"Confederate Artillery Carriages Red?" Topic

I'm looking for some variety in my Confederate gun line. In the past couple of weeks I have come across a couple (3 or 4) period prints that depict Confederate field artillery with red carriages. I know that Confederate carriages are generally the same green color as Federal artillery. Rebel red artillery is intriguing. I could write-off one period depiction as being artistic license, however, more than one strikes me as perhaps having some basis in reality? Then again, I assume that the print artists were nowhere near an actual battlefield. Has anyone ever seen/heard of such variety in Confederate carriage colors.

I think that the artillery battery that was going down the opposite side of the river when "Miss. Hannah Hunter of Greenbriar" ends-up in the water in "The Horse Soldiers," was yellowish? (I'm old, I may be making this up) I know that citing Hollywood as the basis for any "fact" is problematic at best, however, would regulation green fade or would local sources for paint have significant variations from regulation green so that the color might end-up being more yellow than green?

Thank you.

What paint was handy when needed? Merely a guess but possible.

I guess they could use whatever paint or oils were available, if they needed to. Confederate regs call for, "two coats of olive color."

Do not trust me without checking, but I have a hazy memory that VMI gun carriages were red in period--which works out nicely for The Horse Soldiers, of course. A military school would not be subject to CSA regulation.

I'd expect them to have been "barn" red--think a barrel of rusted scrap iron with surplus milk poured in. Cheap for the farmer, and still drives furniture strippers nuts.

You are looking at prints of the VMI 6-pound cadet guns that were part of the Rockbridge artillery that were formed for action at 1st Bull Run.

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The VMI guns used for training cadets had red carriages for this action. After Bull Run, CSA artillery carriages were all painted olive, same as union artillery. As 79th PA pointed out, crews had to mix and paint their own carriages so some variation from paint availability as well as fading might give the appearance of some color difference, but essentially, all are olive.

Don't ever rely on Hollywood for anything!

Kim

I've seen many color depictions of supply wagons with reddish brown wheels. I suppose if the paint was handy…

I've seen many color depictions of supply wagons with reddish brown wheels. I suppose if the paint was handy…

Most supply wagons, especially confederate wagons, were contracted and not military, so yes those could be painted in a variety of colors. Artillery was painted to regulations.

Kim

Union wagons had light blue bodies with red wheels and undercarriage. This was also a favorite color combination for civilian wagons. Thanks to the Confederacy cavalry, the South had a good number of captured Union wagons.

In the AWI, gun carriages etc were painted in what colors were available, particularly if it was new wood v
"Barn Red" is very simple. I THINK it might be linseed oil and red iron oxide. (Rust)
So, even though I'm not familiar with ACW artillery, red has a very logical precedent b
And, I'm presenting an "educated guess", and not lying. 🙄

In the AWI some where painted a shade of red. Never heard of any in the ACW painted red. I personally wouldn't do it. But you can paint them anyway you like.

You could get a range of "olive" from almost yellow to a dark olive. I was always struck by how yellowish the U.S battlefield artillery was back in the day when I toured most of them.

I can't remember the name of the military school in The Horse Soldiers, but I see no reason why, being fictitious, it can't have maintained red gun carriages. Anyway, VMI gives you one battery unless you insist on everything being the correct uniform, flag and carriage for each battle you wargame.

Milk paint is a thing, though. Drives professional strippers nuts. Quoting Wikipedia: "It can be made from milk and lime, generally with pigments added for color. In other recipes, borax is mixed with milk's casein protein in order to activate the casein and as a preservative. The paint adheres best to porous substrates such as wood…"