Richmond Depot The Richmond Depot , or the Richmond Clothing Bureau , was a clothing and equipment facility located in three primary facilities , in and around Richmond , Virginia , established late in 1861 , that supplied uniforms , footwear , and other equipment to the Confederate States Army , primarily the Army of Northern Virginia , and the surrounding region of the Commonwealth of Virginia . Richmond Depot uniforms were not issued to western or Deep South Confederates , such as the Army of Tennessee . History . Early in the American Civil War , the Confederate Government had relied upon the " Commutation System " , to keep its troops well supplied with clothing and equipment , but as the war dragged on into its second year of conflict , the system proved to be faulty . Early in 1862 , the Confederate Government set new guidelines and developed the " Depot system " , a series of federal government controlled facilities , that would have a steady supply of equipment to the soldiers and sailors of the Confederacy in the region of that depot . The Richmond Clothing Bureau was one of these such facilities , and was one of the more successful , keeping in operation from the early winter of 1861 / 62 , to the last days of the Confederate Army ' s control over Richmond , Virginia , in April 1865 . Produced Equipment . The Richmond depot produced several variations of jackets , trousers , and caps ; including militia styled uniforms authorized by the Confederate Government for construction and distribution . The most common items produced , are the Richmond Depot style shell jacket , the Trousers , and the Kepi . The materials used by the Richmond Depot , were produced by the Crenshaw Wool Mill , in Richmond , Virginia , near the Tredegar Iron Works , both of which were burnt down in mid - 1863 . The wool produced by this mill was a medium to bright cadet gray , often in 60 inch wide bolts , with the blankets being produced in 60 by 80 inches , probably of the same cadet gray material . Later in the war , imported dark cadet gray kersey , known as English Army cloth , was being used in the domestically produced jackets , trousers , and caps , as well as the complete uniforms brought through the blockade by companies , such as Peter Tait of Limerick , Ireland . These uniforms started to become commonplace in the Army of Northern Virginia and the rest of the Confederate Army later in the war . Battle flags were also produced by the depot from early 1862 to the end of the war in Virginia . These flags were made using captured red , blue , and white bunting stock from the captured Norfolk Naval yards . These fabrics were originally intended to be sewn into United States and other various flags . Jacket Design . The jackets produced during the war were not grouped into different types until long after the war was over , being set by modern historians . Many , if not all of the jackets were produced from the Richmond depot in a production line , with the details being omittited as time went by to save material due to war time shortages and faster completion rates . One of the parts of this ' production line ' , consisted of sewing groups , or the ladies of the towns and city , that would come to the facilities , take unfinished uniforms and bolts of cloth , and drop off the completed uniforms . Three types of Richmond Depot jackets were produced : Trouser Design . The Design of the trousers issued by the Richmond Depot , are similar in design to some prewar civilian trousers , with a back buckle and belt for adjustment to the wearer , and squared , " mule ear " pockets , some with buttons to keep the square flaps of these pockets up . The meterial used for the trousers produced used much of the same stock as the jackets did , however there are several pairs of late war trousers , produced with light or sky blue wool kersey , which by colour resemble the United States Army regulation trousers , but are not similar in construction to any pair produced in the northern U . S . held Arsenals . Battle Flag Designs . The design of the Battle flag from the Richmond depot , are similar to the specifications stated in the autumn / winter of 1861 . There are three types of Battle flags made from this depot , much like the jackets , these groups were not designated until after the war . These three primary designations had the corps traits of the A . N . V . design flags : a red back ground , a blue cross , with a white edge on the cross , and an edge border of either orange or white cloth , with twelve or thirteen stars inside the blue cross . Many of these flags were produced using the same design , but due to influences by the sewing groups making them , all of these flags are unique , some having a continuous strip of edge cloth around the flag , others had the stars on the separated part of the cross further from the center star . Several flags from this depot were made in various sizes , most were , or were close to 48 " square , while several examples show flags of smaller designs , ranging from 44 " , down to 36 " . Many of such variations can be seen in the collection held by the Museum of the Confederacy . See also . Uniform of the Confederate Army Shell jacket