BACKGROUND
The Independent Rifles and The Battle of Franklin Trust, supported by the Liberty Rifles, are hosting a living history program at Carnton in Franklin, Tennessee. We will portray the 3rd Mississippi Infantry at the Battle of Franklin in 1864. We will recreate the 3rd Mississippi to full scale, matching their roster and company sizes at the time of the battle. This event will adhere to STRICT authenticity standards including, but not limited to impression, kit, age, weight, and attitude. All participants are expected to look and act like 1864 soldiers from the Army of Tennessee. This event will spare no details and take no shortcuts. Field officers will be mounted, field music will regulate all activities, wagons will come and go, and so on.
FUNDRAISING
We are strongly encouraging participants to solicit their neighbors, family, coworkers, etc., for donations that we will forward to The Battle of Franklin Trust as a group fundraising effort. We also have included a built in donation as part of the registration fee. More details on how to donate will be forthcoming.
UNIT HISTORY
The 3rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment was organized in 1861 and composed of men from several central Mississippi counties, as well as from men from along the coast. The regiment served primarily in coastal defenses until it was sent to Vicksburg in 1862. After the fall of the city the regiment was stationed in Alabama until joining the Army of Tennessee in Georgia in 1864. Heavily engaged and battered in the battles around Atlanta, the 3rd Mississippi would field only 140 men at Franklin later that year.
Company A – Live Oak Rifles (Jackson County)
Company B – Sunflower Dispersers (Sunflower County)
Company C – Downing Rifles (Hinds County)
Company D – Chunkey Heroes (Newton County)
Company E – Biloxi Rifles (Harrison County)
Company F – Shieldsboro Rifles (Hancock County)
Company G – Gainesville Volunteers (Hancock County)
Company H – Dahlgren Guards (Harrison County)
Company I – Yazoo Rebels (Yazoo County)
Company K – McWillie Blues (Copiah County)
IMPRESSION GUIDELINES
“Many without shoes and nobody has an overcoat.”
– Lieutenant Lott M. Sones, Adjutant, 3rd Mississippi, November 18, 1864.
The Quartermaster and Ordnance requisitions and receipts for the 4th Quarter of 1864 show the expected, albeit incomplete, issues of clothing and equipment being distributed to the Army of Tennessee, then in northern Alabama, as it prepared for the campaign into Tennessee. It is likely that the men of the 3rd Mississippi were clothed in a mix of older uniforms that they had been provided earlier in the Fall while in Georgia, as well as newer clothing provided in Alabama that would have only seen less than ten days of active campaigning by the time of the Battle of Franklin.
The idea behind these impression guidelines is to create a best guess through research and an understanding of the workings of the Confederate Quartermaster and Ordnance Departments in the Western Theater. Our goal will be to create a regimental impression. This means some degree of matching patterns of haversacks, or matching canteen types, or matching knapsack types is most appropriate. The idea is to replicate the look of a regiment that was being issued clothing and equipment from the national government. We're not definitively saying that the 3rd Mississippi only had X, Y or Z, but what we are saying is that, a Confederate regiment in this context during this period of the war, didn't have 50 different unique haversacks, and 50 different jackets made of 50 different fabrics, etc. All reproductions must be high quality, utilizing correct patterns and appropriate materials.
JACKET
Columbus Depot jackets copied from any of the numerous surviving original examples, made of grey or brownish grey wool and cotton jeans and lined in osnaburg.
Montgomery Depot jackets copied from any of the numerous surviving original examples, typically made of coarse undyed grey jeans and lined in osnaburg.
Augusta Depot jackets copied from any of the numerous surviving original examples, made of blue-grey wool and white wool plains, and lined in osnaburg. As great reproductions of this fabric have been made by both County Cloth and B&B Tart, please avoid subpar reproductions made of jeans and various modern tweeds and upholstery fabrics.
A drab or undyed military jacket copied from an original with AoT provenance, such as the example taken from stocks in Atlanta by an Iowan and sent home.
*Miscellaneous uniforms, “commutation jackets,” citizen’s coats, and uniforms with linings other than plain white cotton osnaburg are unacceptable without prior approval.
Columbus Depot jackets exhibit 5 to 7 button fronts, many have exterior pockets, and multiple surviving examples include machine sewing.
A number of simple, undyed wool and cotton jeans jackets with provenance to Georgia in the last half of the war survive, such as this one taken in Atlanta and sent home by a soldier from Iowa.
Likely a product of the Army’s clothing factory in Montgomery, Alabama near the end of the war, jackets like this example were likely provided to the Army of Tennessee while in Alabama prior to the beginning of the campaign into Tennessee.
A blue-grey and white wool plains fabric was utilized in many of the jackets produced in Augusta and provided to the Army of Tennessee in late 1864, with one example worn at Franklin surviving.
Pants
Military-style pants made from grey or brown jeans, ideally copied from a pair with provenance to the Army of Tennessee.
*U.S. Army pants and pants made of oddball fabrics are unacceptable.
Shirt
Government issue shirt made of cotton osnaburg or blue and white hickory.
Citizen's shirts. We're trying to limit the number of "homespun" check shirts, not because they're wrong, just very over represented in our opinion. So if you have a nice cotton print shirt, or plain cotton or wool citizen's shirt, go with that over the homespun.
A typical pair of pants produced by the Confederate Quartermaster Department and worn by a soldier in the Army of Tennessee in 1864. Courtesy of the American Civil War Museum, Richmond, VA.
An original government issue cotton shirt.
Drawers
Cotton government issue drawers
Citizen’s cotton or wool drawers.
Headgear
Citizen’s “slouch” hats, imported black British hats, and other C.S. issue hats are all acceptable.
Columbus Depot kepi or Montgomery Depot kepi.
*Please avoid oddball hats, shapeless hat blanks, forage caps, US dress hats, wheel hats, kepis made of material other than plain grey cloth, kepis with fuzzy leather brims, and Richmond kepis. Just wear a good citizen’s slouch hat if you do not have an appropriate Columbus or Montgomery kepi.
Columbus caps are notable for their lack of a separate bottom band piece, machine bound oilcloth covered visor, oilcloth sweatband, and plain osnaburg lining. Courtesy of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
Worn at Franklin, this kepi is possibly an example of the type produced in Montgomery and provided to the Army of Tennessee in the weeks prior to the battle.
Footwear
Domestic or imported military shoes.
Citizen’s shoes or boots.
Federal Bootees if that is all you have.
*If you have a pair of wrecked shoes, feel free to wear them.
Canteen
Plain tin drum canteen on a cotton or leather sling.
Wood “Gardner” pattern canteens.
Confederate arsenal refurbished and reissued U.S. Army canteens.
Socks
Confederate issue socks, ideally made from white cotton or wool.
*Please avoid outlandish colors and patterns. Rag wool socks are unacceptable.
Haversack
White cotton osnaburg or enameled cloth haversacks copied from an original with Army of Tennessee provenance.
Plain government issue haversacks copied from a surviving original.
*This is an easy way to create some uniformity within a company. Simple cotton haversacks such as the "Moses Alexander," "Henry Neal," or “Atlanta” bags are great options. Haversacks made of carpet, tapestry, ticking, etc., are unacceptable.
Knapsack
None.
“Knapsack with straps” –the common design of Confederate knapsack today often called the “Kibler” or “Mexican War” knapsack.
Imported British “Isaac and Campbell” or “Ross and Co.” knapsack.
*If you don't have one of the appropriate types of knapsack, go with a blanket roll.
A government issue haversack used by a soldier in the Army of Tennessee in 1864. Courtesy of the American Civil War Museum, Richmond, VA.
A typical Confederate “knapsack, with straps” as produced by arsenals and contractors throughout the Confederacy.
Blankets
Imported British blankets in blue-grey and white.
Other Confederate issue blankets, Mississippi state issue double blankets, citizen’s blankets and coverlets, and U.S. Army blankets are acceptable.
*Old timey grandma quilts, Woolrich blankets, and surplus blankets are unacceptable.
Ground Cloths
Confederate issue painted canvas ground cloths, typically 6’ long and around 3’ wide, are acceptable. U.S. Army gum blankets are also acceptable. Painted floorcloths and other oddball waterproof covers should be avoided.
Overcoats
None.
Arms
P-1853 Enfield Rifle Musket.
Austrian Lorenz Rifle Musket.
*All arms must be clean, oiled, and in excellent working order.
A set of infantry accoutrements produced in Atlanta prior to the fall of the city.
Accoutrements
Domestically made Confederate issue cartridge boxes, cap boxes, belts, and scabbards with 1864 Army of Tennessee provenance are preferred. Plain roller buckle, frame buckle, and cast CSA buckle belts are encouraged.
Imported British cartridge boxes, cap pouches, and scabbards.
U.S. Army accoutrements.
*Cheap sutler row accoutrements with big white nylon stitches are unacceptable.
Mess Equipment
The 3rd Mississippi was provided with complete sets of mess equipment for each company, to include cast iron skillets with lids and camp kettles. Each company will be expected to bring a set of original cast iron skillets with lids and kettles. For additional information on Confederate mess equipment and how to identify period cast iron, see: Biscuit Bakers and Camp Kettles: Notes on Confederate Mess Equipment.
Additional Items
Any personal items must be original or accurate reproductions of period items. “Old timey” jugs, Mason jars, or other items are prohibited. Cell phones, modern tobacco, lighters, ragg wool gloves and socks, or any other anachronistic items are wholly unacceptable.
We are placing high expectations for personal appearance and behavior upon the participants of The Battle of Franklin 160th Anniversary Living History Program. Modern haircuts, ponytails, modern underwear, modern socks, modern glasses, and inauthentic or inappropriate kit, etc., are unacceptable. As rations will be issued and all participants are expected to arrive with an empty haversack and not bring any food of their own into the event.
