Confederate tartan question

[gilmore]

<<<I've been reading CW history since I was a wee lad, and I've never come across any mention of kilted Confederates in the field during the war. However, the south in particular went in for elaborately uniformed militia companies in the years prior to the war. These units no longer functioned as actual militia, but had become more along the line of gentlemen's clubs, who tried to out-do each other in the area of uniforms and extravagant picnics! It wouldn't surprise me at all if kilts appeared in some of these militia groups.>>>


That would make sense, if the vogue for Scottish dress that had started early in the 19th Century in the UK had made inroads into the notions of Southern sartorial splendor. There were certainly enough Southern gentlemen of Scots descent, and many, like their British counterparts, were probably far enough removed from their humble Scottish origins to have developed a nostalgia for it, rather than being embarassed by it. As Mark Twain and others observed, the romaticism of the novels of Sir Walter Scott had a lot to do with Southern readiness to secede and fight.

[Andrew Green]

I thought that NY had a kilted regiment, that fought at the first battle of Bull Run/Manassas?

[Oatmeal Savage]

I suggest checking:

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/index.php

The folks there are very knowledgeable.

Kevin

[michael steinrok]

I thought that NY had a kilted regiment, that fought at the first battle of Bull Run/Manassas?

I think it was the 79th New York. They wore the Cameron Tartan on parade. Sadly, it appears it was never worn in combat.

[Woodsheal]

I think it was the 79th New York. They wore the Cameron Tartan on parade. Sadly, it appears it was never worn in combat.

Correct. The 79th took the field in standard Federal uniform, though one or two officers may have worn tartan trews early on....

[macwilkin]

Some scholars suggest that the 79th did wear trews (Cameron of Erracht) in the field, but not kilts.

This is very interesting about the 23rd NC. I think Matt and Woodsheal's post are "spot on" in this thread. If there were any Kilted Southern units, they were most likely militia units, which were, as Woodsheal mentioned, "chum-and-chowder" societies. Also, to follow-up on Gilmore's comments, there were several militia units throughout the South which had British and/or Scottish names, with expats serving in them, not to mention other expats serving in other units -- the most famous being the Scot William Watson, who served in the 3rd Louisiana Infantry Regiment at "my" battlefield, Wilson's Creek.

When I'm out at the park next week, I'll see if we have anything on the 23rd that might shed some light on this -- unit history, etc. I would also contact Gettysburg directly and see what information they have on the coat and the 23rd.

Now I'm off to the STA to look it up! :mrgreen:

Thanks, Gilmore, for bringing this little historical tidbit up!

T.