"16th and 18th Louisiana Infantry at Shiloh" Topic

Hi,
Just read that the above may have suffered some casualties due to their "Blue Uniforms" causing identity problems,can anyone enlighten me.
Am on a site called 'Adolphus Confederate Uniforms' and it is a real eye opener re uniform material colours,being a new student of your ACW period.
Regards John

Here is how I depicted them with a brief description of the issue you found:

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Early in the war there was a good amount of this until the sides settled on blue and gray….

Sword's "Bloody April" says there was a good deal of "friendly fire" at Shiloh, due to green troops and heavy woods. Confederate units tended to fire at whatever was in front of them and sometimes that was another Confederate unit which had just pushed a Yankee outfit back.

It continued throughout the war. Stonewall was shot by his own troops in error, as was Longstreet and one of his divisional generals.

Hi,
Thanks for the link,nice !!!
I have a copy of 'Shiloh' by Edward Cunningham,would you recommend Swords "Bloody April" as a book worth the read as well ?
Cheers G

As part of Bragg's Corps at Shiloh both the 16th and 18th Louisiana would have carried the first pattern of the "Bragg Battle Flag". These flags measured about 42" to 45" on their fly and 48" to 51" on their hoist.

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At least two photos of members of the 18th La are known to exist. Both of them depict a uniform consisting of a frock coat with dark trim on the collar and cuffs. This trim may have been black or red as depicted in the plate from the Osprey volume The Confederate Army 1861-1863 (3): Louisiana and Texas. Note that in this plate the colour of the uniform is shown as a darker blue-gray.

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Sword's "Bloody April" is an extremely good book. Although I have read it, Tim Smith's and Larry Daniels books on Shiloh, "Bloody April" remains my personal favorite. I think you would really enjoy it.
Sword is a very good writer, and the book is well researched and footnoted. His work on the first day's fighting is as good or better IMHO than Tim Smith's recently released book.
However, Smith's book is definitely superior in describing the second days action, and can be easily recommended as well.

Shiloh: In Hell Before Night by James Lee McDonough is excellent, as is the previously mentioned book by Daniels.

As an aside, I would also recommend The Darkest Days of War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth by Peter Cozzens. Later in the war, but a great read.

Historically, gray was the accepted color for militia while blue was the accepted color of the regular army. However, early in the war, troops on both sides chose these colors indiscriminately based on personal tastes and what material was available. Units that considered themselves "rifles" often chose green uniforms. It was only after the initial battles in both theaters and the episodes of friendly fire that occurred did both sides start to standardize into "the blue and the gray."

Problems with Confederate colors were persistent. For example, just before entraining for Chickamauga, Longstreet's Texans received new uniforms. The jackets were such a dark gray that they were mistaken for Federals. There is a rumor that Hood may have been wounded by friendly fire because of this. Alas, I have no citation.

The dark gray uniforms figure in Longstreet's wounding.

Per surviving accounts, the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee were amazed at the superior quality of the uniforms and equipment of Longstreet's Corps as they arrived in North Georgia. I've yet to read any accounts from AOT soldiers regarding the iron gray uniforms worn by some of the ANV regiments, but there probably are some.

Adolfo Ramos?