English Accoutrements Imported to the United States
By Craig L. Barry · Originally published July-August 2024 · pp. 14–22
English
Accoutrements Imported to the United States During the Civil War By Craig L. Barry
The image of Private Howard is undated, but it is likely from mid-1861 to early 1862 from the appearance of the “uniform” which consists of a civilian double breasted sack coat with lapels and contrasting (darker) epaulets, matching vest and trousers. This outfit is of course, neither Georgia state nor Confederate government issued. The rest of the equipment tells another story which is worth some discussion. The first shipments of Enfield rifles and British accoutrements ran the blockade aboard the Bermuda and the Fingal and landed in Savannah during August/ September 1861. Eleven-hundred Enfield rifles from those shipments were issued to Georgia troops. This probably explains the English equipment clearly visible in this image. Private Howard has the so-called Enfield short rifle with saber bayonet, and the accompanying black leather buckle sling, as well as what appears to be a full set of English accoutrements. Many of the first “accoutrement kits” to arrive in Savannah were from A. Ross & Co., equipment purchased by Caleb Huse, brokered through the notorious Commission House of S. Isaac, Campbell & Co. of London. The 38th Georgia was ordered to Virginia in May 1862 and saw action in most of the major battles in the Eastern Theater as part of the ANV from the Seven Days campaign to Appomattox Courthouse. A bit of background on the English equipment pictured above is in order. First, cartridge boxes of domestic (U.S./ C.S.) manufacture were the most commonly issued accoutrements on both sides, even to Confederate units. Also, the notion that most imported P53 (long) and P56/58/60 Enfield (short) rifles came with full sets of English accoutrements is simply not supported by any existing documentary evidence. As a rule, imported accoutrements were only purchased as immediacy dictated and as such the imported leathers were much more common in the South where raw materials were in shorter supply. This is not to say that all imported English accoutrement sets went to Southern states and the Confederate government. For example, in several Union militias there is documented use of full English accoutrement sets issued very early in the Civil War, specifically in Massachusetts
This image of Pvt. William G. Howard is often credited as 35th Georgia, Co. K. However, according to the muster rolls there was no William G. Howard enlisted in the 35th, but there was one in the 38th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, organized near Decatur. It was initially part of Wright’s Legion. The 38th GVI was stationed around the port of Savannah, Ga., for a year, until mid-1862, a crucial time frame for dating the image.1 and New York. A few regiments of (nine month) recruits from the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia received London Armoury Co. Pattern 1853 rifle-muskets along with full sets of English accoutrements, including bayonets, frogs, scabbards, buckle slings, and snake buckle waist belts.2 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sent buyers who reached England in May 1861 just ahead of U.S. and C.S. government purchasing agents. The buyers, Francis Crowinshield and Charles McFarland, immediately entered into a contract with Archibald Hamilton, the agent for Sinclair, Hamilton & Co., to buy London Armoury P53s. They also purchased 10,000 full sets of accoutrements at the same time. The accoutrements were purchased for the same reason as the P53 rifle-muskets, the lack of Federal equipment in mid-1861 unavailable for issuance to individual state militia.3 Confederate purchasing agent Caleb Huse was right behind the two Massachusetts buyers. In fact, Huse was waiting in the lobby to see LACo
Superintendent Archibald Hamilton when the Massachusetts buyers left. The men ran into Caleb Huse on their way out, which must have been awkward. In his May 21, 1861, letter to Josiah Gorgas, Caleb Huse reports: I propose to take from the London Armoury Company 10,000 Enfield rifles of the latest pattern, with bayonet, scabbard, extra nipple, snap cap, and stopper complete for £ 3, 16s, 6d.4 There is no mention of accoutrement sets. While apparently not part of the initial Confederate government contract with Sinclair, Hamilton & Co., there were substantial numbers of Volunteer type accoutrement kits issued to Southern regiments throughout the Civil War. An accurate statement is that the vast majority of English type accoutrement sets were imported to and used by the Confederacy.
After leaving London Armoury, Caleb Huse quickly located the commission house of S. Isaac, Campbell & Company on 71 Jermyn Street, London. The Isaacs had been brokering leather accoutrement sets to local Volunteer units since the late 1850s when the firm lost their lucrative War Department contract.5 The 2nd Volunteer movement in England began in 1859 to create an autonomous citizen army for the sole purpose of home defense. Many S. Isaac, Campbell & Co. marked “Volunteer” boxes have been found with known C.S. provenance. It is necessary to make a distinction between War Department marked cartridge boxes and the “Volunteer kits” from S. Isaac, Campbell & Company. While purportedly made from the same sealed patterns, there is a wide degree of variation between them. S. Isaac, Campbell & Co. was well known for selling previously condemned leather goods that
Note how the angled cap pouch is worn on waist belt instead of the cartridge box sling. did not pass the strict British government inspection. The British Army could afford to be selective and reject sub-standard workmanship since they were not involved in any major war during the early 1860s, while the Confederacy was fighting for its existence and therefore more concerned with functionality than aesthetics. Another important distinction is that most domestically (U.S./ C.S.) made military cartridge boxes, except the U.S. pattern of 1839, allowed the box to be carried either with a shoulder strap or on the waist belt through two vertical loops on the back. The English cartridge box had no provision for being worn on the waist belt and could only be carried by a shoulder strap.
Confederate soldier in uniform and with an accoutrement waist belt with a snake belt buckle. He is holding an English imported Enfield rifle and saber bayonet. Liljenquist Family collection (Library of Congress)
One reason for this was that the English accoutrements used the shoulder strap to attach the cap pouch, however the practice apparently dates to colonial era America. On August 3, 1775, General Howe, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in America, ordered: “all soldiers to wear their cartridge boxes over their shoulders, and not around their waists.”6
His exact reasoning for the order is not documented, but henceforth all British Ordnance Department accoutrement sets featured shoulder slings for the cartridge box. One reason that the cap pouch was not worn on the belt is the British accoutrement set was issued with a second leather bag known as a ball bag or “expense pouch.” This piece was worn on the waist belt where the cap pouch was normally found in the American system. To the British, a cartridge box and a cartridge pouch were two different things, a distinction not made with U.S./C.S. accoutrements.
pouch. As a result, a British soldier taking the field with a full cartridge box and expense pouch would have 60 rounds available before needing to be re-supplied. The cap pouch on the shoulder strap had an angled back loop and was either made with white buff leather or black, as pictured in the image of Private William Howard. In contrast, the American (U.S. and C.S.) cartridge boxes were designed for twenty loose rounds placed in the top compartment of the tins while two extra arsenal
The English cartridge box was designed to hold and transport a supply of unopened cartridge packs. The rankand-file soldier took a packet of ten cartridges from his cartridge box tin, opened it up, and placed the ten loose rounds in the “expense pouch.” When that was empty, the soldier would remove another ten-round arsenal packet from the cartridge box, open it, and re-fill the expense
Front and back of a Pattern 1856/57 English Cap pouch. The strap was angled in this fashion as it was designed to be worn on the cartridge box sling for ease of access. This feature was not widely understood by the soldiers to whom they were issued. The pouch is 3 inches wide by 2 7/8 inches high and has a 3 1/8 inch loop with a outer flap secured by a brass button. (Jack W. Melton Jr.)
packets of ten each were carried unopened in the bottom compartment(s). Some C.S. boxes had a single tin rather than two individual tins like the U.S. patterns. Another interesting thing about the English “system” is that the .58 cal. U.S. and C.S. pattern boxes could not hold the taller English .577 Enfield rounds made in England, but they would fit in the older pattern U.S. 1839 .69 caliber cartridge box. Augusta Arsenal “re-manufactured” hundreds of thousands of imported Enfield rounds to the American system so they could be carried in the “standard” U.S. / C.S. designed .58 cartridge box.7
Private Howard’s belt is the common English snake buckle type, waxed black leather with no provision for hanging an officer sword. These type belts were in use by the English for many years both before and after the U.S. Civil War. Some “snake” buckle fasteners feature a design that appears based on a duck head rather than snake. If there is a particular reason for this change in style, it is lost to history.
Front and back of English ball bag. Brown leather. It was designed to slide on the waist belt and hold ten loose rounds of ammunition from the cartridge box and an oil bottle. (Jack W. Melton Jr.)
Pouch is made of black bridle leather and is 6 ½ inches wide by 3 ½ inches high and is 1 3/4 inches deep.
English Pattern 1854/55 Ready Pouch cartridge box modified to be worn on waist belt. On August 3, 1775, General Howe, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in America, ordered, “All soldiers to wear their cartridge boxes over their shoulders, and not around their waists.” (see H. Strachan, British Military Uniforms 1768–1796, published by Arms & Armament (1975) p. 189). The English system was 60 rounds carried in the cartridge box and ball bag. S. Isaac, Campbell & Co. English-style “pouch“ or cartridge box, probably manufactured for use by a volunteer unit in England during the late 1850s. Buff leather tab. Many of these S. IC & Co. boxes were previously rejected by the War Department and later imported by the Confederacy during the Civil War. (Jack W. Melton Jr.)
Pattern 1859/60 cartridge pouch. A. Ross Co., contractor and maker marked box. These were generally much higher in quality than the S. IC & Co. marked English cartridge boxes. (Jack W. Melton Jr.)
Endnotes 1. Thomas Arliskas, Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown, Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications, 2006, p. 42. Arliskas incorrectly identifies Private Howard as enlisted in the 35th Georgia in an image in the book. Author David Burt while doing research for Supplier to the Confederacy: English Arms and Accoutrements, Atglen, PA): Schiffer Publications, 2012, discovered the discrepancy and traced Private Howard to the 38th Georgia Volunteer Infantry. 2. The Library of Congress database has an image of five soldiers in Union uniform of the 6th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia outfitted with P53s and full sets of English accoutrements (see LC-DIGppmsca-27124). 3. While most leather tanneries operating in antebellum America were in the North, it still took several months to fill the initial U.S. Government orders, which took precedence over smaller the state contracts. Hence, several states found themselves unable to outfit their volunteers and took
matters into their own hands. 4. Huse does not mention the purchase of any accoutrement sets in this correspondence with Gorgas on the LAC purchase. They may or may not have been included in the price he quotes; £ 3, 16s, 6d (about $19.50 in C.S. currency during May 1861). 5. For a full explanation of how the Isaacs lost their War Dept contract with the British government, see Supplier to the Confederacy: S. Isaac, Campbell & Co. by the author and David Burt, originally published by Bright Pen (2010), reissued by Stainless Banner Publishing (2013). 6. Hew Strachan, British Military Uniforms 1768–1796, Edinburgh: Published by Arms & Armament, 1975, p. 189. See also: Francis Wallace, Memorial of the Patriotism of Schuylkill County in the American Slaveholder Rebellion, Rare Books Publishing (originally published 1865, re-published 2012). 7. C.L. Bragg, et al., Never for Want of Powder: the Confederate Powder Works in Augusta, Georgia, Columbia: University of South Carolina Publishing, 2007, p. 138.
About the Author
Craig L. Barry was born in Charlottesville, Va. He holds his BA and Masters degrees from UNC (Charlotte). He is the author of several books including The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy (2006, 2011), The Unfinished Fight: Essays on Confederate Material Culture Vol. I and II (2012, 2013). He has also published four books in the Suppliers to the Confederacy series on English Arms & Accoutrements, Quartermaster stores and other European imports.
Five soldiers of the 6th Mass Volunteer Infantry with Enfield long rifles and English accoutrement sets, including the bayonet frog and scabbard. One of the few surviving images showing U.S. soldiers with English-style bayonet scabbards and frogs. Liljenquist Family collection (Library of Congress)
Photographs from the Original Article
Captions and credits appear in the article text as originally printed.