"georgia soil colour?" Topic

random request time …what colours of paint would be suitable for the earthworks raised across Georgia during the Atlanta campaign?

It would vary considerably from location to location, but do a Google image search for "Georgia red clay" for some images of the classic soil color.

Grew up in Georgia, that picture looks about right. Until it gets wet and soggy!

Dirt is dirt

excellent …many thanks, it may be a minor detail but I feel its important to get as much right as possible?

Delta Ceramcoat has the color "Georgia Clay."

Rust pigments over a more natural earth colour can be quite useful for this bright clay.

visited moms folks in nw Georgia, red is the word.

Dirt is dirt

No.

Only problem with using very specific earth colors on terrain- what if you want to use it for a different geographical location?

Good Ole'

Look here too:

TMP link

I will tell you..that for adding dirt to trousers, I have found that Vallejo's "orange brown' looks about right.

When I was a kid, I built a model of an Indian mound for a school project out of Georgia Clay. Thing must have weighed 90 pounds.

Georgia and Alabama have a soil color that mimics freshly deposited rust. I grew up on Redstone Arsenal in North Alabama. I remember my mother cursing before she threw away a pair of white paints on which the red clay had spattered during a storm. The stuff is infamous for perma-stains. When producing the soil color for terrain in large quantities, Behr makes an interior flat house paint color called Root Beer, which I mix 50/50 with another Behr color called Melted Chocolate. It seems to produce the desired look.

I wouldn't go too overboard. Down here in Georgia the soil still varies considerably from sandy light soil to all shades of brown. For example, the first portion of the road from Owen's Mill to New Hope Church is still dirt and very much a sandy tan color.

Sure,there is plenty of red clay. Just don't make it too orange. A nice brown with a touch of orange will do.

That stuff is horrible! We've got it in parts of Virginia.

Pan Marek +1… keep it more neutral for more flexibility.

" A nice brown with a touch of orange will do."

Like Vallejo's Orange Brown? ; )

ACW Bill,

That is a great tip..thank you!!

I'll say this much: Once that red clay mud gets into your clothes or blankets, it's darned near impossible to get out.

I have a federal blanket I've used since the 125th series of reenactments, and it still has traces of that soil in it from down to Jonesboro.

excellent suggestions and much food for thought! may add some to the next brigade to join my confederate ranks ….basing and some staining to lower extremities?

TKindred, you were at the 125th??

Oh yes. Been involved with reenacting and living history for 42 years now.

I was a brigade commander at the 125th 1st Bull Run, then as an Adjutant of a large battalion at Shiloh & Antietam, bumped up to Major for the Chancellorsville & Gettysburg events, and stayed on as a staff officer through the 1864/65 events. I got the job mostly because I knew the manuals and could also ride a horse.

Cue the music….."red clay coat, red clay hands., and a red clay halo for my head"…..old tent revival hymn….

@TKindred, I did the 125th events as well as a member of the 4th AL (not always as the 4th on the field). To my recollection I did,

Perryville (this was a tactical if I recall correctly)
Murfreesboro
Gettysburg
Atlanta
Olustee
Wilderness
Franklin
Bentonville
Selma

I too had permastains in my clothing which never came out.

B

i think i shall have to add some soil-staining to at least the trousers of my new rebs?

Good Old Rebel:

I would: [URL=http://s134.photobucket.com/user/Huck1863/media/IMG_2196.jpg.html]

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After I paint the figures, I do a mist of orange brown across the bottom of the trousers. If I get knees, etc, then so be it. Some of my gaming friends are not big fans of it. But I have grown to love gritty soldiers over parade ground soldiers over the years.

Most re-enactors wash their uniforms between events. I am betting the Army of Tennessee got much less opportunity. Plus, I think there is something to be said about marching along a Georgia clay road with 40,000 other men.

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I only wash my drawers, socks & shirts. You can't wash the coats and jackets as they are wool and will shrink right up on you.

I do as the old fellows did, and use a brush to clean them as best as possible, then do the same with my gear. I polish the buttons at the beginning of the year and let them go the rest of the time.

The one thing that I DO keep up on is keeping my boots and brogans well-cleaned and blackened. They're simply too expensive to not take care of, and there is more than enough contemporary accounts from both sides about keeping their footwear and leather equipment blackened or oiled.

BTW: Those are some FINE looking fellows, what with the Columbus Depot jackets and all. They look bully!

ACW Gamer ….as TKindred said, those are indeed some fine looking fellows! precisely the look i was aiming for!!

@TK Thank you so much…I am glad you were able to tell they were Columbus Depot Jackets!!

@ GOR…Thank you. There is also some Vallejo Gold Brown on the upper parts of the figures.

Here's more on this fascinating topic from our friends at the NRCS link

Havent seen the Georgia red soil since a spent some time a Fort Benning, did basic there in the months of March and April and at that time of year the tree polin was everywhere to the point that our BDU,s had a very distinctive yellow color to them and the stuff piles in the corners of buildings thrughout the barrack's. If you have polin allergies do not go to train in these months if possible.

Americana has a "Georgia Clay" color available (and cheap too!). I plan on using it to base some confederates tomorrow. I'll keep the thread updated.

Back in my model railroad days I reproduced iron rich clay like that from real dirt. As I recall the process involved a bucket full of actual dirt dug from an embankment, a couple of old cookie sheets, an old blender and a child's beach sifter. It produced finely powdered dirt that could be used for model work, even under magnified photography, plus a number of stories that my wife still tells.

In theory dirt like this is supposed to be covered with topsoil, even in Georgia and Virginia (where it is still called Virginia brick).