Help support TMP


"Uniforms of Porter’s Brigade Niagara 1814" Topic


5 Posts

All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.

Please don't call someone a Nazi unless they really are a Nazi.

For more information, see the TMP FAQ.


Back to the War of 1812 Message Board


Areas of Interest

Napoleonic
19th Century

Featured Hobby News Article


Featured Link


Top-Rated Ruleset

Rank & File


Rating: gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star 


Featured Showcase Article

GallopingJack Checks Out The Terrain Mat

Mal Wright Fezian goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.


Featured Workbench Article

Thunderbolt Mountain Highlander

dampfpanzerwagon Fezian paints a Napoleonic caricature.


Featured Profile Article

Report from Gamex 2005

Our Man in Southern California, Wyatt the Odd, reports on the Gamex 2005 convention.


564 hits since 12 May 2024
©1994-2024 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?

Trockledockle12 May 2024 2:53 a.m. PST

I'm struggling to reconcile various sources on the uniforms of this unit. Some show:

Round hat, blue tunic, black belts, grey trousers
Round hat, blue tunic with red facings, black belts, grey trousers
Round hat, grey tunic, black belts, white trousers
Tombstone shako, blue (or grey) tunic, white belts, white trousers

I appreciate the brigade was comprised of state rather than federal units (5th Pennsylvania and New York Volunteers) so they weren't necessarily well supplied and they could have had a mix of the above. Can anyone help?

robert piepenbrink Supporting Member of TMP12 May 2024 4:40 a.m. PST

Can't help much, I'm afraid. I doubt anyone can. There's no specific description in The Official Records of the War on the Niagara. There are no contemporary paintings. So your sources are mostly guesswork, unless someone turns up something in state archives. The overall rule in both states was to follow federal uniform regs, but militia tended to lag, round hats (which people owned) were usually accepted in lieu of shakos someone would have to pay for, and as I recall Pennsylvania especially was willing even officially to accept gray in lieu of official and costly dark blue. My recollection is that New York had been more inclined to red facings. Belting for line units was always supposed to be white, but even the regulars often had to settle for black.

If I were painting them again, I'd put Pennsylvania in gray, New York in dark blue with red and both in round hats with a mix of white and gray trousers and white crossbelts for line and black for lights. (There was a tiny unit in New York, as I recall.) This tells everyone apart and sorts them out from regulars, but I don't think we have enough information to be dogmatic about what was actually worn.

Bohdan Khmelnytskij12 May 2024 7:41 p.m. PST

Read somewhere that as the war progressed, NYS troops adopted many Federal uniform items. Red facings were indeed popular with NYS troops and there is an original 1812 NYS militia officer's coat (which was published in the Journal of the Company of Military Historians) from the western part of the state with red facings on a blue coat.

TimePortal12 May 2024 8:23 p.m. PST

In the South units raised in 1813 and later received the Tombstone or Belgic Shakos. Units of 1812 wore the felt round top but not a hat with brim. Militia officers sent from military schools had the bell top shako, still felt, according to drawings. Jackson complained that Federal recruiters were emptying his manpower sources in Tennessee needed to refill his State troops ranks.
The Blue wool tunic with gray trousers was regarded as winter and worn from October to March in the South. White linen tunic with white or gray trousers were regarded as summer wear. Though Spring was late in 1813, so they were still wearing winter gear at Horseshoe Bend. The Park Rangers give a good presentation of this in their museum and the anniversary enactment.

Trockledockle13 May 2024 5:41 a.m. PST

Thanks very much for all your posts. They have been very useful especially around the uncertainty in the uniforms.

Sorry - only verified members can post on the forums.