Ye Olde Military Uniforms

[Jagdraben]

My Google Fu is weak.

 

I'm attempting to find information on late-19th Century uniforms but outside of the American Civil War and the Indian Wars, I'm finding nothing. I'm looking for general information and, most importantly, illustrations (I'm a guy. Sue me). So far, I'm pretty well reduced to watching Zulu and The Last Samurai for British and Japanese uniforms, respectively. So if anyone can help me with something other than a moving picture, it would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[STRELOK]

dont they use just plain OD or grey shirts? im no expert but id say it world be easy to get it down. unless you want a helmet and gun.

[Jagdraben]

No, clearly not, and the only helmets of the period (at least in the West) were purely ceremonial.

[STRELOK]

No, clearly not, and the only helmets of the period (at least in the West) were purely ceremonial.

 

oh my apologies i really am clueless about the pre ww2 era as far as uniforms go.

 

i was thinking of stuff like this:

[mikoyan99]

Imperial Guard, Borodino, 1812:

Napoleonic British Royal Marine:

Try the Osprey books for more. If you want a rough Zulu impression, buy a modern Welsh Guard's red jacket, black trousers with red piping, pith helmet (stain with tea, from ebay) and try and get some white webbing if you can. I've nver seen an airsoft Martini Henry, but why not?

-matt

 

[rhino]

If it's any help, there's a place called Sutlers that does olde uniforms (round the era you're looking at) They're not cheap, but it might be worth asking them for some info et al.

 

my 2 cents

[demon.b]

Imperial German uniform 1842-1914

Crimean British 1854-56 Is this too early?

French uniforms 1690-1900

 

A few bits to be going on with.

 

[Marlowe]

Watch all of Sharpe. That's always a good start, and it'll explain why Sean Bean is clearly awesome.

[Jaager]

Found this whilst doing my History Coursework last year:

 

 

Danish army 1864

[Jagdraben]

Awesome! If anyone else has anything good to add, please do, but I love what you guys are putting here!

 

EDIT: Was the frock coat a strictly American thing? Because I had read that it was adopted by the Americans from the French, but I'm not seeing much of them even with the French!

[Spacemonkey]

I think they meant from the French Indian wars (Last of the Mohecans etc) from the century before.

 

Hmm.. I wonder if i can make airsoft cartridges out of any of these beauties..?

 

 

(12g for scale...) Dunno how you'd simulate the kick though. 10 shots and you want to give up...

 

Zulu war info:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p629R-whGlM

 

 

Anyhow, how about getting a Lee Enfield and making it in to a Long Lee and doing Boer War?

 

 

 

[evansy]

Watch all of Sharpe. That's always a good start, and it'll explain why Sean Bean is clearly awesome.

The only problem with doing that is you end up wanting a green jacket and sword you can skirmish with.

[Jagdraben]

I think they meant from the French Indian wars (Last of the Mohecans etc) from the century before.

 

 

Huh?

 

(12g for scale...) Dunno how you'd simulate the kick though. 10 shots and you want to give up...

 

My experience with old big-bores has been that so long as you're standing when you touch it off, you should be fine.

 

Anyhow, how about getting a Lee Enfield and making it in to a Long Lee and doing Boer War?

 

I'm not actually looking for a specific impression (although I must admit to being very attracted to doing a CSMC load-out, seen below...). I'm just looking for general information for two purposes:

 

-Invent a uniform for a steam-punk military, and;

-Come up with something for CAS. (Given that B-Western characters are acceptable, I don't see why steampunk wouldn't be.)

 

Also: CSMC Enlisted:

[Jaager]

The only problem with doing that is you end up wanting a green jacket and sword you can skirmish with.

 

or one of those multi barreled navy carbines.....

[cqbanimal]

aah... sgt major harpers wee sidearm. that would be a beast for room clearing....

you've got me thinkin...if you use a moscart as the base, with the barrels sittin in front of the moscart tubes....

hmmm.... i see a project comin up....

[Jaager]

I would like a dreyse Zundnadelgewehr. Battle of Lundby 1st July 1864, 100 prussians vs a danish column of over 200, the battle lasted 20 mins, only 3 prussians hurt and over half the danish force killed or wounded. The Prussians were able to fire a shot every 15 seconds. In total they were firing 400!! shots a minute!!!

[Jagdraben]

A rate of fire not to be exceeded by so small a force until four drunk Americans decided to blaze away with a pair of Colt's Gatling guns. Two years earlier. Unfortunately, they failed to inflict any casualties upon the enemy and all four of them became casualties themselves, due to hangovers the next morning.

 

®

[Spacemonkey]

Evansy- what's wrong with a green jacket and sword for skirmishing? Anyone got a Baker Rifle airsoft gun for sale..?

 

Jaq- I'm pretty sure the Frenchies wore something like a frock coat in the French Indian wars of the 1750s or so hence my comment..

I shoot prone with the old Sharps Target rifle and you certainly know you've fired it.. I'm not brave enough to try the Martini prone..

 

 

The Nock Volley gun used by Sgt Harper was a repro of an original owned by an old friend of my dad's, and this is what he has told me: The owner agreed to have a copy made on the proviso that he got the repro at the end of use, which he did. Obviously, he wouldn't fire the original.. It's worth noting that the actor who played Harper had a fear of guns and for most of the time he actually used a resin model except when firing. Anyhow, so they finally get this gun and decide to fire it. My dad is there and a few others of his muzzle loaders club including a rather petite old bird. Nobody wants to be the first to let rip as everyone suspects it's gonna hurt. So they handed it to the petite bird... He reckons she really leaned into it and was knocked back a bit. Either way, nobody fired it twice...

 

http://www.southessex.co.uk/weapons/nock.htm

[demon.b]

EDIT: Was the frock coat a strictly American thing? Because I had read that it was adopted by the Americans from the French, but I'm not seeing much of them even with the French!

Wikipedia- Frock coat Have you seen this?

Glossary with useful uniform info

Wearing army blue; a two hundred year tradition

 

[Jagdraben]

I've read the Wiki article on frock coats. The third bit was helpful, though. I'm just a bit confused, though: It said that the sack coat was introduced for fatigue duties. Fatigue duties being non-military in nature. So the frock coat would have been a part of the combat uniform, as well as the dress uniform?

 

I'm liking all the info on British uniforms.

 

Anyone have any good links on Confederate uniforms? Russian? Japanese? Swedish (random)?

[pjones]

Anyone have any good links on Confederate uniforms? Russian? Japanese? Swedish (random)?

 

Civil War re-enactments always have people selling very good reproductions of period uniforms. I have an excellent repro Confederate artilleryman's hat from one several years ago that was held on a relative's land. They're great fun to watch and the re-enactors are usually pretty helpful.

 

This was the first thing that popped up on Google when I typed "Confederate Army Reproductions":

 

http://www.ushist.com/wardrobe/cs_cw.htm

 

The US Civil War stuff is very well documented.

[Jagdraben]

And US Civil War re-enactors rarely come to a state where the war was never fought.

 

And I already have a uniform producer picked out. I'm just wanting more information on uniforms, both specific to the Confederacy and to the period in general.

[Cyber Soldier]

I suggest looking up info on the Franco-Prussian war 1870-71, it was the first war in which both sides used breech-loading rifles. It also had the last successful cavalry charge with Von Bredow's "Death Ride" at the Battle of Mars-la-Tour. I'm quite interested in theis war beacuse at the time Britain was very close to Prussia and her german allies politically and very nearly came in on their side which, I think, puts a whole new perspective on the first world war.

[Cyber Soldier]

Another thought occured to me, there is the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05. I did a little looking around and found some great japanese paintings of the fighting.

 

Also found some cigarette cards of different uniforms.

 

British Infantryman c1815

 

I think the key is the headwear, a shako or high helmet seems to be what really makes the look.

[Jagdraben]

I fear, good sir, that you have forgotten in your analysis the kepi and, especially in American service, the slouch hat and forage hat.

 

It seems strange to me, however, that blue seems to have been an almost universal color for military uniforms (especially tunics). I guess that it was Great Britain against the world most of the time, though.