In this, the second installment of our “Civil War Fashion” photo essay series, we highlight more images of soldiers and civilians wearing snazzy clothes and accessories, carrying interesting props, and striking bold poses. (View Part 1 here.)
These members of Company B, 9th Mississippi Infantry—photographed in camp at Pensacola, Florida, in 1861—show off a variety of styles, from the plaid trousers worn by two of the men to the more formal duds donned by the volunteer second from right. (Library of Congress)
An unidentified Union soldier looks serious (if not fierce) with his pistol, knife, pocket watch, patterned handkerchief, and fur hat. (LOC)
A young Union soldier strikes a contemplative pose with an attention-grabbing, oversized pipe hanging from his mouth. (LOC)
This photo, titled “Newspaper Man of the Army of the Potomac,” shows a man wearing a civilian coat and military boots and hat. Over his shoulder is a bag full of newspapers, likely the means by which he toted his papers to army camps for sale. (The Medford Historical Society Civil War Photograph Collection)
The dour expression on the face of Private Peter S. Arthur, Company B, 11th Virginia Infantry, runs counter to his fancy uniform, which includes a large secession badge and a Virginia state seal breastplate. (LOC)
In an 1857 profile of Illinois politician Elias Smith Dennis, the New York Herald wrote, “In person he is rather tall, well made, with dark hair, and a most determined cast of countenance; he speaks but little, but is kind, though rather reserved in his manner.” In this wartime photo, in which he wears the uniform of a brigadier general, Dennis’ personal flair—a combination of rugged good looks and a penetrating stare—is on full display. (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)
Another Civil War officer with a gift for the flamboyant—as evidenced by this pose—was Irish-born Union general Thomas F. Meagher, who served as commander of the Army of the Potomac’s famed Irish Brigade. (MHS)
The personal style of this unidentified woman is on full display—both in her dress and her pose—in a photo made in Mathew Brady’s New York studio sometime during the Civil War. (NPG)
This unidentified soldier from the 79th New York Infantry dons the regiment’s Scottish-inspired uniform, including kilt, sporran, and Glengarry bonnet—to which he added a bit of extra flair in the form of a spray of flowers pinned to his jacket. The men of the 79th traded the impractical kilts for trousers early in the war. (LOC)
Two southern soldiers strike a friendly pose while wearing colorful “battle shirts,” items of clothing worn regularly by Confederates who served in the Trans-Mississippi theater. (LOC)
Mary E. Walker was a trailblazer, not only professionally—a medical school graduate, she became the first female surgeon during the Civil War, a role for which she was later awarded the Medal of Honor (which she wears in this 1865 photo)—but in her personal choice of dress, which regularly incorporated trousers, a visible display of nonconformity at the time. (LOC)
Purposefully or not, this young Confederate’s martial pose—with tough stare and sizable Bowie knife—are softened somewhat by the frilly shawl-like garment draped over his shoulders. (LOC)
