1st Awesome Platoon

American Revolution alternative colors.

Added 2019-09-11 05:26:41 +0000 UTC

The previous post shows the most widely accepted image of what a soldier in the continental army would look like. Blue coat, with red facings.

Within the period of the Revolutionary War there seems to have been but little uniformity in the clothing, and none whatever in the colors of facings. Blue, brown, buff, white, green and scarlet facings were indiscriminately worn at pleasure, and without designation; black, white, yellow, green and blue hunting shirts were used. During the retreat of the American Army across New Jersey in 1776 the need of clothing became so great and the Army suffered so much from lack of clothing that charitably disposed citizens were requested to furnish their old and cast-off garments for the Army, and Washington distributed it before the battle of Trenton. It was impossible to import material for clothing from the mother country, and little but any, except the homespun, had been made in the Colonies. Old and cast-off clothing became, therefore, a necessity. This lack of clothing strictly uniform was not, however, so much of a hardship as would appear, for it was not a custom much at variance with the habits of life of the Continental soldiers of that time, although the conditions of actual civilized warfare were new to them. Previous to this their warfare as colonists had been principally with the Indians, and they impressed the foe not by gaudy uniforms, but by the bravery which always characterized them in their guerrilla warfare.

Green Mountain Rangers

Gunsmoke is dressed as a Green Mountain Ranger. By an act of the Provincial Congress, in 1775, the celebrated Green Mountain Boys were requested to purchase green cloth for their coats and red cloth sufficient to face them.