"ACW Buliding Colors" Topic

Would wood frame / clapboard buildings in the Cvil War period have been whitewashed or were colored paints in any common use…

Any advice greatly appreciated!

James

Buffs, white, unpainted (weathered grey), painted grey with red trim, buff with brown trim, buff with green trim, white with black trim. Residential will be plainer, typically white. Commercial can be more brilliant. Railroads tended to like buff/brown or grey/red combo.

Don't forget brick and stone buildings as well.

The the US Army 1862 Ordnance Manual has several recipies for paints, lacquers and washes. It is interesting to note that they include white, yellow, red, blue, & green washes for buildings.

The majority of US Military brick structures had window frames, doors, sashes, shutters, etc, in olive green, though some have evidence of white or black.

Wooden homes in the New England area were predominantly white with either black or green trim, although sometimes red trim was used. There were also the occasional yellow and light blue home, and sometimes red as well. A lot depended upon the finances of the owner.

Also, the interiors of casemates and hallways in fortifications were almost always painted in white to add to visibility and extend natural and artificial lighting.

respects,

According to the book Common Landscape of America, 1580 to 1845 by John R. Stilgoe, white-lead, which was first available in the early 1800's, was quickly adopted by Americans as the most proper house color. It was usually accented with window shutters and sometimes trim in green, blue or some other color. Wealthy house owners painted their entire houses white, while the less-wealthy sometimes just painted the fronts of their houses white.

By 1850 cheap, high-quality Spanish brown (which we know today as barn red) was the most common color for barns and outbuildings. It was not considered appropriate for houses unless white could not be obtained or could not be afforded. Other house colors more common in earlier eras were pumpkin yellow, olive green, gray, blue, vermilion, verdigris, chocolate brown, carmine, umber, Dutch pink, ultramarine, Naples yellow, purple red and rose pink. These were still seen on older houses or as trim colors, but according to the author, "white mattered most in the Republic—and green for shutters.

Further to the above posts, most of my buildings for ACW battles are off-white with green or red-brown trim

Wow – Awesome help everyone – thanks!!!!!

James

I believe red (or reddish brown) barns were fairly common.

Nope, ignore the above – every photograph I have seen from the period shows buildings in black, white and shades of grey.

Houdini, you made me laugh today. Thanks!