"84th New York "redlegs" Gettysburg Uniforms?" Topic

This units Gettysburg outfit is somewhat debatable. Years ago I painted them for Alte Fritz using a source that claimed that the original European style had been much modified by July 1863 to mostly red trousers and kepi/forage caps! The rest of the kit was normal issue, and that some did not even have the basic red trousewrs and cap. Is there anybody who can either help confirm this or refute it?

Why did you not ask this on this topic?

TMP link

11th ACR

well the first was on what figures to use and I thought how they should be painted was a related but different topic , but what the heck I guess it could have been the same!

Well, I painted mine using the original Chasseur style with red trousers/kepis – from what I can gather, they were very fond of them and kept them as long as they could – while I suspect that all the replacement clothing issued was usual Federal style, at least for the caps they could last a lot longer than expected – as an example, the Dragoons converted to cavalry in 1861 still had some orange-trimmed gear in 1863

Nothing formal I can post, but family legend has it that the uniform was kept in service for the full three years with replacements coming from the home county. Seems reasonable, hard to be the "Red Legged Devils" is you are wearing Union blue….

As for Gettysburg, there was a painting done, by a unit veteran, showing the unit in the red trousers.

YMMV

If you go to the Wiki site, for the 84th NY or 14th Brooklyn, you will read that the City of Brooklyn maintained the "Chasseur" uniforms for the battalion for the length of their service. It may also be worth noting that the monument to the 14th at Gettysburg is shown wearing the Chasseur uniform, and the model for the statue was a member of the unit wounded at that battle.

Additionally, there were other "chasseur" and/or zouave and demi-zouave uniformed units present at Gettysburg, especially amongst the old Excelsior Brigade of 3rd Corps.

You have a rather large amount of source material available to support painting them throughout their service in the Chasseur uniform.

Respects,

They may not have had the distinctive jacket,but they clung to those red trousers till they were mustered out in 1864.

Bob