Dress in 1861 Gaiters: White or brown, but mostly white. They had small ties instead of buttons. There is one pair at the Smithsonian Institute to use as a reference. Pants: Contrary to popular belief, not all of the regiment had dark pants (Smith Guard). Company A, of Monroe, had light blue or sky blue pants. All other companies were in dark blue pants. Shirts: The shirts that were worn by the regiment en-masse was made of one inch square patterns of white, blue, and dark green. You apparently could wear almost any color you cared to. This was the local pattern for the work shirts of the Southeastern Michigan loggers or farmers. The shirts were made of wool/flannel material. Coats: Sack coats were of dress regulation, consisting of four buttons, and were unlined. Head Gear: Most members would be dressed in forage caps, while a few wore the dark blue woolen stocking hat with red tassel. These were known as "fez caps. Swords: N.C.O.'s wore mostly 1840 Foot Artillery or Musician swords, but soon found them impractical. Officers often wore the 1850 Foot Officer's sword or the 1860 Light Cavalry sword. Knives: Knives among the enlisted men were very common, the Bowie knife being the most prevalent. Most of the pictures of the 4th Michigan troops showed members carrying them tucked in their waistbands. Guns: Members of the 4th Michigan were armed with 1842 model Springfields, along with some Springfields made in other years, all being of .69 caliber. In early 1862, at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, the 4th Michigan troops were issued .58 caliber Springfield rifles. Shoes: Members of this regiment wore Jefferson Brogan's or half boot without laces. Pistols: Soldiers of the 4th Michigan were often photographed wearing .22 or .36 caliber pistols in the waistbands of the pants. 1861 period miniatures would be correct in having pistols with regulation holsters. After 1861, pistols would generally be worn only by the officers and N.C.O.'s. Colt and Manhattan revolvers would be among the more common pistols to be used. DRESS IN 1862 - 1865 Gaiters: By 1862, gaiters were worn less and less, usually not being replaced after they had worn out. Swords: N.C.O.'s either sent them home or conveniently discarded them as the occassion arose. Guns: .58 caliber Springfield or Enfield. Pants: The changing of the uniform happened over a period of time. As the original pants wore out, they were mostly replaced by sky blue colored trousers. By late 1862, the 4th Michigan wore a mixture of dark blue and sky blue pants. Head Gear: As the fez caps wore out, they were replaced by the standard issued forage caps [kepisl, or even by slouch hats. The Corps badge was the red Pattee' cross (the Pattee' cross pattern consisted of having the arms of the cross expand towards the ends, and flat at the outer edges). Coats: Sack coats remained virtually unchanged throughout the war. Shirts: Standard white or grey flannel material, or the old shirts were often replaced by ones sent from home. BIBLIOGRAPHY H.E. Hochradel, Centennial Adjutant 4th Michigan, 1961 Chris Warner, The American Civil War, 1977. O.S. Barlett, The Old 4th Michigan, 1988 R.L. Zimmerman, Unit Organization of The Civil War, 1982. George H. Brown, Record of the Fourth Michigan lnfanfry, 1889 Back to The Zouave Vol IV No. 4 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1990 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com