Confederate uniforms: did any of the Confederate Soldiers wear GREEN uniforms? Perhaps sharpshooters?

Question

I am thinking about those who fought around the area of Duck Hill, Mississippi.

Answer 1

the first response isn't exactly correct. many wore gray, but many wore "butternut" kinda khaki colored, and the Zoaves were downright garish, wearing red pants. some even wore blue trousers. the "Garibaldi" red war shirt and neckerchief were popular items of dress. there was a slightly green version, kind of a washed out gray-green, but that was hardly standard for any troops. There were a lot of different uniforms in the south as sponsorship came from private sources with serious regional differences. remember in those days it was a long ways from southern loisianna to northeastern virginia. and too, when the war started many men left home in their civilian clothes, and since some had been in the US army they had blue uniforms which caused some great confusion and "friendly fire" problems.

hope this helps.

Answer 2

At the beginning of the War, the American regular army was quite small. There were however, numerous state militias. These were the mainstay of the army in its first days--both North and South.

At the Battle of Manassas/Bull Run in July, considerable confusion existed once the armies met in close combat--because of the diversity of the uniforms worn by the various state militias. Most of the regular Army remained with the North and its navy blue uniforms continued as the identifying color of the regular Union army. But the state militia uniforms were mixtures of navy blue, light blue, grey, green, red--on both sides. Confederate militias tended to favor the popular grey worn in the military academies by the cadets. But the New York militia was also decked out in the same grey. The confusion proved deadly.

As a result of this confusion, the South put the Dress Regulations into effect in September, whereby all Confederate troops were to wear the grey uniforms: jackets, trousers, caps and greatcoats. Soon thereafter, the New York militia felt compelled to re-uniform itself with the navy blue colors of the North's regular army.

In time, light-blue trousers began to replace the navy blue trousers of the Union army--fairly widely so, although the superior officers tended to stay with the all-navy uniform. At the same time these same light-blue trousers made their way into the Confederate armies as the Confederate soldier's trousers wore out and the only available replacements were those seized in a raid on Union supplies--or even, when things got truly desperate, those stripped off dead Union troops.

Indeed, the problem of resupplying new or replacement clothing became critical to the South. The blockade had deprived it of imported cloth--a major problem for a society that produced enormous amount of cotton, but principally for export to clothing mills found in the North or in England. Homespun uniforms, dyed with rust or acorn juices to an earth-colored tan or "butternut," thus rather rapidly replaced the imported grey cloth worn by the Confederate soldier in the early years of the war. Indeed, by the end of the war, any clothing that was still fit to wear became the "uniform" of the Confederate soldier.

Answer 3

Early in the war, many uniforms were issued by state militias or local communities. Many were also sewn and provided by local wives and daughters. It is entirely possible that some of these uniforms were green as they would have provided excellent camouflage in the woods.

Answer 4

I don't think so, i think they wore a grey colered suit because it worked better in dark and blended in to more of the surroundings.

Answer 5

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Confederate_Uniforms.htm

Hope this helps.