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Introduction to Uniforms and Clothing of Volunteer and Militia troops in the 2nd Seminole War, 1835-1842.
A few details may suffice before examining the scant evidences regarding the common dress of
the citizen soldiers of the 2nd Seminole war. The "militia" which served in the Seminole War included territorial
and state militia units, and US Army volunteer units. Among the militia's of the several states in the 1830s there were the
"common" and the "volunteer" militia. The common militia were average citizens organized into their local "beat" companies.
In contrast, the volunteer militia companies included men willing to procure the adopted uniform of an "elite" volunteer
militia company. These uniforms were often ornate, and occasionally rivaled the livery of the United States regulars
in martial splendor. Regardless, of the tens of thousands of citizen soldiers who served in the 2nd Seminole War, only a few
hundred belonged to such uniformed militia companies. The majority were from among the common militia, though some of these
procured simple uniforms for service as US volunteers in Florida.
The overwhelming majority of the troops employed in Florida between 1835-1838 were US Army volunteers.
These troops were raised within the several states following requests of their governors for units for Florida service. These
units were then raised by the governors either by voluntary enlistment or by drafts from among the militia of certain districts.
Early in the 2nd Seminole War some "volunteer militia" companies enlisted for muster into these US units, bringing with them
their distinctive dress, but the enthusiasm for the war quickly waned. By early 1836 most were simply organized from scratch
from among the common, un-uniformed, militia.
"Coarse Laborer's Clothing"
Being raised among the common militia, the volunteer units departing for Florida were
without uniforms, and indeed were often lacking in clothing suitable for active service. The first volunteer units in the
field were provided with coarse, ready-made "laborer's clothing" such as was marketed for use by slaves in the south by local
and state authorities. Among the units so outfitted were Col. Persifor Smith's Regiment of Louisiana Volunteers, 1836 who
were provided with gray suits of this description, and otherwise outfitted "head to toe" by the city of New Orleans. Major
Robertson's Augusta (Georgia) Battalion of Infantry, and Major Mark Anthony Cooper's 1st Georgia Battalion of Foot (infantry),
as well as some companies of Georgia mounted volunteers, were outfitted with coarse laborer's clothing by the state of Georgia
in early 1836 as well. Among the South Carolina volunteers, one such ill-fitting suit of ready made clothes purchased in Charleston
was described as being dove gray in color.
As an aside, a large proportion of such common slave or laborer's clothing was being produced in New England
during the 1830s. The slave population of the south was thus the first American population to benefit (if you would call it
that) from the ready-made clothing industry of the United States. As noted, the availablity of large quantities of cheap,
virtually uniform (gray, drab, etc.) clothing in the shops of the south came in handy in outfitting the volunteers dispatched
to Florida in 1836.
"Uniforms" among Volunteers & Militia in Florida.
While some units noted above recived ready made clothing, some company sized units provided themselves with
simple "uniforms" for Florida service. Some wore their fancy volunteer militia uniforms into US service. Among these
were the Irish Volunteers of Charleston, who wore their uniforms of dark drab (gray) short coats, lined with green, trousers
of the same, with a broad green stripe on each leg, and fur forage caps. They served with Col. Brisbane's South Carolina Infantry
Regiment in Florida in 1836. The Montgomery True Blues of Alabama served in Col. Chisolm's Regiment of Volunteer Infantry
in Florida. One veteran noted their impecable dress drew no little sarcasm from the balance of their regiment. Early in 1836
four companies of volunteer militia from Charleston were dispatched to aid in the defense of St. Augustine. These mounted
guard around the town in their fancy parade uniforms, but did not take the field, and returned home after the arrival of US
forces in the region.
Other units provided themselves with less ostentatious garb. The Tuscaloosa Volunteers (two companies) who
served with Col. Chisolm's Alabama Regiment in 1836 were provided with "handsome" uniforms of unknown description made by
local women before shipping to Florida. Similarly, the Edgefield Blues of Brisbane's South Carolina Regiment were outfitted
in home-made uniforms consisting of plain citizen's blue coats, decorated on the cuffs and skirts with military buttons, matching
pantaloons, and fur forage caps.
Clothing Commutation Money.
With the above exceptions, there is no evidence that miltia or volunteer troops in Florida during
the 2nd Seminole War wore uniforms of any kind. The volunteers were provided money in lieu of clothing by the US Government
to reimburse them for the purchase of suitable clothing for field service. This clothing commutation money was
generally paid to the men after their first muster in Florida, where the money could do them little good in the way of
procuring supplies. After late 1836 the army encouraged sutler's to sell plain clothing in Florida for the use of the volunteer
troops who might be in need. Whatever may have been provided from that source was likely similar to the laborer's clothing
already employed as field wear by the several units noted earlier.
...But the majority in Plain but Serviceable Citizen's Clothing.
While the above references are of interest, there is no question that "uniform" clothing was the exception
rather than the rule among the citizen soldiers of the Florida War. From the extant evidence, (principally W.W.
Smith's 1836 account) the overwhelming majority of the volunteers wore "hunter's dress, homespun, or common clothes"
into Florida service. These included "strong" garments of fustian (sturdy cotton and linen mix), and occasionally citizen's
coats "which had seen enough service [at home] to recomend them for a campaign." A description of the South Carolina officers
of 1836 noted many wore leggings, and some even "caoutchouc" or india rubber treated coats "of dingy hue and buckram starchness."
According to one veteran officer the volunteers, "nearly all wore the mocknuter, or foraging
cap," made from the fur of muskrats, rabbit, or fox. Several contemporary images of such caps may be found in the 1830s paintings
of William Sydney Mount, and a pattern is shown in the Workwoman's Guide published in 1838 and 1840 as a "gentleman's travelling
cap." This was particularly true among the South Carolina Volunteers. There is also a reference to caps among Major Cooper's
Georgians.
The Florida Territorial militia also appears to have foregone the use of uniforms for active
service. Surgeon's Steward John Bemrose of the 2nd Artillery noted that the Florida Mounted Volunteers of 1835-1836 wore plain
"planter's dress" with the swords of the officers alone distinguishing them from their men. M. Myer Cohen noted in 1836 that
the militia of St. Augustine paraded with cockades affixed to their hats. For the most part the Florida militia and US volunteer
units were raised in the settled areas of middle Florida, around Tallahassee, and in east Florida, around St. Augustine. Newspaper
advertisements of the 1830s show that both areas were well stocked with merchants wares, including ready-made clothing and
cloth of all descriptions. Nowhere has evidence been found that the "crackers" of the Florida miltia wore "frontier" or "mountain
man" dress in the Second Seminole War. Indeed, by 1840 a company of volunteer-militia, the St. Augustine Guards, was organized
at that place, possibly with a full parade uniform for parade, though they did not serve in the field against the Seminoles.
Some Contemporary Descriptions of Militia/Volunteer troops.
There are several descrptions of the dress of common militia and US volunteers
during the 1830s. The account of Brisbane's South Carolina Regiment of volunteeers is the best available regarding the dress
of volunteer troops in the 2nd Seminole War. Below are some concerning the dress of various groups of "citizen soldiers" in
active service during the 2nd Seminole War period:
Florida Mounted Volunteers, Call's Brigade, 1835-1836:
General Call arrived at Fort Drane [FL] with his forces. The West Florida horsemen were a splendid lot
of fellows. They were evidently taken from the planters and farmers. Each was armed with a rifle, their officers carrying
swords to distinguish them, being all dressed alike in plain planter's dress...[John Bemrose, p. 38]
Capt. Elmore's Columbia & Richland (South Carolina) Rifle Corps, 1836:
Wore..."the usual dress of riflemen, viz. drab frock shirts trimmed with green fringe..."
[from W.W. Smith, 1836, p. 114.]
South Carolina Volunteers (Brisbane's Regiment), February, 1836:
Of the various companies of this regiment, only two wore anything approaching a "uniform."
The Irish Volunteers ( a uniformed volunteer militia company from Charleston) wore uniforms of "similar stuff" as Elmore's
Riflemen, but of "darker hue... in close bodied short coats, lined with their favorite green, a broad stripe of which ran
along the outer seam of their trowsers." Except for that company, the volunteers were "scarcely distinguished by any difference
in their attire; all wore plain dresses and such as were best adapted to the woods and swamps."
Among these "plain" dressed companies; the "Edgefield Blues" had a "uniform dress"
of "plain blue cloth coattees, ornamented with a few brass buttons on the skirts and sleeves, and trowsers that corresponded.
the rest were clothed in woodsmen's suits, in native homespun, or in their usual home garb; almost all wore mocknutters, or
foraging caps of the fur of the muskrat, rabbit, or fox, with tassels, and pink and white cockades affixed to them." [W.W.
Smith, 1836, p. 114.]
Georgia Mounted Volunteers, Cherokee, GA, August, 1836:
...A company of Georgia Mounted Volunteers rode through this place on their way to the Cherokee Council. All
had their coats off with their muskets and cartouche boxes strung across their shoulders. Some of the men had straw hats,
some of them with white felt hats, others had old black hats on with the rim torn off, and all of them were as unshaven and
as dirty as they could well be. The officers were only distinguished by having Cherokee fringed hunting shirts on. Many of
the men were stout young fellows, and they rode on, talking, and cursing and swearing, without any kind of discipline....
Militia Muster, Clarke County, GA, June, 1839
...While the commanding officer, under whose review they were to pass, was dressed in a field officer's full
uniform of blue and silver, and mounted on a fine charger richly caparisoned; the battalion that marched before him was as
grotesque as the most ingenious caricaturist could make it. About a dozen of the whole number had muskets, some with bayonets,
some without; and these were carried in as many different ways as there were pieces. The rest of the troop, about one hundred
in number, carried sticks, umbrellas, waggoner's whips, and large planks or rails. Their dresses too, were as varied as their
arms; some wore cloth coats, others white cotton jackets, and many were in their shirt sleeves; while hats of all kinds, black,
white, and straw, broad-brimmed and narrow, made up the motley dress of this strange company; and in marching, the aim seemed
to be to make the line as irregular as possible, and cause every man to step out of time. In short they seemed to labor under
the influence of symetriphobia....
Militia Parade in Savannah, GA, ca. 1840:
...Scarcely any two men are dressed alike or took the same step, and, whenever I saw them approaching, some
with a shoe on one foot and a boot on the other, some with their guns wrong end up and others with them on their shoulders,
wearing their knapsacks bottom up and wrong side out, I could not held thinking one might suppose they were learning how to
catch up their guns and knapsacks and effect the most speedy escape in time of danger....
Arms & Accouterments.
The documentary evidence suggests that the overwhelming number of militia and volunteer
units of the 2nd Seminole War were armed with United States muskets or rifles, and corresponding accouterments. During the
1820s-1830s the bulk of the arms produced by the US Government were distributed to the various states based on the returns
of the strength of their militias. These arms were then either stored by the state or distributed to the militia units or
individuals. The larger part of these arms were made by the various government contractors, in "contract brown" finish on
the barrels, etc.
The militia of the Territory of Florida was in an un-organized condition when the 2nd Seminole
War broke out in 1835. Consequently, General Richard Kieth Call (later Territorial governor etc.) purchased a large number
of shotguns to equip the Florida mounted volunteers who subsequently engaged in the first campaign of the war in late 1835. The
South Carolina militia companies which travelled to St. Augustine to assist in the defense of that place in early 1836 did
so equipped with state arms and equipments. The majority of the "militia" units of the war served in Florida as US volunteer
troops, and were consequently equipped with weapons and accouterments from the various US arsenals.
General Winfield Scott drew arms etc. from several of these arsenals in early 1836 to equip
the US volunteers, including those at Augusta, GA and Mount Vernon, AL, etc. General Gaines drew arms from the arsenal at
Baton Rouge, LA to equip Col. Persifor Smith's Louisiana Regiment during the same period. The larger portion of these stockpiled
US arms were likely War of 1812 and earlier vintage. This accounts for the widespread find of old pattern US Army 1808 brass
oval bayonet scabbard belt plates in Florida.The arsenals drawn on for arms for the Florida War were subsequently restocked
with new made arms and accouterments while the old patterns were exhausted and worn out in Florida by "volunteers and [US
service] Indians."
When the volunteers were mustered out of service, they left their arms and accouterments
in Florida, where they were stockpiled in ordnance depots at Tampa Bay and Garey's Ferry ready for issue to new incoming volunteer
units, etc.
Camp & Garrison Equipage.
In the first months of 1836 General Scott learned that there was no legal authorization
to issue US Army tents, knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, and other camp equipage to volunteer troops. While this
had been the case during the War of 1812-1815, the law had lapsed. His complaints brought swift action, and by March he was
authorized to procure the necessary equipage for the volunteers who were being organized for Florida service. The law was
subsequently passed allowing for the issue of camp and garrison equipage to volunteer units at the same ratio as provided
for regular troops.
Unfortunately for Scott, he found that the US arsenals did not have any quantitities
of these necessary items on hand. Besides drawing upon new made items from the quartermaster department, some units
had their own haversacks made up, and procured blankets for themselves. Not until the summer of 1836 did this equipment lag
become resolved. thereafter, US volunteer units in Florida appear to have been completely outfitted with the necessary tents,
camp kettles, mess pans, spades, axes, hatchets, canteens, haversacks, and knapsacks from US Army sources.
Want to know more about how to interpret this fascinating period? Click here for our authenticity
guide page:
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| John Mitchell in typical 1830s laborer's dress, perfect for a campaign in Florida. |
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| This 1830s painting shows the typical undress of working men. |
| Library of Congress. |
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| South Carolina Mounted Men of Col. Goodwyn's Regiment at the Withlacoochee River, 1836. |
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