Joined: Nov 2002 Gender: Male Posts: 800 Location: McHenry Illinois
1830's clothing Forum « Thread Started on Jun 27, 2004, 10:54pm »
Greetings Fellow living history connoisseurs, this part of the Black Hawk War Society Message board is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and information on period clothing, as it relates to the mid 19th century.
Feel free to pass down your own experiences with sewing, patterns, vendors, shoes, shirts, pants (pantaloons), hunting apparel, buckskin, hats and whatever else you might want to talk about!
« Last Edit: Jun 27, 2004, 10:55pm by Gene Stevens »
Joined: Nov 2002 Gender: Male Posts: 800 Location: McHenry Illinois
Re: 1830's clothing Forum « Reply #1 on Jun 30, 2004, 6:44am »
This is a repeat from this board, and the BHWS main web site, but I'm repeating it here for the sake of organization;
A Primer on 1830s clothing By; Gene Stevens The early part of the 19th century (1812 to 1845) was a time of transition in America. The war of 1812 had finalized conflicts with distant neighbors over territories of the new west and manifest destiny was born , though the phrase had not been coined until about 1845 , the philosophy of manifest destiny was alive and well in America, and thusly , the newly formed nation began to forge its own ideas and culture. In a book by Author Jack Larkin, he reshapning of everyday life 1790-1840 (Harper Collins books copy right 1988)Larkin wrote; The years just around 1800 saw a sharp transformation of the silhouettes of both sexes. For men , knee breeches, long tailed coats and coked hats or low crowned, broad brimmed hats gave way to pantaloons (a close fitting garment covering the hips and legs), short ,snug, close-fitting coats and tall stove pipe hats with narrow brims. By 1815 older style clothing such as knee breeches, shoes with buckles and the wearing of wigs with large brimmed hats, became the relics of the past. Clothing took on a more simplistic styling and had the working look of sailors and laborers. Longer pants and shorter coats were a distinct reality. Womens fashions also changed, with a shift from full skirts, long sleeves and high necks (18th century styling) to a classical mode which fit the figure more closely and exposed far more of the arms and upper body. While researching my own family history some years ago, I found that I was closely related to the Curtis family ( William Wiley Curtis & Lovey (Inman) Curtis ) of Crawford County Illinois. The Curtis family was among some of the first groups of settlers to come to Illinois. Even more interesting was the fact that two very early photographs of William (Wiley) Curtis and his wife Lovey (Inman) Curtis were still in existence.
Photo; William (Wiley) Curtis1793-1869 Photo Lovey (Inman) Curtis1798-1869
Background; William and Lovey Curtis lived in Crawford County Illinois, in Kibbie, which is near present day Oblong Illinois. William was a Preacher (New Light Christian), soldier and farmer. Lovey was a housewife. Kibbie is still, by modern standards, a remote location with the exception of being located on the Embarras River and relatively close to the Wabash River. So it is probably safe to say that life in Kibbie evolved at a fairly slow rate. It is not known when these photos were taken. Judging by the approximate age of both persons, it is probably pre-civil war. And the photographic process being used in Williams picture appears to be a tin type or ambrotype process, which wasnt used until the 1850' There is one more clue, which tells us that these photos are probably a good representation of clothing for the time period covering the 1830s-1850s. That clue is the last will and testament of William Curtis to his family, in which he leaves behind very little material property. The items in the will included: A blanket, a dresser, some tools and a few dollars for his children and nothing more. So it is very probable that the clothing we are viewing here were long term possessions. This information also confirms more Jack Larkins writings, of which he writes; The families of farmers were clothed in articles of their own making, in garments of home-produced linen, wool or a combination of the two, while wealthier Americans had their clothes made of fine linens, woolen broad cloth, imported silk and cotton. Most people owned relatively few clothes, because garments were expensive. Drawing on these clues from Mr. Larkin?s work and a closer examination of the photos reveals the following; William is wearing a short close fitting coat and long pants. Under his coat he is wearing vest, white shirt and tie which appears to be a length of material tied by hand in the front. While the photo of Lovey, as presented here is of very poor quality. I have seen a cleaner copy, and the following is a description of what is found in that photo. Lovey is wearing a simple calico pattern dress, with a low -neck line. She is also wearing a bonnet. The bonnet appears to cover here entire head up to the face and ties beneath her chin.
Materials; In 1814 U.S. Businessmen, Francis Cabot Lowell and Patrick Tracey Jackson built the first textile mill in America. The mill took raw cotton and turned it into finished cloth. This innovation, along with the increase of British textile manufacturing made the available a wide range of materials. Though it must be noted that by the 1830s millions of Americans were still wearing homespun clothes made of tow-cloth (a coarse linen made of the shortest flax of fibers) and linsey-woolsey (a mix of cotton and wool). These types of homespun cloth, would have probably been more prevalent in secluded rural areas (such as Crawford County).
Black HawkWar period 1832 The hunting frock , by many historical accounts can be found in use from the time of the American revolution and up to the civil war. Many military units adopted the use of the hunting frock in many different colors. In an article written by John Lee Allaman; Uniforms and Equipment of The Black Hawk and the Mormon War (Under Western Illinois Regional Studies), Allaman states: Most volunteers (militia) undoubtedly wore the usual civilian clothes during their military service. Men in frontier Illinois often wore brown or blue jeans clothing-pants made with a flap in front, knit yarn suspenders, and sometimes a coon skin cap. They also wore heavy cowhide boots or shoes. Another important item of clothing was the fringed hunting shirt, hunting frock or wamus. People often utilized linen or cotton material, and leather skins to make to make this garment. The hunting frock closely resembled the common working frock worn by country people and laborers . Sewers sometimes made the shirt or frock as a pull over item of clothing and other times it would be open in the front and then held shut with a sash or leather belt. John Reynolds claimed that a blue linsey hunting shirt with fringe. Composed of red and other bright colors was the universal outside wear of early Illinois.
« Last Edit: Jun 30, 2004, 7:01am by Gene Stevens »
Joined: Nov 2002 Gender: Male Posts: 800 Location: McHenry Illinois
Re: 1830's clothing Forum « Reply #4 on Jan 16, 2009, 10:09pm »
Hello, welcome to the board. I highly recommend that you check out osprey books or "The Company of Military Historians" they produce sets of color plates that cover multiple periods of American uniforms.
« Last Edit: Jan 16, 2009, 10:13pm by Gene Stevens »
For some reenactors, role-playing comes to take on a ritual significance.
Joined: Apr 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 407 Location: Milwuakee, WI
Re: 1830's clothing Forum « Reply #5 on Jan 17, 2009, 11:10pm »
Grey is the traditional color of volunteer troops dating back to the American Revolution. The south was just following a trend that dates back over 80 years. As well, West Point Cadets wore grey and militias liked 'copying' popular fashions of famous armies.
For Texas, look up Uniforms of the Republic of Texas by Bruce Marshall. Much more useful than Osprey books. They generally followed US uniforms in design and look, depending if you are protraying a regular or a volunteer.
Joined: Nov 2002 Gender: Male Posts: 800 Location: McHenry Illinois
Re: 1830's clothing Forum « Reply #6 on Jan 18, 2009, 5:22pm »
Very interesting stuff! I really appreciate your postingthis here. I wish I would have known you six months ago. I just published myirst bok on the black hawk war and I could have used an artist who does historic drawings. I ended up do all of the art myself in pencil, but I think it worked well with the book and I had fun doing the pictures.
For some reenactors, role-playing comes to take on a ritual significance.
Joined: Apr 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 407 Location: Milwuakee, WI
Re: 1830's clothing Forum « Reply #7 on Jan 21, 2009, 1:06am »
I'd assume his cadet grey suit would have followed the civvie fashion of the era more than a military one if he was still waiting to get it made for him. I loosely based my own suit off what I've seen for people with a bit of wealth.
Joined: Nov 2002 Gender: Male Posts: 800 Location: McHenry Illinois
Re: 1830's clothing Forum « Reply #8 on Jan 21, 2009, 2:11pm »
Wow, this is GREAT stuff! I went digging through my library, because I knew I had a copy of this, the Osprey book is called "The Alamo 1836, Santa Anna's Texas Campaign" it is part of the Osprey Campaign Series. I suggest you pick up a copy as this issue is very detailed, I have a lot of Osprey books and some of them lack here and there, but this book is very good and I think it would help you. The ISBN is 1 84176 090 0
Joined: Nov 2002 Gender: Male Posts: 800 Location: McHenry Illinois
Re: 1830's clothing Forum « Reply #9 on Jan 21, 2009, 2:15pm »
Oh, by the way. On the two pictures you posted here, remember there are quite a few years between the civil war and the Texas War, so there may be some distinct differences in style. One thing that stands out is the necktie(s). As I heard one historian put it, "the defenders of the Alamo would have better resembled Oliver Twist than a backwoodsman. I'm sure a handful there would have been clad in buckskin, a majority were not.
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