American Civil War

[BoldHighlander]

I'm hoping you caught the wink : D

Yep (just having a wicked chuckle)

[O'Neille]

Thank you everyone for putting up with my overkill of information and indulging in my 79th New York Passion!

I hope this information is enjoyed!

Rachel Ford

Thanks, and glad you did come out for some air. Great pictures and information. Do you have any pics of reproduction gear being worn? It looks like a great piece of work too.

[SFCRick]

Very interesting, and great photos

[macwilkin]

In the Son's of Confederate Veterans we refer to it as "The War Between The States" (WBTS) though a few refer to it as the War of Northern Aggression.

There's many more, just depends which side of the fence you are.

[Mod's hat off]

In the Sons of Union Veterans we refer to it as a sad part of our nations history where blue & grey became blood red. They are united now in death and courage.

T.

[Jerry]

I love reading about the war. I am lucky enough to live right in the middle of some of the battlefields. Petersburg is only about 25 minutes away, Five Forks is about 15, and I can walk to the route of Lee's retreat to Appomattox. There is a field within 300 yards of my home where relics are often unearthed. Although, I am relatively sure that there have to be at least Minnieballs on my property, I have yet to unearth any.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

As luck would have it, I recently completed a kilt for a 79th New York Cameronian reenactor. I call it a kilt "made in the style of" the 79th kilts, rather than an exact replica, for a few reasons (which I went over with the client for whom I was making this kilt).

First, here are the pics:




I used as my model the 79th kilt pictured and documented in Bob Martin's All About Your Kilt. The original 79th kilts, according to that source, differed from typical kilts of the era because they were made not by Scottish kiltmakers, but by New York dress makers. For this reason, they were machine sewn throughout. They each contained exactly 6 yards of cloth, he reports, regardless of size. They were box pleated. The one he pictures contained 12 pleats. They were pleated neither to stripe nor to sett. They were closed with a single strap and buckle on each hip, with the left one on the inside of the kilt (as I make all my kilts standard).

I made mine in this style as much as I could. Here are the differences. First, I used the Cameron of Erracht tartan that was standardly available. I could have had a length woven to mimic the sett size of the original 79th kilts, but the client said not to bother with that, so I used Lochcarron's 16 oz cloth instead. As I told him, I'm a kilt maker, not a New York dress maker, so I hand stitched all the pleats, as I normally do. However, as a nod to the machine stitching of the original kilts, I did machine stitch the fringe along the apron edge.

Notice that I pleated to no pattern. I only used 4 yards in this kilt, rather than 6 (there was a budget to be considered), but I was still able to get 11 pleats -- very close to the 12 pleats in the model I was going by. I used leather straps rather than cloth straps, as on the original. And I gave the kilt a matching tartan waistband rather than a solid band, which the originals had. According to my client, the top part of the kilt would not be visible when worn, so he was not concerned with that.

So, working within my limitations only having a photograph and written description of the original to go by, and his budget limitations, what we have is a pretty good kilt "in the style of" the original 79th. As he puts it, all the other reenactors in his group are wearing modern day military kilts in Cameron of Erracht, so he's very excited about having something much more historically accurate than what's currently being displayed.

It was a neat project to work on!

Aye,
Matt

[Mike1]

OH! By the way. Its the American Civil War, not The War of Northern Aggression.

Correct.

I suppose I could have looked at the original title of this thread as being political in nature and simply removed the thread. I decided to edit the title, instead. However, if any more of that sentiment carries beyond this post, I'll certainly be more than willing to revert back to option number one.

Smile everyone, it's Friday.

[Freedomlover]

Edited by me.

[BoldHighlander]

As luck would have it, I recently completed a kilt for a 79th New York Cameronian reenactor. I call it a kilt "made in the style of" the 79th kilts, rather than an exact replica, for a few reasons (which I went over with the client for whom I was making this kilt).

Very nice job Matt!
I'm curious if the original kilts had a higher rise than what is the norm today?

And allow me to say that during the war, both sides had more than a dozen names for the conflict in the media etc of the day. That's what I meant. 'Nuff said.

[79thReproductions]

Thanks, and glad you did come out for some air. Great pictures and information. Do you have any pics of reproduction gear being worn? It looks like a great piece of work too.

I can work on pictures of a jacket being worn for you! It will be a few days though.

Higher Rise? Yes, they were pretty tall! I really wish I could post pictures of an original kilt, its very beautiful! Matt, I am hoping to slow down my jackets and count my pennies for one of your kilts! I have talking about it for a good year now and am still working on other things!

Here is a description of the only remaining 79th kilt from the New York Historical Society:

Overall: 2 x 26 x 27 in. ( 5.1 x 66 x 68.6 cm )

Wool, cotton, metal

Place made: U.S.A.
Probably: New York

Red and green plaid wool pleated kilt; right side closure with metal buckle, double-tongued chape; fringe along the right side open edge; buckle on the inside to fasten to strap, waist lined with twill-weave cotton.

Inventory Number: Z.3079

Classification: MILITARY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT: UNIFORM

Curatorial Remarks:
This kilt is from a uniform worn by a member of the 79th New York State Militia Highlanders, called the Cameron Highlanders after the Scottish regiment. Many of its ante-bellum members were Scottish. They wore the kilt in violation of New York State militia regulations and were reprimanded at their first parade, bu continued the practice. After Bull Run, they retained the Scottish cut jacket but wore regulation blue trousers. Officers continued to wear kilts for parades.