When war broke out in 1861, the Revolutionary War, America's War of Independence, was but a a couple of generations past. It had been less than 80 years since, and there were still a few veterans and civilians around who had fought and lived through that conflict....
America's army, from the 1700s on, was made primarily of localized State militias. These men, and in some cases women, would turn out as a group to drill on a monthly basis, wearing privately purchased uniforms, and carrying older model muskets that were supplied either by the State they resided in, or in some cases, a firearm that you brought from home. Some militia units were more equal than others. If you were from an area that didn't have a lot of money, you probably showed up in your work clothes or a "uniform" sewn together by your wife. If you were wealthy, you had that fancy tailored outfit, purchased at your own expense, the militia company being the likely the social ladder on which you climbed into the upper echelons of polite society. Some companies of militia were serious, some were rich boys playing soldier. There were militia companies across every State in the years before the Civil war, from California to New York, Michigan to Texas and across New England and the South.
These private militia companies had great levity in designing their uniforms. Militias from poor regions usually showed up in what they had, whereas those with means had uniforms cut from the finest cloth, usually at great expense. A popular choice was something that resembled uniforms worn during the American Revolution. These "outfits" appeared in the deep South and the far North, from Louisiana to New York and points in between. The Putnam Phalanx in Connecticut, the Union Continentals and the Continental Guard in New York, the New Orleans Continental Guard in Louisiana, and the Continental Morgan Guard in Virginia. These are but a few examples, there were many more who wore some sort of uniform resembling what soldiers of the American Revolution wore. Many were based on an 1850s and 1860s version of what a Continental soldier's uniform would look like, and was heavily influenced by the illustrations in Benjamin Lossing's Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution published in 1851. Not exact in its artistic portrayal of Revolutionary War uniforms...but close enough for mid-19th century militia companies to design their martial threads.
The vast majority of these later-day Continental soldiers never really left the comfort of their town or city. These units by and large would never see the horrors of a Civil War battlefield, but instead guarded the home front. But one company actually fought in their Revolutionary War inspired uniforms, taking the field for the first large scale battle of the Civil War, they were the Continental Morgan Guard, otherwise known as Company K, 5th Virginia Regiment of Infantry, a part of the legendary "Stonewall Brigade", garnered after the battle for standing their ground. Originally known as The Virginia First Brigade under General Thomas Jackson, it consisted of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 27th and 33rd Virginia Infantry Regiments as well as a battery of the 1st Rockbridge Artillery...for support. Most of their armament was a hodgepodge of muskets garnered from the Harper's Ferry Arsenal, M.1855 rifled muskets, flintlocks, as well as smaller sized muskets intended for young cadets at the Virginia Military Institute or V.M.I. where Jackson was an instructor. . Confederate and Union soldiers wore a variety of uniforms at the 1st Battle of Manassas/Bull Run, from colorful over-shirts of red, to dark blue frock coats and trousers, to grey militia uniforms, to colorful Zouave outfits that were popular with many militia companies, both North and South. It was the first major land war within the confines of the United States since the British invaded during the War of 1812, and every soldier wanted to show off for what they thought would be a short affair. It would appear that out of all the units and companies fighting that battle, only this one company wore a continental or revolutionary style uniform, complete with a proper cocked (or tricorne) hat.
This was a dressy uniform...of course. Whether they took the field in this uniform or one that was more utilitarian might be debated, but more than likely, this was the one uniform they had as members of the Continental Morgan Guard, and this is how they appeared on that day in early July of 1861. Once the realities of a protracted war set in, the fanciful uniform went by the wayside and more practical clothing, like "shell jackets" and "sack coats", became the norm...
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New York
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