The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-05-12
ORIGIN OF CONTINENTAL UNIFORM.
Interesting Letter From Librarian Of Congress
TO Hon Joseph NJ. Morehead.

Hon. Joseph M. Morehead, President of
the Guilford Battle Ground Company
writes to the News and Observer that he
has received letter from the Librarian
of Congress containing the following in
teresting information:
s'The poverty of the country and the diff
ficulty of procuring supplies from abroad
were such that it was not till 1882, after
the conclusion of the French alliance,
that the army was completely uniformed
and armed. AS the army now stands,
said General Knox in 1916, it is only re
ceptacle for 1agamuffins.' Even the high
er officers were so poorly supplied with
uniform that a general order, dated Will
liamsburg, May 3, 1776, says: 1t was es-
tablshea by General Washington as a
mark of distinction, that the general of
ficers, aidesde-camp, and brigade majors
might be known to the soldiers. that a
major general should wear a purple or
blue ribbon, a brigadier a pink or light
red, the staff and adjutant general
green etc. The COMMUNICATIVE Chief was
distinguished by light blue ribbon worn
across his breast, between his coat and
wastcoat, and another order provided
that the field officers may have red or
pink colored cockades III their hats. the
captains yellow or buff, and the subal-
terms green. They are to furnish them
selves accordingly The sergeants may be
distinguished by an epaulette or stripe OF
ID olnfh ba1t .lobf ehnnldaT..
the corporals by one Of green. Washing
toms own costume of blue and buff, much
like that of the Royal Regiment of Will
liam III, was adopted by him after he
took command of the army at Cambridge.
The uniforms of the Virginia regiment
of foot commanded by Colonel George
Washington in the wars of 1868 was
blue and buff says Col A. B. Gardiner,
and this was also the uniform of the first
armed associates at, Alexandria. of which
he acted as colonel ex-officio in 1775.' His
portrait painted at Mount Vernon in 1872,
however, by Colonel c. w. Peale, repre-
sents him in blue coat with red facings
and with red waistcoat and breeches.'
Throughout the Revolution, however,
as during the Colonial Wars, an. endless
variety of clothing and shipments prevail
ed among the provincial troops and their
Previous to the Revolution, the
red coat Of the British army was supplied
by the English government to many of
the colonial soldiery. 4 The gradual adop-
ton of blue as the prescribed color for
coats in the Americans navy has been at
tributed to the fact that it was borrowed
from the English Wings, the Covenan-
tiers having adopted that color from the
history of the ancient Israelites, who were
enjoined to put upon the fringe of their
ribbon of blue The particular
shade of dark blue prescribed as the reg
ulation' color in the army towards the
close of the last century was known as
Dutch blue' The buff has been supposed
to have been derived originally from the
color of Holland, but its preva-
lence in the colonial ranks may more prob
ably have been due to the habit of wear
ing buckskin brooches. At Lexington,
Concord and Bunker Hill the provincial
troops were entirely without uniform and
this popularity prevailed to a greater or
less extent throughout the war, more par
ticularly as to the regiments of volunteers
or militia levies."