In the naval service, uniforms are both a formalized sign of rank and position, as well as utilitarian. Uniforms sailors wore daily typically helped them in the performance of their duties, whether it was a kerchief that could be used as an impromptu tourniquet, or open-legged pantaloons that allowed for free movement across a crowded and swaying deck. During the Civil War, the U.S. Navy had the benefit of decades of activity to tailor their uniforms appropriately. The Confederacy, though creating a naval service along with a country, reflected those decades of knowledge within their own uniform regulations, which often mimicked their Union counterparts.
Documentation of naval regulation for the U.S. is fairly widespread, as the organization published, and continues to publish extensively. The Confederate Navy however, existed for only a few years and, as a result, publications of Confederate naval regulations are more limited. Regarding uniform regulations and requirements, the Confederate Navy issued a circular at the start of the war outlining the look, presentation, and appearance of its uniforms. Though finding original copies of these regulations is nearly impossible, more recent reprints are available online. In 1960, Richard Harwell edited and reprinted the Uniform and Dress of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States of America (click here to download). This small book contains the uniform regulations of both services, and even within this, there are only two pages of text devoted to the Confederate Navy.
These Confederate naval uniform regulations are almost wholly devoted to the appearance of uniforms for commissioned and warrant officers. Famously, Confederate naval officers were prescribed to wear “a frock coat of steel gray cloth,” something many officers resented because it went away from the traditional navy blue coats most sea officers worldwide wore at the time (p 59). Special notations and distinctions were made for officers’ coats, hats, vests, and pants, as well as specifics for buttons and less frequently worn garments. Though most of these regulations focused on officers, paragraphs also exist covering the uniform requirements of petty officers and lower ranking crewmembers, including “gray cloth jackets and trousers” to match those of their commanders (p 60).
Besides printing the specific text of these uniform regulations, Harwell’s work also includes imagery plates showcasing what these uniforms would look like, with special plates devoted to badges of rank worn on shoulders, caps, and cuffs. Several of these images appear in vibrant color as well. Though wartime shortages often meant that naval officers improvised with uniforms, in general Confederate sailors were more uniformly clothed than their army counterparts, especially sailors who found service abroad on the Confederacy’s numerous commerce raiders.
To learn more about how Union Civil War sailors were uniformed, read Ron Field’s article “Clothing the Bluejacket: Enlisted Men—Part II” in the Winter 2021 issue of Civil War Navy—The Magazine.
Uniform and Dress of the Navy of the Confederate States.
In: Richard Harwell. Uniform and Dress of the Army and
Navy of the Confederate States of America
(Philadelphia, PA: Ray Riling, 1960), p 61.
Ron Field’s article “Clothing the Bluejacket:
Enlisted Men—Part II” in the Winter 2021 issue
of Civil War Navy—The Magazine.