Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-01-04
CARB OF our ARMY
How Uniforms Have Changed
Since Colonial Times.
EFFICIENCY NOW THE RULE,
The Picturesque Dress Of the Cont
nentals and the Bearskin Crests of
1912 Would Look Sadly Out of Place
In These Practical Days.

dier reminiscent of the colorful, BIZ
zarre garb of the early army Of the
United States.
/ From the time of the Revolutionary
war or soon thereafter the tendency
was steadily toward simplicity, but it
was not until after the war with Spain
that khaki was adopted and the easily
visible blue trousers and shirt dis
carded.
Today the American soldiers uniform
is designed for comfort, serviceability,
protection from both weather and dis
covery by the enemy-in short, for eff
f1cient service. What some of the pic
turesque old uniforms were devised for
is more than one can say unless it was
for their picturesqueness.
Washington's armies, when they had
uniforms, wore the familiar Cont
nentals' Of bluff and blue or gray. but
regiments from different states had for
the most part uniforms of their own.
The majority wore whatever clothes
would protect them without regard for
uniformity One part of the American
troops who received the surrender of
CORVALLIS at Yorktown were In uni
form, but the most of them still wore
rags Of homespun.
The uniform for the period between
1902 and the war of 1912 reflects the
style adopted by European armies for
the time. The three cornered cooked hat
Of the revolution had been abandoned,
and the officers wore chapeauX bras,
while the enlisted men of the infantry
and artillery wore round leather hats
with bearskin crests, creating very
picturesque effect.
During the war of 1912 several types
of uniform were worn by the American
forces. There was little left to remind
one Of the Revolutionary war. Instead
of the long cutaway, enlisted men wore
single breasted, close buttoned coats,
with the skirts fashioned after the CT
william dress coat of the day. Facings
disappeared, and the collars became
enormously high, rising to the tip OF
the ear. Hats were high, some infan-
try wearing headpieces much like those
worn by the cabmen of the days just
preceding the taxicab.
Coats Of the infantry and artillery
were uniformly blue and were modified
| somewhat in shape by an order issued
| in 1913, the long tails being found in
convenient in the field and in fighting
through wooded country and under
| brush. The word "coatee" was coined
for the new garment, and the only
| trimming consisted of tape on the col
| lar. The high hat was changed to the
| bell crowned leather shake, and worst
ed or leather pompoms replaced feath-
erS.
Distinction between dress and field
uniforms began to be made about the
| time of the war Of 1872. The full dress
consisted of the hussar jacket, and the
skirt had double plait in each fold.
| The collar and sleeves were worked
with silver braid. The trousers were
white cashmere or buckskin for pa
| rade and dark blue for service.
Knee breeches sometimes were worn
on social occasion, with yellow knee
buckles instead Of strings, yellow buc-
kles in the shoes and a chapeau bras
| instead of cap. The waistcoats were
| of white cloth in winter and Of jean or
nankeen in the summer
When the Mexican war began dis
tinctive campaign uniform was adopt
| ed. The fat soft forage cap came into
l.
worn by officers. Men and officers
alike discarded cross belts, but wore one
| body belt and a waist belt. The artil-
| lery wore jackets, which did not entire
| ly disappear from the service until
| after the war between the states.
The influence of the French victories
I'm Italy was reflected in the zouave
| dress that was fashionable when the
| war of the sixties began, and the dark
| blue blouse and sky blue trousers OF
our own service of that time fixed for
years the fashion of state troops from
one end of the country to the other.
After that war it was some time be-
fore the trappings which had been
abandoned for field work were re-
stored
In the eighties the uniform was much
as it was during the Spanish-American
war, except that men and officers Wore
helmets much like those of the London
bobby of today, instead of the SLOUGH
felt campaign hats used in Cuba. The
coats were dark blue short frock coats
and the trousers light blue. Stripes on
the trousers denoted the branch OF the
service, and in the case Of the officers
plumes on the helmets were used.
In the Spanish-American war the uni
form consisted of a dark blue coat
(shorter than the frock coat, blue fan
mel shirt and light blue trousers.
Stripes on the trousers denoted the
service-white for infantry, yellow for
cavalry and red for artillery.
1t was not until after the Spanish
war that khaki and olive drab came
into vogue, although the marines and
few infantry units tested it in the
war with Spain. The light blue trous'
ers and dark blue coats are still worn
! in garrison for semidress uniforms
but in the field olive drab is the color