". . . Throughout all this country, and in every back settlement in America, the roads and paths are first marked out by blazes on the trees, cut alternately on each side of the way, every thirty or forty yards . . . The convenience and simplicity of this mode has rendered it universal throughout the whole back country.
"It became the more readily adopted, as all who travel beyond the roads and beaten tracks, always have tomahawks in their belts; which, in such situations and circumstances, are more useful than anything, except the rifle-barreled firelocks; both of which all the male inhabitants habituate themselves constantly to carry along with them everywhere.
"Their whole dress is also very singular, and not very materially different from that of the Indians; being a hunting shirt, somewhat resembling a waggoner's frock, ornamented with a great many fringes, tied round the middle with a broad belt, much decorated also, in which is fastened a tomahawk, an instrument that serves every purpose of defense and convenience; being a hammer at one side and a sharp hatchet at the other; the shot bag and powder-horn, carved with a variety of whimsical figures and devices, hang from their necks over one shoulder; and on their heads a flapped hat, of a reddish hue, proceeding from the intensely hot beams of the sun.
"Sometimes they wear leather breeches, made of Indian dressed elk, or deer skins, but more frequently thin trowsers [sic].
"On their legs they have Indian boots, or leggings, made of coarse woolen cloth, that either are wrapped around loosely and tied with garters, or are laced upon the outside, and always come better than half way up the thigh: these are a great defence and preservative, not only against the bite of serpents and poisonous insects, but likewise against the scratches of thorns, briars, scrubby bushes and underwood, with which this whole country is infested and overspread.
"On their feet they sometimes wear pumps of their own manufacture, but generally Indian moccossons [sic], of their own construction also, which are made of strong elk's or buck's skin, dressed soft as for gloves or breeches, drawn together in regular plaits over the toe, and lacing from thence round to the fore part of the middle of the ankle [sic], without a seam in them, yet fitting close to the feet, and are indeed perfectly easy and pliant.
"Thus habited and accoutered, with his rifle upon his shoulder, or in his hand, a back-wood's man is completely equipped for visiting, courtship, travel, hunting or war.
"And according to the number and variety of the fringes on his hunting shirt, and the decorations on his powderhorn, belt and rifle, he estimates his finery, and absolutely conceives himself of equal consequence, more civilized, polite and more elegantly dressed than the most brilliant peer at St. James's in a splendid and expensive birthday suit, of the first fashion and taste, and most costly materials.
"Their hunting, or rifle shirts, they have also died [sic] in variety of colours, some yellow, others red, some brown and many wear them quite white.
"Such sentiments as those I have just exposed to notice, are neither so ridiculous nor surprising, when the circumstances are considered with due attention, that prompt the back-wood's American to such a train of thinking, and in which light it is, that he feels his own consequence, for he finds all his resources in himself.
"Thus attired and accoutered, as already described, set him in the midst of a boundless forest, a thousand miles from an inhabitant, he is by no means at a loss, nor in the smallest degree dismayed.
"With his rifle he procures his subsistence; with his tomahawk he erects his shelter, his wigwam, his house or whatever habitation he may chuse [sic] to reside in; he drinks at the crystal spring, or the nearest brook; his wants are all easily supplied, he is contented, he is happy. For felicity, beyond a doubt, consists, in a great measure, in the attainment and gratification of our desires, and the accomplishment of the utmost bounds of our wishes.
"This digression, which I thought necessary to impress an idea of the singular appearance and sentiments of these men, for that reason, I am hopeful, will be excused; and for which, I flatter myself, this will be deemed a sufficient apology."
J.F.D. Smyth, Tour In The United States of America, 1784.
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"Captain Hugh Stephenson's rendezvous was Shepherd's Town (not Martinsburg) and Captain Morgan's was Winchester. Great exertions were made by each Captain to complete his company first, that merit might be claimed on that account. Volunteers presented themselves in every direction in the vicinity of these towns, none were received but young men of character, and of sufficient property to clothe themselves completely, find their own arms, and accoutrements, that is, an approved rifle, handsome shot pouch and powder horn, blanket, knapsack, with such decent clothing as should be prescribed, but which was at first ordered to be only a hunting shirt and pantaloons, fringed on every edge and in various ways."
Major Henry Bedinger, Letter to a Son Of General Samuel Finley, Describing The Riflemen Of His Unit In 1775, written some time later.
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". . . I have had the happiness of seeing Captain Michael Cresap marching at the head of a formidable company of upwards of one hundred and thirty men, from the mountains and backwoods, painted like Indians, armed with tomahawks and rifles dressed in hunting shirts and moccasins, and though some of them had traveled near eight hundred miles, from the banks of the Ohio, they seemed to walk light and easy, and not with less spirit than at the first hour of their march. Health and vigor, after what they had undergone, declared them to be intimate with hardship and familiar with danger . . ."
Extract From a Letter To a Gentleman in Philadelphia. 1775.
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"Hundreds of backwoodsmen collected at Fredericksburg, Virginia and continued there one or two days longer should have had upwards of ten thousand men. All the frontier counties were in motion . . . Fredericksburg never was so honored with so many brave hearty men . . . every man rich and poor with their hunting shirts, belts and tomahawks fixed . . . in the best manner."
Michael Wallace, Letter to Gustavius Wallace. 1775
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An eyewitness described the southern riflemen as ". . . Not over-burdened with fat, but tall, raw-boned and sinewy."
Drury Mathis, Loyalist Captured at King's Mountain. 1780.
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"The committee appointed me captain of this company of rangers, and gave me the appointment of my subalterns. I chose two of the most active young men that I could find, who had also been long in captivity with the Indians. As we enlisted our men, we dressed them uniformly in the Indian manner, with breech-clouts, legging, mockesons [sic] and green shrouds, which we wore in the same manner that the Indians do, and nearly as the Highlanders wear their plaids. In place of hats we wore red handkerchiefs, and painted our faces red and black, like Indian warriors. I taught them the Indian discipline, as I knew of no other at that time, which would answer the purpose much better than British. We succeeded beyond expectation in defending the frontiers, and were extolled by our employers."
James Smith, Life and Travels of Colonel James Smith. 1799, describing the dress of his "Black Boys" when formed in the early 1760's.
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"The principle distinction between us, was in our dialects, our arms and our dress. Each man of the three companies bore a rifle-barreled gun, a tomahawk, or small axe, and a long knife, usually called a 'scalping knife,' which served for all purposes, in the woods. His under-dress, by no means in a military style, was covered by a deep ash-colored hunting shirt, leggins and moccasins, if the latter could be procured. It was the silly fashion of those times for the riflemen to ape the manner of savages . . .
"My wardrobe was scanty and light. It consisted of a roundabout jacket of woolen, a pair of half-worn buckskin breeches, two pairs of woolen stockings, (bought at Newburyport,) a hat with a feather, a hunting shirt, legging, a pair of mockasins [sic], a pair of tolerably good shoes, which had been closely hoarded . . .
" [George] Merchant was a tall and handsome Virginian. In a few days, he hunting-shirt and all, was sent to England, probably as a finished specimen of the riflemen of the colonies. The government there very liberally sent him home in the following year . . .
"By-and-by [Daniel] Morgan came, large, a commanding aspect, and stentorian voice. He wore legging, and a cloth in the Indian style. His thighs, which were exposed to view, appeared to have been lacerated by the thorns and bushes
"My gloves were good and well lined with fur, and my mockasins [sic] of the best kind, well stuffed . . .
"Having on a fine white blanket coat, and turning my cap or 'bonnet rouge' inside out, the inside being white, made me, as it were, invisible in the snow . . .
John Joseph Henry, An Accurate and Interesting Account of the Hardships and Sufferings of That Band of Heroes, Who Traversed Thru The Wilderness in the Campaign Against Quebec in 1775,1812. -~
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James Smith as an Indian:
"They gave me a new ruffled shirt, which I put on, also a pair of leggins done off with ribbons and beads, likewise a pair of mockasons [sic], and garters dressed with beads, porcupine-quills and red hair also a tinsel laced cappo. They again painted my head and face with various colors, and tied a bunch of red feathers to one of these locks they had left on the crown of my head, which stood up five or six inches . . .
And Smith as a returning Long Hunter:
"When I came in to the settlement my clothes were almost worn out, and the boy had nothing on him that ever was spun. He had buck-skin legging, mockasons [sic], and breech-clout a bear-skin dressed with the hair on, which he belted about him, and a raccoon-skin cap ...
"I went to a magistrate, and obtained a pass, and one of my old acquaintances made me a present of a shirt. I then cast away my old rags, and all the clothes I now had was an old beaver hat, buck-skin legging, mockasons {sic], and a new shirt; also an old blanket, which I commonly carried on my back in good weather. Being thus equipped, I marched on, with my white shirt loose, and Jamie with his bear-skin about him: myself appearing white, and Jamie very black alarmed the dogs wherever we came, so that they barked violently."
James Smith, An Account of the Remarkable Occurances in the Life and Travels of Colonel James Smith, 1799.
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"The people all travel on horseback with pistols and swords, an a large blanket folded up under their saddle, which last they use for sleeping in when obliged to pass the night in the woods.
"The moccasin is made of the skin of the deer, elk or buffalo, which is commonly dressed without the hair, and rendered of a deep brown colour by being exposed to the smoke of a wood fire. It is formed of a single piece of leather, with a seam from the toe to the instep, and another behind, similar to that in a common shoe; by means of a thong it is fastened round the instep, just under the anklebone, and is thus made to sit very close to the foot. Round that part where the foot is put in, a flap of the depth of an inch or two is left, which hangs loosely down over the string by which the moccasin is fastened; and this flap as also the seam, are tastefully ornamented with porcupine quills and beads: the flap is edged with tin or copper tags filled with scarlet hair, if the moccasin be intended for a man, and with ribbands [sic] if for a woman. An ornamented moccasin of this sort is only worn in dress, as the ornaments are expensive, and the leather soon wears out; one of the plain leather answers for ordinary use. Many of the white people on the Indian frontiers wear this kind of shoe; but a person not accustomed to walk in it, or to walk barefoot, cannot wear it abroad, on a rough road, without great inconvenience, as every unevenness of surface is felt through the leather, which is soft and pliable: in a house it is the most agreeable sort of shoe that can be imagined: Indians wear it universally.
"Above the moccasin all the Indians wear what are called leggings, which reach from the instep to the middle of the thigh. They are commonly made of blue or scarlet cloth, and are formed so as to sit close to the limbs, like the modern pantaloons; but the edges of the cloth annexed to the seam, instead of being turned in, are left on the outside, and are ornamented with beads, ribands [sic], &C., when the leggings are intended for dress. Many of the young warriors are so desirous that their leggings should fit them neatly, that they make the squaws, who are the tailors, and really very good ones, sow [sic] them tight on their limbs, so that they cannot be taken off, and they continue to wear them constantly till they are reduced to rags. The leggings are kept up by means of two strings, one on the outside of each thigh, which are fastened to a third, that is tied around the waist.
"They also wear round the waist another string, from which are suspended two little aprons, somewhat more than a foot square, one hanging down before and the other behind, and under these a piece of cloth, drawn dose up to the body between the legs, forming a sort of truss. The aprons and this piece of cloth, which are all fastened together, are called the breech cloth. The utmost ingenuity of the squaws is exerted in adorning the little aprons with beads, ribbands [sic] &C.
"The moccasins, leggings, and breech cloth constitute the whole of the dress which they wear when they enter upon a campaign, except indeed it be a girdle, from which hangs their tobacco pouch and scalping knife, &C; nor do they wear anything more when the weather is very warm; but when it is cool, or when they dress themselves to visit their friends, they put on a short shirt, loose at the neck and wrists, generally made of coarse figured cotton or calico, of some gaudy pattern, not unlike what would be used for window or bed curtains at a common inn in England. Over the shirt they wear either a blanket, large piece of broad cloth, or else a loose coat made somewhat similarly to a common riding frock; a blanket is more commonly worn than anything else. They tie one end of it round their waste [sic] with a girdle, and then drawing it over their shoulders, either fasten it across their breasts with a skewer, or hold the corners of it together, in the left hand. One would imagine that this last mode of wearing it could not but be highly inconvenient to them, as it must deprive them in a great measure of the use of one hand; yet it is the mode in which it is commonly worn, even when they are shooting in the woods; they generally, however, keep the right arm disengaged when they carry a gun, and draw the blanket over the left shoulder."
Isaac Weld, Travels Through the States Of North America, 1799.
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"You expressed apprehension that the rifle dress of General Morgan may be mistaken hereafter for a waggoner's frock, which he, perhaps, wore when on the expedition with General Braddock; there is no more resemblance between the two dresses, than between a cloak and a coat; the waggoner's frock was intended, as the present cartman's to cover and protect their other clothes, and is merely a long coarse shirt reaching below the knee; the dress of the Virginia riflemen who came to Cambridge in 1775 [among whom was Morgan] was an elegant loose dress reaching to the middle of the thigh, ornamented with fringes in various parts and meeting the pantaloons of the same material and color, fringed and ornamented in corresponding style. The officers wore the usual crimson sash over this, and around the waist, the straps, belts, etc. were black, forming, in my opinion, a very picturesque and elegant as well as useful dress. It cost a trifle; the soldier could wash it at any brook he passed; however worn and ragged and dirty his other clothing might be, when this was thrown over it, he was in elegant uniform."
John Trumbull, Personal Letter, circa 1780.
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"Leggers, leggins, or Indian spatterdashes, are usually made of frieze or other coarse woolen cloth; they should be at least three quarters wide (which is 3 x 3) then double it, and sew it together from end to end, within four, five or six inches of the outside selvages, fitting this long narrow bag to the shape of the leg; the flaps to be on the outside, which serve to wrap over the skin, or forepart of the leg, tied round under the knee, and above the ankle, with garters of the same colour; by which the legs are preserved from many fatal accidents, in marching through the woods. The Indians generally ornament the flaps with beads of various colours, as they do their moggasan [sic], for my part, I think them clumsy, and not at all military; yet I confess they are highly necessary in N. America; nevertheless, if they were made without the flap and to button the outside of the leg, in like manner as a spatterdash they would answer full as well: but this is a matter of opinion."
Captain John Knox, Historical Journal, 1757.
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"At the head of the column marched a group of woodsman, all of course, bearing rifles. Some strode on foot, but many of them, perhaps the majority, were mounted on horses that walked slowly along.
"They wore loose hunting shirts, and trousers of dressed deerskin, gayley [sic] decorated with the colored fringes so widely affected as a backwoods fashion. Their feet were clad in moccasins and on their heads were many sorts of fantastic caps of skins or of linsey-woolsey, each fashioned according the whim of its owner. Every man was girt with a leather belt from the right side of which hung a tomahawk to be used either as a hatchet or for some more violent purpose. On his left side he carried his hunting knife, a full powder horn, a leather pouch of home made bullets and another large leather pouch holding a quart or two of parched corn."
Anonymous Description of a Party of Long Hunters, 1773.
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"I am of opinion that a number of hunting-shirts, not less than ten thousand, would in a great degree remove this difficulty, in the cheapest and quickest manner. I know nothing in a speculative view, more trivial, yet which, if put in practice, would have a happier tendency to unite the men, and abolish those provincial distinctions that lead to jealousy and dissatisfaction."
George Washington, Letter to the President of Congress, 1775.
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"Hunting shirts with long breeches . . . it is a dress justly supposed to carry no small terror to the enemy who think every such person a complete marksman."
George Washington, July, 1776.
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Nicholas Cresswell recalled that his companions on a journey along the Kentucky River had not two pairs of breeches among them. "The rest wear breechclouts, leggins and hunting shirts, which have never been washed, only by the rain since they were made.
"It is a custom with our company, as soon as it begins to rain to strip naked and secure their clothes from the wet. I have attempted it twice today, but the drops of rain are disagreeable to my skin, that it obliged me to put on my shirt. " Cresswell noted that the frontier was "an asylum for rascals of all denominations."
Journal of Nicholas Cressell, 1774-1777.
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"The Indians, who have any dealings with the English or American traders, and all of them have that live in the neighborhood, and to the east of the Mississippi, and in the neighborhood of the great lakes to the north-west, have now totally laid aside the use of furs and skins in their dress, except for their shoes or moccasins, and sometimes for their legging, as they find they can exchange them to advantage for blankets and woolen cloths, &C. which they consider likewise as much more agreeable-and commodious materials for wearing apparel."
Isaac Weld, Travels Through the States of North America, 1799.
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"Our clothing was all of domestic manufacture. We had no other resource for clothing, and this, indeed, was a poor one. The crops of flax often failed, and the sheep were destroyed by the wolves. Linsey, which is made of flax and wool, the former the chain and the latter the filling, was the warmest and most substantial cloth we could make. Almost every house contained a loom, and almost every woman was a weaver.
"Every family tanned their own leather. The tan vat was a large trough sunk to the upper edge in the ground. A quantity of bark was easily obtained every spring, in clearing and fencing the land. This, after drying, was brought in and in wet days was shaved and pounded on a block of wood, with an axe or mallet. Ashes was [sic] used in place of lime for taking off the hair. Bears' oil, hog's lard and tallow, answered the place of fish oil. The leather, to be sure, was coarse; but it was substantially good. The operation of currying was performed by a drawing knife with its edge fumed, after the manner of a currying knife. The blacking for the leather was made of soot and hog's lard.
"Almost every family contained its own tailors and shoemakers. Those who could not make shoes, could make shoepacks. These, like moccasons [sic], were made of a single piece of leather with the exception of a tongue piece on the top of the foot. This was about two inches broad and circular at the lower end. To this the main piece of leather was sewed, with a gathering stitch. The seam behind was like that of a moccason [sic]. To the shoepack a sole was sometimes added. The women did the tailor work. They could all cut out and make hunting shirts, leggins and drawers."
"On the frontiers, and particularly amongst those who were much in the habit of hunting, and going on scouts and campaigns, the dress of the men was partly Indian, and partly that of civilized nations.
"The hunting shirt was universally worn. This was a kind of loose frock, reaching halfway down the thighs, with large sleeves, open before and so wide as to lap over a foot or more when belted. The cape was large, and sometimes handsomely fringed with a raveled piece of cloth of a different color from that of the hunting shirt itself. The bosom of this dress served as a wallet to hold a chunk of bread, cakes, jerk, tow for wiping the barrel of the rifle, or any other necessary for the hunter or warrior.
"The belt, which was always tied behind answered several purposes, besides that of holding the dress together. In cold weather the mittens, and sometimes the bullet-bag, occupied the front part of it. To the right side was suspended the tomahawk and to the left the scalping knife in its leather sheath. The hunting shirt was generally made of linsey, sometimes of coarse linen, and a few of dressed deer skins. These last were very cold and uncomfortable in wet weather. The shirt and jacket were of the common fashion. A pair of drawers or breeches and legging, were the dress of the thighs and legs; a pair of moccasons [sic] answered for the feet much better than shoes. These were made of dressed deer skin. They were mostly made of a single piece with a gathering seam along the top of the foot, and another from the bottom of the heel, without gathers as high as the ankle joint or a little higher. Flaps were left on each side to reach some distance up the legs. These were nicely adapted to the ankles, and, lower part of the leg by thongs of deer skin, so that no dust, gravel, or snow could get within the moccason [sic].
"The moccasons [sic] in ordinary use cost but a few hours labor to make them. This was done by an instrument denominated a moccason [sic] awl, which was made of the backspring of an old clasp knife. This awl with its buckhorn handle was an appendage of every shoe pouch strap, together with a roll of buckskin for mending the moccasons [sic]. This was the labor of almost every evening. They were sewed together and patched with deer skin thongs, or whangs, as they were commonly called.
"In cold weather the moccasons [sic] were well stuffed with deer's hair or dry leaves, so as to keep the feet comfortably warm; but in wet weather it was usually said that wearing them was 'a decent way of going barefooted,' and such was the fact, owing to the spongy texture of the leather of which they were made.
"Owing to this defective covering of the feet, more than to any other circumstance, the greater number of our hunters and warriors were afflicted with the rheumatism in their limbs. Of this disease they were all apprehensive in cold or wet weather, and therefore always slept with their feet to the fire to prevent or cure it as well as they could. This practice unquestionably had a very salutary effect, and prevented many of them from becoming confirmed cripples in early life.
"In the latter years of the Indian war our young men became more enamored of the Indian dress throughout, with the exception of the matchcoat. The drawers were laid aside and the leggins made longer, so as to reach the upper part of the thigh. The Indian breech clout was adopted. This was a piece of linen or cloth nearly a yard long, and eight or nine inches broad. This passed under the belt before and behind leaving the end for flaps hanging before and behind over the belt. The flaps were sometimes ornamented with some coarse kind of embroidery work. To the same belt which secured the breech clout, strings which supported the long leggins were attached. When this belt, as was often the case, passed over the hunting shirt the upper part of the thighs and part of the hips were naked.
"The young warrior instead of being abashed by this nudity was proud of his Indian like dress. In some few instances I have seen them go into places of public worship in this dress. Their appearance, however, did not add much to the devotion of the young ladies."
Reverend Joseph Doddridge, Notes on the Settlements and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania 1763-1783.
Mario
Topic: Period Quotes Concerning Riflemen's Attire (Read 134 times)