Saturday, April 21, 2012

Civil War Weekend - Period Dress


I asked one of the women, in a big hoop skirt, was it comfortable and she laughed long and loud, before she said NO. She said there are 8 layers of clothes to being in that period dress. Yowsa from me in my t-shirt and Capri pants.

 I have my mother shawl in the closet, that is identical to this one.


Enlarge to see the whiskey bottle, this is the nurse for the Confederate hospital


 Harriet Tubman was a black woman and called The Union Spymaster. She was the first woman in our history to lead a military expedition when she lead a night raid to free slaves from rice plantations.
Read about here here at Women Spies of the Civil War



There were hundreds of lady spies for both sides in this war. If you are interested, go to
Secret Agents In Hoop Skirts


 Trivia Facts from Aha Military Jokes

BIGGEST MAN... The biggest man in the Union Army was Capt. David Van Buskirk of the 27th Indiana Regiment who stood 6 feet 11 inches and weighed 380 pounds. He was captured in 1862 and was sent to a Richmond Prison where a Confederate entrepreneur put him on exhibit. Even Confederate President Jeff Davis came to see him and was astounded when the impish Van Buskirk claimed that back home in Bloomington Indiana, "when I was at the train station with my company , my six sisters came to say goodbye. As I was standing there, with my company, they all came up to me, leaned down and kissed me on top of the head."

 BATHROOM... Although not listed in the rules of war, soldiers on both sides did not shoot at the enemy when he was going to the bathroom


You should have seen these hoops skirted ladies trying to sit down on the train.



26 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

How DID they sit in a hoop skirt? Wouldn't it all come up around their heads? I'm trying to remember Gone With The Wind... The bathroom rule is hilarious to me and I don't know why!!! Except it is 2 A.M. and when I am tired I giggle at anything. Actually, my favorite picture here is the sixth one...I think six. Where the woman in short shorts is staring at the costumed lady, what a total difference, hilarious!! You really captured a moment there!! The costumes all look right except the first one, the hat does not seem to go with the dress. The dress looks everyday cotton and the hat is gauzy and dressy...

Ginny Hartzler said...

Been forgetting to tell you, I love your new profile picture!!!! Gosh, it's 2:30 A.M. and I'm the only idiot who is commenting, and I have the blogs all to myself!!!! Off to bed, hope you are having sweet dreams!!!

SquirrelQueen said...

Reading Ginny comments and now I'm giggling.

I love those old dresses but would not want to wear one. Do you remember the crinolines from the fifties. Did you ever try to sit down wearing one of those things?

That was very gentlemanly of them to respect each other when nature called.

Susannah said...

Hi Sandra, All of these posts on the Civil War have really captured my attention. We forget what we have learned in school. I did skip over to read "Women Spies of the Civil War" and "Secret Agents in Hoop Skirts". Fantastic reading. I did an essay on Harriet Tubman years ago when I was in the 7th grade. She is buried not far from here. Thanks, Sandra...your recent posts have been very interesting.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this post so much, Sandra. Oh, how I love t-shirts and capris!!!

Ann said...

I actually love the look of how they dressed in that period but I certainly wouldn't want to have to wear all that, especially in the summer.
That is quite gentlemanly of them not to fire upon each other while taking care of nature's business. How funny.

Ruth Hiebert said...

I like the regal look of those old dresses,but am thankful that I am free to wear jeans and a shirt instead.

Deb said...

could you imagine having all those hoops...they are beautiful...but I couldn't imagine chasing little britches around in that...

jp@A Green Ridge said...

One of these days, I'm going to participate...:)JP

penny said...

I can't imaging wearing those dresses here in south Florida.. especially in the summer humidity.
Had to chuckle when I read about Mr Bigs sisters kissing the top of his head :)

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Oh yes! Wonderful!

The things they had to wear, back then.

And links to women spies. Love it!!!

Gentle hugs,
"Auntie"

TexWisGirl said...

i would not have survived that age. i think the only fashions more dreadful were the corset/wig/white powder era in europe. :)

barbara l. hale said...

Terrific photos! I had to laugh at the remark about the clothes. My daughter worked for a summer at Old Sturbridge Village where she had to dress as if she were in the 1830s. She mostly complained about the hats that were designed so that a woman could only look frontwards unless she turned her head. Of course, they didn't wear hoops or she would have complained about that, I supppose. But she didn't mind the dresses...hoopless, of course.

Unknown said...

I know the fashions of that period must have been uncomfortable. Hot to.

Angela said...

I think they are beautiful! I wore a dress that required a hoop for prom my junior year. I still have the dress but I borrowed the hoop from someone I can't remember who. It was interesting wearing it. My senior year I wore a dress with a crinoline under it or was it a hoop too? Wow! I can't remember! Seems like my wedding dress I wore a crinoline that I borrowed.

Well, anyway, you know I like the big puffy dresses! lol

Marie said...

Ginny has me giggling! It's funny that on blogs I'm usually laughing at your comments or Ginny's.:) The skirts are pretty, but I wouldn't like it! I'm all about being comfortable! Jeans, capris, shorts, t-shirts and I love flip flops! I would be so hot in all those layers of clothes...sweating in places women shouldn't sweat! THH

Rose said...

I always wonder if every one wore all those layers of clothing all the time. Just think of the amount of material it took to make those full skirts...and then think of all that it would take for all the layers...it is just something I always think about.

theconstantwalker said...

Wonderful to see... as a child I loved seeing old pictures (just like your sepia shots).
It was only as I grew older I started to realize that the green grass and blue skies I saw was what the people in black and white images could also marvel.

Your lovely images brought back that childhood memory.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting post.

My Mind's Eye said...

Fantastic pictures that tell oh so many stories. The shawl is beautiful. Here I thought with the hoops they could catch a good breeze under the heavy fabric...lo and behold there were layers and layers.
NO THANK YOU>
Hugs C

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Such pretty period dresses- I don't think I could handle all that material though- too hot!

Kathy said...

These are all fabulous! I wonder where they store those hoops when they're not in use!

LC said...

Another fantastic period post! I loved the sepia header. And the contrast of the costumed ladies with the cars and modern attire in some of the photos was priceless. Great job!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy the Civil War era. Ours here won't be till summer time. Fantastic photos. Have a great week.
Lynne

Chatty Crone said...

I love to hear about strong women who played important roles in history - I know there are a lot of them.

Those dresses are gorgeous - but boy would they be hot and uncomfortable.

No shooting when they were going to the bathroom? You learn something new everyday.

Love, sandie

Suburban Girl said...

What a terrific event. We have a large Civil War Enactment coming in April, there will be Cavalry but no trains.