"Early Militia Grey uniforms?" Topic

So I'm building a gigantic 1st Bull Run diorama, obviosuly there will be lots of grey state uniforms on both sides. But are there any general rules as to color of haversacks, would Union troops have black haversacks or white as some famous photos of NY troops show. And what about canteens, would they all mostly be grey on both sides or what path should be taken here? Did all state troops in grey have the stripes on trousers? Any other tips about equipment, blankets etc would be great. Sadly I haven't found a comprehensive source thay show all uniforms correclty yet which is odd I think…

My understanding of trouser stripes in the ACW is that most dress regulations allowed all ranks to have trouser stripes. Red for artillery, yellow for cavalry and blue for infantry. I also think that militia had white stripes (somebody help me here).

In practice private soldiers rarely had stripes as they had to pay a seamstress to sew them on and they couldn't afford it.

Sergeants, on the other hand, with a better rate of pay could afford them and so they did have them more often.

Officers certainly could afford them but were more likely to disobey dress regulations when it suited them.

Or, is it more complicated than that?

Jim, according to regulation, corporals in the Union Army could wear a 1/2 inch stripe on their trousers, while a sergeant could wear a 1.5 inch stripe on theirs. Privates did not wear a stripe regardless of branch of service.

Early war militia is an altogether different matter, and many militia companies had stripes on their trousers regardless of rank.

It's also interesting to note that artillery loved its red, and held on to it passionately throughout the war. No so with the cavalry yellow. In many cavalry regiments orders were given that expressly forbade the removal of yellow lace as the practice was becoming widespread.

Regardless of original issue, most ACW soldiers would try to obtain a black, waterproof haversack as soon as possible. You really don't want wet personal belongings or food.

Canteens could be covered in kersey or dark blue, gray, or even tan wool depending on what was available. It could also be bare metal.

Regarding blankets, a seasoned campaigner would probably wrap it in an oilcloth to keep it dry while on the march. Nothing worse than a soggy, heavy blanket.

Thanks for the clarification Extrabio.

What colour would stripes be for early war militia?

Sorry about the deletion. I wasn't really answering the question. Trouser stripes for Early War militia units could be any color, but black predominated, especially if the uniform was "militia gray."

Many early war Southern regiments could sport up to 10 different uniforms, one for each militia company making up the regiment. For example, the famous Clinch Rifles in their green uniforms only made up Company A of the 5th Georgia Infantry.

Confederate Swede, you may have to research each individual regiment to ensure accuracy. It was only after Bull Run that attempts were made to standardize uniforms and equipment.

researching early regiments is difficult, especially since some of them were disbanded shortly afterwards. Flags are especially difficult, does anyone know how the 7th NY militia flags looked like?

Photographic evidence:

link

Their national color seems to have been preserved:

link