion muskets" being stored at Fairmont to his militia unit. 38 That further suggests that the newly restored union government of western Virginia apparently had a reasonably large supply of .69 muskets. Another letter from 9 April 1862 written by Col. John Kelly, 39 commanding the First Virginia Volunteers (U.S.) to Adjutant Samuels indicates that the new government of western Virginia also had a supply of U.S. rifled muskets. 40 It also had the "old" U.S. muskets (probably 1820’s conversion pattern) stored in Martinsburg that were available.
A few western Virginia union volunteer companies were fortunate enough to acquire Enfield rifles. Company A of the 9th Virginia Regiment (Union) acquired Enfield rifles in October 1862. 41 The 9th Virginia was recruiting at Guyandotte in 1861, although lost over 100 of their brand new Enfield rifles during the November 10th raid to capture, and some were tossed into the Guyandotte river as the recruits skedaddled out of town to avoid being taken prisoner. 42
There is also evidence that in the spring of 1862 another unidentified Union militia company in Western Virginia privately purchased Enfield rifles. 43 The May 22nd 1862 letter is written by the Captain’s father, who indicated that someone named ‘Captain Hole’ had shipped Enfield muskets and ammunition to his Son’s unidentified militia company. The latter case was likely an exception, not the rule for coveted Enfield rifles until late 1862 when the majority of union volunteer companies in western Virginia had been formally mustered into the United States Army and could draw weapons from U.S. arsenals.
Once again, of particular relevance is a letter noted earlier that was written by Maj. J.A. Lightburn, of the 4th WV Infantry to Adjutant Samuels on 16 January 1862 from the union encampment at Ceredo, Wayne Co. (known as Camp Mud). 44 Major Lightburn requested that 500 Belgian rifles stored in Wheeling be sent to five of his companies; he further indicates that his companies were currently issued "altered muskets" a term commonly used to describe 1816 or 1820’s pattern flintlock muskets that had been converted to percussion. Lightburn wrote that the .69 smooth-bore "altered muskets" were "…worthless in the mountainous terrain" of western Virginia."
The new government of West Virginia also had a 80 muskets acquired from Ohio, which are mentioned in a letter written by Richard C. Lovell to Adjutant General Samuels on 31 July 1862 from somewhere in Cabell County;36 the musket pattern is not specified. However, the reader should also note that Ohio had a federal ordnance laboratory in Cincinnati ran by Miles Greenwood who began rifling M1816 Altered U.S. Muskets in July 1862, and by November 1861 had finished nearly 3,000 that were issued to Ohio troops in western Virginia, although the quality was considered inferior to the M1842 U.S. Percussion Muskets being rifled elsewhere. 45
A reasonable presumption is that the early western Virginia union volunteers and militia soldiers initially carried a variety of weapons e.g. shotguns, flintlocks, etc. or no weapons at all, although eventually began to receive various forms of 1816 conversion-percussion muskets or M1842 U.S. Percussion muskets from the newly forming state government. There were also 80 muskets acquired from Ohio. A few more fortunate militia companies acquired a few Enfield rifles.
Accoutrements
The 1850 U.S. Ordnance Manual called for a full set of accoutrements to be supplied with each weapon issued to both the regular Army and state militia units as authorized by the Militia Act of 1808. 46 The U.S. Ordnance Department used four primary contractors to produce accouterments before 1861, including James Boyd & Sons of Boston Massachusetts, who produced thousands of leather accouterments of the 1842 pattern for the Allegheny Arsenal.
The Allegheny Arsenal in Pennsylvania subsequently supplied the Virginia Militia in the antebellum era, and later the Union volunteer regiments in 1861. During July 1861, all troops serving in Western Virginia were ordered to be supplied by the U.S. depot being established in Cincinnati. This meant that existing federal supply depots located in Ohio, and new locations in Wheeling, Point Pleasant and Clarksburg would also receive accouterments from Cincinnati, that were manufactured at the Allegheny Arsenal in Pennsylvania.
Yet, in spite of Rosecrans orders, some western Virginia regiments were still not fully supplied with accoutrements, arms and uniforms in January 1862, 47 while many Ohio regiments serving in western Virginia were simultaneously drawing full compliments of weapons, clothing and accoutrements. 48
Note that U.S. accouterment sets were generally made to support a specific type of Musket or Rifle and distributed by the same arsenal from whence the weapon was issued.49 Only U.S. Regulars were issued the rifled .58 caliber pattern cartridge boxes in 1861, and there were roughly 17,000 regulars on duty in April 1861, the majority of whom were stationed in the western U.S. territories. The M1842 pattern.69 Caliber Springfield Musket accouterments were the most common type issued to pre-war state militia units, and included an 1839 Pattern Cartridge Box with two tins and a U.S. Oval Plate on the flap, and a Buff (white) leather sling having the brass Oval "U.S. Eagle" plate attached. 50
White or Buff leather was required from 1839 until General Order No. 31 was published in 1851. 51 Afterward, slings were required to be either "Buff or Buff leather Blacked". The U.S. Depot system likewise did not require contractors to identify themselves as makers of early contract items, as “maker marks” or stamps did not appear consistently until 1862.
In November 1857 the Ordnance Department authorized only shoulder belts (slings) made of "upper leather" (black bridle type) or "buff dressed leather" (blackened buff – white buff leather dyed with logwood or copperas formulas), although residual white "buff" leather slings were less common. It is noted also that those boxes and slings sent to state militia units did not always arrive with the two plates on the sling or box flap. 52
The 1842 musket accouterments also included a Cap Pouch with one single hoop or sleeve on the rear sewn by hand, and a "waxed" leather waist belt with leather keeper, (blackened buff or black bridle leather with grain turned out and an 1842 bayonet with a hand sewn scabbard attached to the belt via frog.
The 1850 U.S. Army Ordnance Manual measurements for the 1839 pattern .69 cartridge box as follows:
"Cartridge Box, (black bridle leather.) Length 7.2 inch’ width 1.6 inch; depth in front, 5.8 inch inner cover, (light upper leather) 4 inches wide, with end-pieces sewed to it, so as to cover the ends of the box - flap 8.5 inches wide at the bottom, 8 inches at the top, with a button hole trap sewed near the bottom - brass button, riveted to the bottom of the box - implement pocket (light upper leather,) sewed to front of the box, 6 inches long, 3.5 inches deep, with a flap, strap and loop - 2 loops on the back of the box, near the top, for the shoulder belt to pass through, 2 roller buckles (japanned, black) for the belt, sewed to the bottom of the box, Two Tins, each with one lower divisions, 3 inches by 3.3 inches, open in front, to contain a bundle of 10 Cartridges, and 2 upper divisions, 2.7 inches deep, one of 2 inches by 1.35 inches for 6 cartridges, the other 1.35 inches square, for 4 cartridges. The edges of the tin are turned over and soldered down, to prevent them from cutting the cartridges. All the tin linings should be made to slide freely in the boxes."53
Summarily, the loyal Union Volunteers in western Virginia were poorly supplied early in the war, even after they were ordered to receive uniforms from Cincinnati. This continued into mid-1862, and defies the myth that Union troops were always better supplied than their counter rebel counterparts, especially in western Virginia. Hopefully this research may be helpful to those living historians seeking to more accurately portray early Union Volunteers serving in the 1861-1862 campaigns in western Virginia.
References:
1. Wallace, L. A. Jr. A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations 1861-1865. Lynchburg VA: H.E. Howard. pp 234-235. 1986.
2. Egan, M. The Flying Grey Haired Yank or The Adventures of A Volunteer. 1992. D.L. Philips, (Ed.). Leesburg, VA: Gauley Press. pp. 19-38.
3. Ibid, pp. 19-20.
4. Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, (Hereafter OR) Series I, Vol. 19, p. 857. 1862.
5. Geiger, J. Jr. (1991). The Civil War in Cabell County 1861-1865. Charleston, WVA: Pictorial House. Pp. 43-48.
6. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 19, p. 857. 1861.
7. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 5, pp. 554-555. 1861.
8. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 19, p. 857. 1861.
9. Ibid, p. 857.
10. Wiley, B. I. The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Solider of the Union. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 229-231. 1971.
11. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 2, p. 709a. 1861.
12. Ibid. p. 705b.
13. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 5, p. 545. 1861.
14. Oyos, M. Mobilization of Ohio Militia in the Civil War. Ohio History, 1989, Summer-Autumn, pp. 147-174.
15. Ohio Adjutant General's Letters. 1861 Series 147, 1A:15, 2 June 1861. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Archives.
16. Oyos, pp. 147-150.
17. Lightburn, J. 16 Jan. 1862. 4thWest Virginia Infantry Files. WV Archive.
18. Warren, R. A. (Fall 2005). 3rd to 5th and 7th to 13th Regiments, Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, 1861. Military Collector and Historian. Vol. 57 (3), p.151.
19. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 5, page 251. 1861.
20. Kemper, L. L. (Ed.). The Salem Light Guard, Company G, 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment 1861-1865. Chicago, IL: Adams Press, p. 36. 1971.
21. James, J. R. (Ed.). To See The Elephant: The Civil War Letters of John A. McKee (1861-1865), 44th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Leawood, KS: Leathers Publishing. pp. 21-22.
22. Lightburn, 16 January 1862.
23. Warren, p. 151.
24. Photograph. Private George Washington Smith, 13th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry. Taken at enlistment, fall 1862. Age 21 years. WV Archives.
25. Ohio Adjutant General and Quartermaster General Records 1861-1865, Series 1382 (Contracts). Clothing and camp equipment, pp. 593-597. Ohio State Archives.
26. Langellier, J. Army Blue: The Uniforms of Uncle Sam's Regulars, 1848-1873. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military Publications. p. 119. 1998.
27. Oyos, pp. 148-149.
28. Ohio Adjutant General Quartermaster General Records 1861, Series 1382, BV 1817, (Contracts). Ohio State Archives. pp. 15-25.
29. Cincinnati Daily Gazette June 10 and 15, 1861.
30. Chardon Ohio Jeffersonian Weekly Democrat, 7 June 1861.
31. Cincinnati Daily Gazette 15 June 1861.
32. Chardon Ohio Jeffersonian Weekly Democrat, 28 June 1861.
33. Allison, G. C. (Ed.). 19th Century Voices of Trumbull County, Ohio. Warren OH: Trumbull County Genealogical Society, p. 213-214. 1990.
34. Kemper, p. 36.
35. Wallace, pp. 15-25.
36. O.R. Series 1, Volume 1, page 431.
37. Johnson, P. D. Civil War Cartridge Boxes of the Union Infantryman. Lincoln RI: Mowbray Pubs. pp. 35-47, 261-267. 1998.
38. Helmick, N. D. 22 Aug. 1862. Original document. WV Archive.
39. Whaley, K. 19 Nov. 1861. 9th West Virginia Infantry files. WV Archive.
40. Bilbi, J. Civil War Firearms. New York: Combined Books. p. 54.
41. Whaley, Nov. 1861.
42. Geiger, pp. 46-47.
43. Capt. Hole, 22 May 1862. Original document. WV Archives.
44. Lightburn, 16 Jan. 1862.
45. Lovell, R. C. 31 July 1862. Original document. WV Archives.
46. Ohio Adjutant General's Letters. 1861 Series 147, 9:123, 14 Sept. 1861. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Archives.
47. Ibid, p. 43.
48. Lightburn, 16 Jan. 1862.
49. Kemper, p. 40.
50. Johnson, pp. 28-29, 102.
51. Ibid, pp. 28, 40.
52. Ibid, pp. 261, 266.
53. Ibid. Page 43.
Arms, Accouterments and Uniforms
by Philip Hatfield, Ph.D.
1861: Antebellum Militia and Loyal Volunteers
The antebellum Virginia Militia system, like those of other states, was based on the Federal Militia Act of 1792, requiring all men ages eighteen to forty-five years to serve in the militia. Compulsory military service laws required men to be enrolled of a company in their district, creating what was known as the "line militia", although they were not uniformed and drilled only once annually. 1
There was also another body of militia, the “Virginia Volunteer Militia” or "V.V.M." in existence since 1792. These companies consisted of volunteers, although were ostensibly uniformed and armed through a limited state supply of guns and clothing allotments. These units normally used their allotment as well as private funds to buy their own uniforms – most of which were extravagant in contrast to extant regulations prescribed by the state Adjutant General.
Volunteer militia companies in western Virginia usually had their own armories, unlike the line companies who often either had no weapons, or brought their own flint locks, shotguns etc. to the annual musters. They held regular drills, meetings and primarily provided a military presence at patriotic celebrations, parades, etc. These companies were exempt from attendance at the annual musters of the line units after seven years successive service, two of which must have been in the same company.
A drill or muster event during the pre-war antebellum era in western Virginia, like many others, was often little more than a company picnic. A good example of pre-war militia companies that would remain loyal to the Union was the one commanded by Capt. James Dayton. This unit is known in surviving records as "Company A", "4th Company of the Line, 192nd Virginia Volunteer Militia." The 192nd V.V.M. was assigned to the 20th Brigade, Commanded by Brig. Gen. C.B. Conrad 1860-1861, which included the 125th, 192nd, (Lewis County) and 133rd Regiments (Upshur County). 2
The exact date of formation is unknown, but Dayton’s "4th Company" was one of the earliest known pre-war militia companies in western Virginia. It eventually mustered into the 4th West Virginia Infantry as Co. A during June 1861. This unit consisted of men who previously belonged to a battalion commanded by Major Michael Egan, and existed at least two years before the war. Egan described a typical muster event that sounds more like a family reunion than military training:
"About two years prior to the outbreak of the Great Rebellion of 1861, I was in command of a battalion of militia consisting of about three hundred men, in Lewis County Virginia; a county central to what is now the State of West Virginia....On "muster days" the boys ...after drill would usually indulge in horse-trading, or "swapping;" talk of, and appoint log-rollings, rail-maulings, house-raisings, apple-cuttings, corn-huskings, and many other kinds of "frolics" as they were entitled by these sturdy farmers..." 3
When the war broke out, Egan and other sources indicate that most Virginia militia units had to be re-organized due to many companies joining the Union army, or dividing as a result of numerous members leaving to enlist for the Union. It is unfortunate that most records of the pre-war Virginia militia have been lost. However, many Virginia line militia members also volunteered to serve in the union army in 1861, including Capt. Jonathan Young of Coalsmouth, Virginia. 4
Young was a loyal Union man residing in Coalsmouth, Virginia and organized a volunteer company of infantry at Coalsmouth, Virginia (now modern St. Albans West Virginia) that mustered into U.S. service during March 1861. His company consisted of men who had previously served in various local militia units as well as green recruits. 5
His company became Co. G, 13th West Virginia Infantry, throughout 1862 - 1864. Oddly, Young’s company was initially mustered into the 11th Virginia Regiment, causing some conflict among the officers in the two regiments. Brig. Gen. Jacob Cox was commanding the Kanawha District and wrote to the Secretary of War requesting guidance on which regiment Young’s company belonged to, after the commander of the 11th Virginia had complained of his missing company:
“Inclosed I hand you a communication from Lieutenant Colonel Frost, Eleventh [West] Virginia Volunteers, in reference to the position of Captain Young’s company. The company is acting with the Thirteenth, into which part of its men have been mustered, but Captain Young, the other officers and the rest of the men were originally mustered into the Eleventh. Will you be kind enough to give me such information as to the course taken in that matter as may enable me to determine what should be now done in the premises?...” 6
Co. G was eventually transferred to the 11th West Virginia Infantry and fought in the 1864 Valley Campaign, achieving recognition at Cloyd’s Mountain in May 1864, as the 11th West Virginia lost their entire color guard during vicious hand to hand combat inside confederate earthworks following several attempts to charge and break the lines.
However, the antebellum years of relaxed military training as militia and inexperienced officers and recruits combined to make for a difficult transition to regular Army discipline in 1861. Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans was placed in command of western Virginia troops and supply operations in 1861. He wrote on 6 August 1861 to Col. Edward Townsend, Assistant Adjutant General, about his concerns regarding the inexperienced Union volunteers in western Virginia:
“Every day’s experience with volunteer troops convinces me of the absolute necessity of having some officers of military education among them…regiments are mustered into the services and sent upon active duty without a single officer who knows thoroughly company drill, much less the organization or drill of a regiment. I am convinced that the detail of a second lieutenant from the Military Academy to act as Major even would in six weeks increase the military power of a regiment at least one-third.” 7
By mid-1862, the early union volunteers in western Virginia had nearly all mustered into U.S. service. After the battle of Antietam, Cox was concerned about the limited number of Union men in the area. He wrote to Governor Francis Pierpont on 15 December 1862 about the lack of protection for Union citizens in the valley, urging for completion of the new government of West Virginia:
“…I have also feared…a flight of the Union men from the valley again...I suggest the matter as a reason for pushing forward, with as little delay as possible, the final completion of the new State organization, whilst the force in Western Virginia is large enough to prevent hostile interference…” 8
Cox goes on to note that his supply lines from Ohio were also at risk due to weather conditions:
“...The advantages of keeping watch of our supplies and transportation, which the lowness of the rivers make most important at present, determined me upon making headquarters temporarily here...” 9
The following discussion will show that not only did the weather and mountainous terrain impair supplies in the 1861 Kanawha Valley campaigns, but also poor planning and preparation for war on part of the state of Ohio, on whom the western Virginians had to largely depend on for supplies. The political and organizational complications faced by the fledgling West Virginia state government, contributed to the inconsistent and often incomplete Quartermaster supply for early Union volunteers serving in western Virginia.
Uniforms
An often debated question found in most literature written about the early war Union volunteers is the question of whether they were really better clothed than their confederate counterparts. This subject has been addressed in detail in larger works 10 although little has been said of the appearance of early Union soldiery in western Virginia. For the early volunteers, extant sources indicate uniforms were limited, at best, and most simply wore civilian clothing until they began receiving supplies from the federal government. Even then, western Virginia Union volunteers lacked adequate uniforms for several months in contrast to their Buckeye counterparts serving in western Virginia.
In June, U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron wrote to the Governor of the newly forming government of western Virginia with a promise of support from the federal government that their troops would be properly supplied. However, he apparently meant that they would be supplied only after purchasing supplies from civilians, i.e. the limited number of Union citizens' still living in western Virginia, who were promised reimbursement by the federal government. He wrote:
“…assure you that this department will do all in its power to carry out your wishes. All the supplies that can be obtained in Western Virginia for the troops there concentrating will be purchased from the people residing in that section, and every proper effort will be made to encourage the loyalty and promise the interests of your people.” 11
Cameron followed though on his word, at least in theory, as he also wrote again on the same date to Maj. Gen. George McClellan, commanding Union forces in western Virginia, and directed him to aid the new Virginia Unionist volunteer regiments in his district by requiring other federal units (mainly from Ohio) to supply them from their own stores. Cameron stated:
“It is deemed highly important that the Union men in Western Virginia be aided and encouraged in every way possible, and it is desired that you and those under your command should do so as far as you can. One mode of doing it is to obtain, as far as possible, the supplies for your forces from them, and you are requested to give instructions to this effect to those who are charged with the duty of providing supplies.” 12
Subsequently, in July 1861 all troops serving in Western Virginia were ordered to be supplied by the U.S. depot being established in Cincinnati by Rosecrans, then acting under orders of the U.S. Army Adjutant General.13 This meant that the new Union supply depots forming in Marietta and Gallipolis would provide uniforms to both Ohio and western Virginia volunteers. In other words, most loyal Virginia Union volunteers were wearing uniforms issued by Ohio after July 1861.
Much of their uniforms were manufactured by various local contract agents in the state of Ohio, who were required to approximate uniforms patterned after the 1861 U.S. Army regulations in cloth quality, workmanship and patterns. The contractors acted on the pretense that Federal Quartermasters would reimburse the state when they eventually took over the supply system as state volunteer units mustered into federal service.14
Yet, in early 1861 the Ohio Adjutant General and Quartermaster did not know when the transition would occur, and ultimately did not fully relinquish functional quartermaster duties to the Federal government until early in 1862. The result was a majority of Ohio’s 90 days volunteers wearing civilian clothing or their militia garb, and receiving only piecemeal issue of uniform clothing for many weeks in April-June 1861. 15
Another problem was that Ohio had been persistently delinquent in maintaining appropriate documentation on weapons, supplies and uniforms of the militia in the decade before the war, causing lower Federal allotments for arms and equipment when the war came, since those funds were determined by pre-war Annual Reports filed by state Adjutant Generals.16 Hence, Ohio’s early supply problems were largely self-inflicted and compounded by Rosecrans July 1861 quartermaster order to supply not only Ohio regiments, but also newly forming infantry regiments in western Virginia.
However, in practical application, Rosecrans' supply order had little effect on western Virginia units. Loyal mountaineers and Buckeyes alike often waited for weeks in the harsh mountainous climate between issue of items such as coats, trousers and hats, giving them a rather haphazard appearance wearing a mixture of federal clothing with their civilian garb. 17
The latter point surely contradicts any notion of a well dressed, fully supplied Union army, particularly those occupying the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia during the 1861 Kanawha Valley campaigns. Hence, Ohio’s early cloth shortage precluded consistent issue of U.S. Army regulation dress uniforms, and so the “Undress Uniform” was substituted by Ohio Army Quartermaster Capt. John H. Dickerson in June. This kit consisted of a black felt Hardee pattern hat, regulation dark blue wool blouses with four regulation U.S. Army buttons, and gray satinet pants. 18 No evidence was found indicating western Virginia units were issued this uniform in 1861, however.
Likewise, in spite of shortages, data reviewed herein did not clearly indicate resentment by Ohio units having to provide quantities of their supplies to western Virginia volunteers, it seems reasonable to infer some frustration about the orders by Ohio’s military officers in the field who had to relinquish said supplies and uniforms, particularly since Ohio was still having problems clothing it’s own regiments. This factor may account in part for the fragmented supplies delivered to western Virginia regiments.
There is some evidence of political conflicts and organizational problems in the department, as Rosecrans wrote to McClellan on 16 November 1861 complaining of a convoluted chain of command between his Ohio based supply depots:
“…I respectfully call your attention to the fact that I have to draw my supplies from Cincinnati. My staff are now left in another department; an anomaly that ought not to exist. I have to use Gallipolis as a hospital station and depot for stores, also in another department. I have no control…”19
The newly forming Union supply system from Ohio slowly began to deliver new coats, caps, woolen shirts etc. to at least some Ohio regiments in western Virginia that summer. However, as evidenced by the letters of Orderly Sergeant John Palmer, of Company G, The Salem Light Guards, 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment who wrote to his mother from Camp Piatt near Gauley Bridge on Christmas Day, 1861 that his unit was well furnished with uniforms:
“...Our clothes are of wool from socks to overcoats and of good quality, and we have as any as we have a mind to draw, knit drawers, dark blue pants, grey shirts, dark blue blowse. Some black and some blue overcoats & felt hats.”20
However, for many Ohio infantry units, uniform delivery was still piecemeal in spite of Ohio’s main supply depot in Cincinnati being under federal control. Another example is the 44th Ohio Regiment, which in was only beginning to receive its dress or frock coats in January 1862, according to Private John A. McKee, of Company F.38 He also implied that the 44th still was still wearing dark blue regulation U.S. trousers, but was due to be issued sky blue trousers, sent from Cincinnati. McKees stated:
“...We will get dress suits in a few days. They are in camp and some of them have been issued out. We will get dark blue frock coats and sky blue pants. The colonel has not decided yet whether to get hats or caps...”21
On the other hand, most Union volunteers serving in loyal Virginia regiments were still lacking adequate supply. The regiments garrisoning Point Pleasant and surrounding areas in the Kanawha Valley were still not fully uniformed in January 1862 according to Colonel James Lightburn, 4th West Virginia Infantry. Lightburn described numerous soldiers wearing only random parts of uniforms, such as caps, gray wool shirts, and other items while stationed at Point Pleasant. He requested that the Quartermasters send his regiment 600 over coats, shirts and caps, complaining that his regiment was still lacking complete uniforms and equipment and that cold weather had set in. 22
Oddly, newly formed Companies A and B of the 9th Virginia Regiment (Union) acquired 200 Enfield rifles in October 1861 purchased by their commander from his private funds while recruiting at Guyandotte. The good fortune had in acquiring good weapons did not apply to uniforms. The 9th Virginia (Union) commander, Col. Kellian Whaley, wrote from Guyandotte, Virginia in early November 1861 to the Army quartermasters that his men were still wearing civilian garb, and had only pieces of their union uniforms, although noted most had received "dark felt hats". 22
Warren (2005) cited a humorous account from the Cincinnati Daily Commercial on June 6th 1861 describing those regulation Army black felt issue hats: “They are as ugly as a scolding woman.”23
Yet, in spite of Ohio’s administrative quandary and whatever political barriers may have existed to getting loyal western Virginia regiments uniformed, some individuals in western Virginia managed to acquire complete uniforms by mid-late 1862, albeit many contract or privately purchased clothing items made at variance with Army regulations. One example found is a rare photo image of Private George Washington Smith of Co. K, 13th West Virginia Regiment taken in August 1862 when he enlisted.24
This image demonstrates that at least some union Volunteers were wearing uniforms digressing from both U.S. Army and 1861 Ohio state militia regulations, (recall that Ohio was supposed to be supplying western Virginia Union volunteers after July 1861 and that the U.S. Army Quartermaster had taken over the Cincinnati supply depot in January 1862) such as this Mexican war pattern “roundabout” or infantry jacket shown with blue collar trim and plain sleeve cuffs.
Ohio purchased at least 5,000 jackets for 90 days volunteers in April-May 1861, and then began issuing sack coats to their units in June 1861.25 The former were commonly made of cadet grey kersey or dark blue wool. One can only speculate at this point, but potentially some left over jackets were given to the new western Virginia Volunteers since Ohio had to clothe its own regiments with the newer regulation sack coats.
Trousers
The U.S. Army changed the regulation enlisted infantry uniform trouser color from sky blue to dark blue in 1858, then changed back to sky blue trousers in late 1861, and the Army Quartermaster policy was to exhaust the existing inventory before producing new colors. 26
The result was a mixture of colors for Army issue trouser initially sent from federal supply depots. Ohio provided an even more broad range of trouser colors from contract agents in 1861, including gray wool, sky blue cassinet, as well as cadet gray cloth, in spite of the Ohio Quarter Master's intentions to comply with U.S. Army regulations. 27
Ohio purchased at least several thousand uniform suits from in 1861 from various contract sources, including John C. English & Co., for 1,000 uniforms including trousers "of regulation pattern" and coats "to be furnished with shoulder scales, also J.H. Shun of Cincinnati for 1,000 uniforms, and A.T. Lane & Co. of Philadelphia, PA who delivered 4,013 pairs of regulation sky blue wool kersey trousers in July. 28
Inspection and quality control standards were limited, if not non existent among early Contract garments. The soldiers complained loudly about the cheap materials, such as blue cassinet. One eyewitness wrote that the trousers had “so much cotton warp in it, that it looks like steel-mixed colored stuff.” 29 A variety of other original sources also illustrate the variance in color and quality, including 3rd Corporal Orris McGonigol, Company F, 19th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, wrote on May 30th 1861:
"We received a part of our uniforms to-day. Our pants are a light blue...” 30
Initially, contract trouser quality was quite poor. The 1st and 2nd Ohio regiments received trousers of grayish color in late May, and one witness stated they "are in a dilapidated condition…” 31 just a few days after receiving them. 29 Private Pembrook M. Cowles, Co. F, The Geauga Rifles, 19th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, wrote from Camp Goddard, at Zanesville Ohio on 15 June 1861 about several of his new uniform items:
“Our uniforms consist of light-blue satinet pants, of so poor a quality that near half of them were very badly worn out in a week; a pair of drawers (we shall have another pair,) a bluish-gray flannel shirt, (another coming,) a pair of shoes, (mine are nearly gone now; the second sole is made of pasteboard,) a blue cloth cap with a wide front piece, a pair of havelocks, and a blue-gray blanket.” 32
3rd Sgt. James McCleery, Company C, 19th OVI, also complained from Camp Goddard in May 1861 of the poor quality found in the dreaded light blue trousers:
“We have grey army shirts and the notorious “sky blue breeches” of which a friend truthfully remarks: “We were those detested, those perpetually damned and evidently deplorable “sky blue breeches” – those breeches whose seams all rip – those breeches that you can run your fingers through – those breeches that the boys don’t go to town in – those breeches in whose pockets there is never a dime of State funds to buy a plug of tobacco – those infernal breeches destined to a dreadful immortality in the annals of Ohio – those breeches of which ere long hundreds of the most dilapidated specimens will be sent home as curiosities – those breeches, the meanest swindle of the times – that will cling forever to the political destinies of some Ohio politicians, and be worse than the garment of Nessus or a dozen shirts of fire.”
(sic - original) Author's Note: “garment of Nessus” refers, in Greek mythology, to the blood-poisoned garment of Nessus the Centaur, which was sent to Hercules by his wife for its supposed power of winning back his love. Instead the agony of
wearing it led to Hercules' death on a pyre.) 33
As noted earlier, John Palmer indicated that by Christmas Day 1861 his regiment's supply was vast. Palmer noted his regiment had received their regulation army blouses (sack coats), and the overall quality appears to have been adequate:
“...Our clothes are of wool from socks to overcoats and of good quality, and we have as any as we have a mind to draw…dark blue pants, grey shirts, dark blue blowse. Some black and some blue overcoats & felt hats.” 34
Federal uniforms worn by the loyal western Virginia Union volunteers in the early Kanawha Valley campaigns were usually incomplete, or non-regulation. In contrast, by January 1862 the many Ohio regiments serving in western Virginia had complete regulation federal uniforms, although original sources indicate a few still wore dark blue kersey wool trousers, while others had received sky blue kersey wool trousers. The overall picture for federal uniforms in western Virginia during 1861 is inconsistent at best, and contradicts the notion of a highly uniform, regulation appearance.
Weapons
Other original documents indicate that many early Union volunteers in western Virginia initially armed themselves with shotguns and flintlocks,35 although Francis Pierpont, Governor of the newly forming state of West Virginia managed to acquire 10,000 .69 caliber smoothbore percussion conversion muskets from Massachusetts in 1861. Pierpont wrote:
“Wheeling , Va., August 19, 1861 Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War: The enrolled uniformed militia or home guards do not exceed 1,500 men, and they are scattered in single companies throughout North-western Virginia, and most of them are watching organized bands of secessionists in their respective neighborhoods. The number that could be spared even for temporary service would be inconsiderable, and from their scattered positions, and the want of improved means of communication could not be got to move for several days. I don’t think you can rely on this force for immediate service, and under the circumstances a requisition such as you propose would retard the enrollment of U.S. volunteers. Home guards are without improved arms and other equipments, never having received any from the General Government. The arms they have are smooth-bore muskets loaned us by Massachusetts.” 36
Ordnance receipts for many early western Virginia regiments are not available, leaving us to speculate as to whether they were the 1850’s Remington 1816/1822 percussion conversion or a variety of the M1842 U.S. Percussion Musket. .69 made at the Springfield Armory. The latter was the primary manufacturer of the M1842 U.S. Percussion Musket, in the 1840-1861 period. 37 M1842 and 1816 muskets commonly appear in images of pre-war militiamen from Virginia and 1861 volunteers. Likewise, in the 1820's numerous 1816 flintlock muskets were converted to percussion systems by Harpers Ferry and Springfield armories.
A letter written on 22 August 1862 by Capt. N.D. Helmick who commanded a newly formed volunteer company requested that the Governor release "percussion muskets" being stored at Fairmont to his militia unit. 38 That further suggests that the newly restored union government of western Virginia apparently had a reasonably large supply of .69 muskets. Another letter from 9 April 1862 written by Col. John Kelly, 39 commanding the First Virginia Volunteers (U.S.) to Adjutant Samuels indicates that the new government of western Virginia also had a supply of U.S. rifled muskets. 40 It also had the "old" U.S. muskets (probably 1820’s conversion pattern) stored in Martinsburg that were available.
A few western Virginia union volunteer companies were fortunate enough to acquire Enfield rifles. Company A of the 9th Virginia Regiment (Union) acquired Enfield rifles in October 1862. 41 The 9th Virginia was recruiting at Guyandotte in 1861, although lost over 100 of their brand new Enfield rifles during the November 10th raid to capture, and some were tossed into the Guyandotte river as the recruits skedaddled out of town to avoid being taken prisoner. 42
There is also evidence that in the spring of 1862 another unidentified Union militia company in Western Virginia privately purchased Enfield rifles. 43 The May 22nd 1862 letter is written by the Captain’s father, who indicated that someone named ‘Captain Hole’ had shipped Enfield muskets and ammunition to his Son’s unidentified militia company. The latter case was likely an exception, not the rule for coveted Enfield rifles until late 1862 when the majority of union volunteer companies in western Virginia had been formally mustered into the United States Army and could draw weapons from U.S. arsenals.
Once again, of particular relevance is a letter noted earlier that was written by Maj. J.A. Lightburn, of the 4th WV Infantry to Adjutant Samuels on 16 January 1862 from the union encampment at Ceredo, Wayne Co. (known as Camp Mud). 44 Major Lightburn requested that 500 Belgian rifles stored in Wheeling be sent to five of his companies; he further indicates that his companies were currently issued "altered muskets" a term commonly used to describe 1816 or 1820’s pattern flintlock muskets that had been converted to percussion. Lightburn wrote that the .69 smooth-bore "altered muskets" were "…worthless in the mountainous terrain" of western Virginia."
The new government of West Virginia also had a 80 muskets acquired from Ohio, which are mentioned in a letter written by Richard C. Lovell to Adjutant General Samuels on 31 July 1862 from somewhere in Cabell County;36 the musket pattern is not specified. However, the reader should also note that Ohio had a federal ordnance laboratory in Cincinnati ran by Miles Greenwood who began rifling M1816 Altered U.S. Muskets in July 1862, and by November 1861 had finished nearly 3,000 that were issued to Ohio troops in western Virginia, although the quality was considered inferior to the M1842 U.S. Percussion Muskets being rifled elsewhere. 45
A reasonable presumption is that the early western Virginia union volunteers and militia soldiers initially carried a variety of weapons e.g. shotguns, flintlocks, etc. or no weapons at all, although eventually began to receive various forms of 1816 conversion-percussion muskets or M1842 U.S. Percussion muskets from the newly forming state government. There were also 80 muskets acquired from Ohio. A few more fortunate militia companies acquired a few Enfield rifles.
Accoutrements
The 1850 U.S. Ordnance Manual called for a full set of accoutrements to be supplied with each weapon issued to both the regular Army and state militia units as authorized by the Militia Act of 1808. 46 The U.S. Ordnance Department used four primary contractors to produce accouterments before 1861, including James Boyd & Sons of Boston Massachusetts, who produced thousands of leather accouterments of the 1842 pattern for the Allegheny Arsenal.
The Allegheny Arsenal in Pennsylvania subsequently supplied the Virginia Militia in the antebellum era, and later the Union volunteer regiments in 1861. During July 1861, all troops serving in Western Virginia were ordered to be supplied by the U.S. depot being established in Cincinnati. This meant that existing federal supply depots located in Ohio, and new locations in Wheeling, Point Pleasant and Clarksburg would also receive accouterments from Cincinnati, that were manufactured at the Allegheny Arsenal in Pennsylvania.
Yet, in spite of Rosecrans orders, some western Virginia regiments were still not fully supplied with accoutrements, arms and uniforms in January 1862, 47 while many Ohio regiments serving in western Virginia were simultaneously drawing full compliments of weapons, clothing and accoutrements. 48
Note that U.S. accouterment sets were generally made to support a specific type of Musket or Rifle and distributed by the same arsenal from whence the weapon was issued.49 Only U.S. Regulars were issued the rifled .58 caliber pattern cartridge boxes in 1861, and there were roughly 17,000 regulars on duty in April 1861, the majority of whom were stationed in the western U.S. territories. The M1842 pattern.69 Caliber Springfield Musket accouterments were the most common type issued to pre-war state militia units, and included an 1839 Pattern Cartridge Box with two tins and a U.S. Oval Plate on the flap, and a Buff (white) leather sling having the brass Oval "U.S. Eagle" plate attached. 50
White or Buff leather was required from 1839 until General Order No. 31 was published in 1851. 51 Afterward, slings were required to be either "Buff or Buff leather Blacked". The U.S. Depot system likewise did not require contractors to identify themselves as makers of early contract items, as “maker marks” or stamps did not appear consistently until 1862.
In November 1857 the Ordnance Department authorized only shoulder belts (slings) made of "upper leather" (black bridle type) or "buff dressed leather" (blackened buff – white buff leather dyed with logwood or copperas formulas), although residual white "buff" leather slings were less common. It is noted also that those boxes and slings sent to state militia units did not always arrive with the two plates on the sling or box flap. 52
The 1842 musket accouterments also included a Cap Pouch with one single hoop or sleeve on the rear sewn by hand, and a "waxed" leather waist belt with leather keeper, (blackened buff or black bridle leather with grain turned out and an 1842 bayonet with a hand sewn scabbard attached to the belt via frog.
The 1850 U.S. Army Ordnance Manual measurements for the 1839 pattern .69 cartridge box as follows:
"Cartridge Box, (black bridle leather.) Length 7.2 inch’ width 1.6 inch; depth in front, 5.8 inch inner cover, (light upper leather) 4 inches wide, with end-pieces sewed to it, so as to cover the ends of the box - flap 8.5 inches wide at the bottom, 8 inches at the top, with a button hole trap sewed near the bottom - brass button, riveted to the bottom of the box - implement pocket (light upper leather,) sewed to front of the box, 6 inches long, 3.5 inches deep, with a flap, strap and loop - 2 loops on the back of the box, near the top, for the shoulder belt to pass through, 2 roller buckles (japanned, black) for the belt, sewed to the bottom of the box, Two Tins, each with one lower divisions, 3 inches by 3.3 inches, open in front, to contain a bundle of 10 Cartridges, and 2 upper divisions, 2.7 inches deep, one of 2 inches by 1.35 inches for 6 cartridges, the other 1.35 inches square, for 4 cartridges. The edges of the tin are turned over and soldered down, to prevent them from cutting the cartridges. All the tin linings should be made to slide freely in the boxes."53
Summarily, the loyal Union Volunteers in western Virginia were poorly supplied early in the war, even after they were ordered to receive uniforms from Cincinnati. This continued into mid-1862, and defies the myth that Union troops were always better supplied than their counter rebel counterparts, especially in western Virginia. Hopefully this research may be helpful to those living historians seeking to more accurately portray early Union Volunteers serving in the 1861-1862 campaigns in western Virginia.
References:
1. Wallace, L. A. Jr. A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations 1861-1865. Lynchburg VA: H.E. Howard. pp 234-235. 1986.
2. Egan, M. The Flying Grey Haired Yank or The Adventures of A Volunteer. 1992. D.L. Philips, (Ed.). Leesburg, VA: Gauley Press. pp. 19-38.
3. Ibid, pp. 19-20.
4. Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, (Hereafter OR) Series I, Vol. 19, p. 857. 1862.
5. Geiger, J. Jr. (1991). The Civil War in Cabell County 1861-1865. Charleston, WVA: Pictorial House. Pp. 43-48.
6. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 19, p. 857. 1861.
7. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 5, pp. 554-555. 1861.
8. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 19, p. 857. 1861.
9. Ibid, p. 857.
10. Wiley, B. I. The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Solider of the Union. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 229-231. 1971.
11. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 2, p. 709a. 1861.
12. Ibid. p. 705b.
13. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 5, p. 545. 1861.
14. Oyos, M. Mobilization of Ohio Militia in the Civil War. Ohio History, 1989, Summer-Autumn, pp. 147-174.
15. Ohio Adjutant General's Letters. 1861 Series 147, 1A:15, 2 June 1861. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Archives.
16. Oyos, pp. 147-150.
17. Lightburn, J. 16 Jan. 1862. 4thWest Virginia Infantry Files. WV Archive.
18. Warren, R. A. (Fall 2005). 3rd to 5th and 7th to 13th Regiments, Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, 1861. Military Collector and Historian. Vol. 57 (3), p.151.
19. O.R. Series 1, Vol. 5, page 251. 1861.
20. Kemper, L. L. (Ed.). The Salem Light Guard, Company G, 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment 1861-1865. Chicago, IL: Adams Press, p. 36. 1971.
21. James, J. R. (Ed.). To See The Elephant: The Civil War Letters of John A. McKee (1861-1865), 44th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Leawood, KS: Leathers Publishing. pp. 21-22.
22. Lightburn, 16 January 1862.
23. Warren, p. 151.
24. Photograph. Private George Washington Smith, 13th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry. Taken at enlistment, fall 1862. Age 21 years. WV Archives.
25. Ohio Adjutant General and Quartermaster General Records 1861-1865, Series 1382 (Contracts). Clothing and camp equipment, pp. 593-597. Ohio State Archives.
26. Langellier, J. Army Blue: The Uniforms of Uncle Sam's Regulars, 1848-1873. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military Publications. p. 119. 1998.
27. Oyos, pp. 148-149.
28. Ohio Adjutant General Quartermaster General Records 1861, Series 1382, BV 1817, (Contracts). Ohio State Archives. pp. 15-25.
29. Cincinnati Daily Gazette June 10 and 15, 1861.
30. Chardon Ohio Jeffersonian Weekly Democrat, 7 June 1861.
31. Cincinnati Daily Gazette 15 June 1861.
32. Chardon Ohio Jeffersonian Weekly Democrat, 28 June 1861.
33. Allison, G. C. (Ed.). 19th Century Voices of Trumbull County, Ohio. Warren OH: Trumbull County Genealogical Society, p. 213-214. 1990.
34. Kemper, p. 36.
35. Wallace, pp. 15-25.
36. O.R. Series 1, Volume 1, page 431.
37. Johnson, P. D. Civil War Cartridge Boxes of the Union Infantryman. Lincoln RI: Mowbray Pubs. pp. 35-47, 261-267. 1998.
38. Helmick, N. D. 22 Aug. 1862. Original document. WV Archive.
39. Whaley, K. 19 Nov. 1861. 9th West Virginia Infantry files. WV Archive.
40. Bilbi, J. Civil War Firearms. New York: Combined Books. p. 54.
41. Whaley, Nov. 1861.
42. Geiger, pp. 46-47.
43. Capt. Hole, 22 May 1862. Original document. WV Archives.
44. Lightburn, 16 Jan. 1862.
45. Lovell, R. C. 31 July 1862. Original document. WV Archives.
46. Ohio Adjutant General's Letters. 1861 Series 147, 9:123, 14 Sept. 1861. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Archives.
47. Ibid, p. 43.
48. Lightburn, 16 Jan. 1862.
49. Kemper, p. 40.
50. Johnson, pp. 28-29, 102.
51. Ibid, pp. 28, 40.
52. Ibid, pp. 261, 266.
53. Ibid. Page 43.
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