Johnny Reb
Johnny Reb had to be more resourceful than his northern counterpart when it came to the basic necessities of fighting a war. Most Confederate uniforms and accoutrements were issued by the state militias, or were homespun outfits that the soldiers put together. The government issued some equipment, but it lacked the capability to provide standardized equipment on a regular basis. |
 Private from the 8th Louisiana Regiment. |
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Uniforms that were issued by the
Confederate army had buttons embossed with the branch of service the soldier belonged
to... a plain block "I" for Infantry, "C" for Cavalry,
"A" for Artillery and "R" for Riflemen. Waist
belt and
cartridge box plates would occasionally have the letters CS embossed similar to the US army
issue. |
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| Southern state militia
uniforms sometimes had the state seal embossed on the buttons, belt buckle, breast plate
and cartridge box plate, just like their Union counterpart. However, most uniform accoutrements were without identifiable markings or would only have the state seal on the buttons. Note: Some of the waist belt and cartridge box plates would also have the initials of the state, such as "SC", for the state of South Carolina or "AVC" for Alabama Volunteer Corps. |
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Volunteers (on both sides)
were known to wear their school uniforms throughout the war. The Virginia Military Institute contributed many fine soldiers who proudly wore the school emblem into battle. Even Stonewall Jackson, who had been an instructor at V.M.I., went to war wearing his professors uniform. The button on the left was found just ten feet south from Little River Turnpike at the intersection of West Ox Road. |
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| Buttons with a variety of different flower designs were commonly used in homespun outfits. Plain brass flat buttons and buttons depicting hunting scenes were also used. |
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