Fashioning a Soldier: Male Clothing, Union Volunteers, and the Adaptation of a Soldierly Image

Despite hundreds of images of Union soldiers and countless accounts by veterans of their appearance during the Civil War, little is known as to how and why the soldiers looked the way they did throughout the conflict. The generalized image that emerges from the war centers around the four-button fatigue blouse prescribed in the 1861 regulations that was issued to every Union soldier at some point during the war. In understanding the origins of the fatigue blouse\u27s design and the impact it had on the image of the ideal soldier in America through the end of the nineteenth century, greater connections can be made between the male fashions of the period and choices that soldiers made about their uniforms. By analyzing Quartermaster Department records, period photographs, letters, memoirs, and period newspapers, a cultural pattern emerges where the Union soldier based his clothing choices out of utility and comfort, but also through style considerations and changing beliefs surrounding the ideal male image. These conclusions connect to the broader literature of clothing and material culture studies in attempting to understand the cultural and social meanings behind historical garments

A phytochemical investigation of the toxic plant I̲s̲o̲c̲o̲m̲a̲ w̲r̲i̲g̲h̲t̲i̲i̲ : isolation of a series of benzofurans and steroids

Ph.D.Leon H. Zalko

“ALL inferiors are required to obey strictly…” Disciplinary Issues in the Army of the Potomac under Grant during the Overland Campaign

Between May and June 1864, the Army of the Potomac conducted yet another push toward Richmond. The intense weather, extended time under fire, and unprecedented slaughter took its toll on the rank and file. For many of the army’s best and most hardened veterans, this would be their last campaign. As their anticipation for home grew, however, their disdain for the new style of warfare grew with it. Fresh troops arrived almost daily from the cities across the north. Many of whom were conscripts or bounty men. Even the soldiers who chose not to reenlist expressed their low expectations for these men. Soon, soldiers began to become lax in their disciplinary efforts: straggling, shirking, skulking, insubordination and even the most heinous crime, desertion. This lack of discipline exasperated the army commanders, leading them to enact harsh penalties and make examples of their men. The citizens of the north saw a different and partisan picture of the army, images of Grant the Butcher, Meade the inept, and bloody losses took the place of the soldier’s story of ill-discipline and hardship. The new style of warfare that began during the Overland Campaign led to a breakdown of military discipline that infused the Army of the Potomac and left a northern populace stunned with its effects. [excerpt