1. The Common Civil War Soldier
The American Battlefield Trust Traveling Trunk Program
Lesson #1

2. Military Issued Hardee Hat Military Issued Mississippi Rifle & Bayonet
Military Issued Frock Coat
Military Issued Knapsack
& Blanket Roll
Military Issued
Haversack
Military Issued Canteen
Notes for the Teacher: The Library of Congress and the National Archives have an extensive photo collection that teachers can use in the classroom. All of the items are available for free.
Military Issued
Brogans/Booties
Figure 1

3. Union Jacket-AKA Sack Coat
Military issued jacket also commonly
known as a sack coat. Worn by enlisted
men and non-commissioned officers,
the jacket is unlined and made of wool.
The jacket is adorned with four brass buttons.
Notes for the Teacher: Enlisted man-a member of the armed forces below the rank of NCO.
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not earned a commission.[1][2][3] Non-commissioned officers usually obtain their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks.[4] In contrast, commissioned officers hold higher ranks than NCOs, have more legal responsibilities, are paid more, and often have more non-military training such as a university diploma. Commissioned officers usually earn their commissions without having risen through the enlisted ranks.[citation needed]
The NCO corps usually includes all grades of corporal and sergeant; in some countries, warrant officers also carry out the duties of NCOs. The naval equivalent includes some or all grades of petty officer. There are different classes of non-commissioned officer, including junior non-commissioned officers (JNCO) and senior (or staff) non-commissioned officers (SNCO).

4. Confederate Jacket Confederate jean wool jacket. This
garment would be used by enlisted
men and non-commissioned officers,
the jacket is unlined, and is adorned
with four brass buttons. Many times
the buttons were Union buttons sewn
onto the Confederate uniform.

5. Jacket’s Continued Left- Right- A well worn and lined
version of the sack coat.
The soldier's coats would
look this way after a year
or two at war.
Right-
A Confederate style
frock coat. This coat
normally consisted of
nine buttons and a split
tail like a tuxedo in the
rear. This version is kid
sized and not to scale.

6. Union & Confederate Headgear
Left: Union Forge Cap
The most common types
of hats worn by Union and
Confederate soldiers was
either a kepi or forage cap.
The forage cap, also
known as a bummer,
allowed soldiers to remove
their hat and place eggs,
hardtack and other items
into the top part of the hat
as they foraged for food on the march.
Right: Confederate Kepi
Designed by the French
Army, the kepi is a more
compact version of the
forge cap. While used
more by officers, the hat
was used by enlisted men
in the North and South.
Note the similarity to the
modern baseball cap
Union Forge Cap
Confederate Kepi

7. Headgear Continued Top Left: Union officer kepi. Bottom Left:
Union Hardee Hat-
This hat was rarely used
in battle during the war.
The tall wide brimmed
hat included a hat cord,
plume, French infantry
horn and a Jeff Davis
style hat pin.
Top Right:
A fez used by troops known
as zouaves. Zouave units
fought for the North and the
South.
Bottom Right:
Confederate officer kepi.
Notice the gold Austrian
braiding that denotes
he is an officer.

8. Shoes-Known at the time as Brogans

9. Brogans Continued Brogans were worn by men in both the North and
the South, and officers and enlisted me alike.
The shoes were fully made of leather and sometimes
included what looks to be a horseshoe on the heel. This
is known as a hell plate, it helps to reduce wear on the
heel and it also helps a soldier to dig into the ground
with their heels when going up hill.
The shoes were stiff and uncomfortable. Producers also
did not make the shoes to fit the left or right foot. These
shoes we straight cut.

10. Haversack
The Haversack is essentially a Civil War soldiers purse. The outside of the item is treated to weatherproof the Haversack, and inside the soldiers would carry personal items such as a toothbrush, prayer book, food, etc.

11. Canteen The Canteen is an essential piece of equipment for Civil
War and modern soldiers
alike.
The Civil War canteen was
normally made of metal,
with a wool cover, linen or
leather strap, and a cork to
plug the mouthpiece.

12. Coffee, Tin Cup & Hardtack
Notes for the Teacher: Hardtack is a very hard cracker that is made of flour, water, and salt. Solders would often have to smash the hardtack with the butt of their rifle or boil the hardtack to make it soft and to kill the bugs that
normally lived in the cracker.
Civil War soldiers were coffee addicts. Anytime the soldiers had a chance to brew a cup of coffee they would. Coffee was to Civil War soldiers as cigarettes were to the soldiers of World War II.

13. Image Citations
Figure 1- Private Albert H. Davis of Co. E, 9th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment in uniform, shoulder scales, and Hardee hat with Model 1841 Mississippi rifle, sword bayonet, knapsack with bedroll, canteen, and haversack. LOC
Headgear-Dirty Billy’s Hats