"The shabby villain would be immediately detected” or How does one "ape" part 2

 

Breech cloth Worn By Caldwell

Caldwell Breech cloth,  its kinda gross

Wow so that last one got folks stirred up a bit. Got the blood flowing, vigorous debate, heated rhetoric, many Harumphs (I didn’t get a harumph from that guy). So rather then do a social media response post by post I’ll break down some of the comments and my responses to them as concisely as possible. I’ll try not to ramble, but I’m telling ya right now I’m going to ramble.

                Ok so first off, my man James Smith seemed to be a big go to. So, lets break down smith’s Clout life. Ok so he first wears one when he’s Adopted (he’s a mohawk now) Smith’s “black boys” all trying to look Native. The Virginia troops on Bouquet’s expedition were brought up, guys wearing Indian dress down to painting their shirts and raccoon caps (once again trying to look native) The only time smith is noted as possibly wearing a clout as a white man is when he’s on his hunt with “Black Jamie”.  “Been now eleven months in the wilderness…when I came into the settlement, my clothes were almost worn out, and THE BOY had nothing on him that was ever spun- buckskin leggings, moccasins, breechclout, a bear skin dressed with the hair on, and a raccoon skin cap…on suspicion, they therefore took me into custody.”

                That’s one detail I had missed for years, Jamie had on all the crazy stuff not smith. Smith is still frustratingly vague in just what he was wearing. What I like about this is pretty simple and straightforward, even in the backcountry YOU CAN LOOK TOO CRAZY.  The idea that all societal norms and ideas of how people dress isn’t completely tossed out the window.  This is a line of thinking you hear a lot from folks that just grates on my last nerve.

                Even when Smith is loaned a new shirt, hat and leggings (and frustratingly doesn’t mention the rest of his clothes) Him and Jamie are stopped and “make the dogs bark” on their journey. It isn’t until he gets better clothes and a horse that he is able to travel freely. “The shabby villain would be immediately detected”.

                The other universal comment was that Breechclouts were worn so that you saved your “regular clothes” from wearing out. Again this just doesn’t seem to Jive with the information. When for example you see folks being attacked working in a field or other farm work I have seen mentions of jackets, breeches tossed in to the narrative but nothing has ever stated straight up working in our clouts and shirts. Also the weakest part of this argument is rooted in the myth that all clothes were sacred.

                

Pa farmer 1786  Someone should tell him he needs to save his pants for town

       That somehow trousers and leather breeches the blue jeans of the period become irreplaceable one you cross a mountain. As I’ve pointed out here time and time again You see the estate inventories, purchases etc of frontier folks matching the regular working-class clothes of the common person. Why do these items continually pop up if they are so uncommon and special?

                One of the criticisms I hear is that I’m trying to rewrite history or other weirdness. The reason I post the information that I do is because it’s what turns up. If I found a new account of a hunter in a breechclout I’d post it in a second. Instead, when I find clothing references its not clouts. No matter how many squirrels I sacrifice at my Alter to Steve Rayner those anecdotes don’t just fall from the material culture gods. I’m looking for common, the boring, the mundane and then I try and share it with you weirdos. So we can all be boring together while we shoot stuff.

                Now here is why I love kicking hornets nests, Davis Tierney of Crockett’s Western Battalion posted some stuff from the Clark Papers I had not seen before in a response to my rambling mess:

June 12, 1780: Bottom left document. Capt. Robert George order to Capt. John Dodge to furnish Capt. Lieut. Harrison with 3 knives, 3 horn combs, 1 ivory comb, 4 yards of gartering, coating for [britch cloth], blankets, and white cloth for use of expedition of Capt. Harrison, who was also issued a feather and ink pot. The orders were agreeable to Col. George Rogers Clark.

June 12, 1780: Top document. Capt. Robert George order to Capt. John Dodge to issue 26 yards of stroud to make as many pair of leggings and britch cloth for 26 men of Capt. Richard Harrison co., who were going on expedition up the Ohio [River]. Order was agreeable to George Rogers Clark. Capt. George also requested 26 knives, 52 shirts, 1 ink pot, 1 bridle and thread. Capt. George certified the names of soldiers, who were to receive the items. Names: John Walker, William More, Lazarus Ryan, Laurence Kineon?, Phil Long,

6029-4-261-262-June 12, 1780-Continued: Philip Hupp, ?, Taylor, William White, Bostin Damer, Michael Washeton?, David Kennedy, Daniel Baber, Michel Finkler?, Valentine Bolinskler, John Oakley, Isham Floyd, Edmond Fair, John Megarr, Patrick Marr or Moss, Patrick McCally, Abraham Miller, William Freeman, George Smith, Drury Bush, Jacob Wheat, and John Bush.

June 12, 1780: Top document. Capt. Robert George order on behalf of George Rogers Clark to Capt. John Dodge to give 1 knife, 1 ivory comb, 1 horn comb, white material for leggings, material for britch cloth, bath coating, gartering, blankets for use of the expedition up the River. Names: Sergeant Samuel Smyth.

June 12, 1780: Bottom document. Capt. Robert George order to Capt. John Dodge at Fort Jefferson to issue 2 pair of trousers, cloth for 2 waist coats, 2 breeches, 1 britch cloth, 1 blanket, 1 ink stand, 1 knife, 1 coarse comb, 1 fine comb, and 1 bridle. Verso indicated William Shannon received contents and as well as 5 yards of check linen and blue bath coating. Names: William Clark.

July 20, 1780: Second document. Capt. Robert George order to Capt. John Dodge at Fort Jefferson to issue Laurence Keinan 1 pair of leggings, 1 britch cloth, and 1 handkerchief and the same to inhabitant Mr. Archer, who had been employed with dispatches to Col. Montgomery.

August 6, 1781: Third document. Ohio River Camp McMahon list of blankets, shirts, leggings, britch cloth, knives and jackets issued to companies of Capt. Archer and Capt. Johnston. Names: John carmichael.

Top document. George Rogers Clark at mouth of the Kentucky [River] order to Major George Walls to issue 4 white shirts, 4 pairs of leggings and 4 britch cloth to 4 men of Major Slaughter Corps.

August 19, 1781: Bottom document. George Rogers Clark order to Major George Walls to issue britch cloth, leggings, and hunting shirts. Verso has reference to blankets, 24 yards of cloth and 4 yards of white cloth. Names: Capt. William Cherry, Major George Walls.

November 7, 1781: Top document. George Rogers Clark order to Major George Walls to issue 3 pair of leggings, britch cloth and [knapsacks] to man going on express. Names: ? Pittman.y

 

"Crockett's Battalion would like to point out the weirdo on the end isnt with us."

                Ok cool New info (to me at least) My initial response is this. This was part of my “conspiracy board” I left out to keep it simple.  This falls into Military clothing for me. A quick easy way to uniform guys, like hunting shirts. For example we know not all the guys on Forbe’s campaign went out with the Native parties but the initial idea was to make “Indians” of the provincials and it kind of took off from there. HOWEVER that’s just spit balling I don’t know the entire CONTEXT of how/why Clark was doing what he was doing in these citations. A lot of good info there and something to think about. I mean they do mention White leggings and we all know that’s crazy talk right there.

                The ultimate “shut up old guy” response from Davis was a broadside that stated “"The Virginian back Woods Men have a very good Reason for their hunting shirts, for as they wear no Breeches, Decency requires that their upper Dress should be of this Form " Yeah I should have had that quote in my Doddridge circle on the board. I even had it in a file.

**This is not directed at Davis BTW I’m pumped for his info** BUT…here is the problem. I’ll go through and post 20 references to the other garments and examples of people wearing them and I’ll get this or Doddridge tossed back as a rebuttal every time.  Or more often than not just get the “they were Illiterate” or “BUT it was what they wore” nonresponse responses. My whole point of this is to get people to Think outside off the box. Really look at the information and break it down. I’m not saying that Breechclouts weren’t worn but I’m saying the idea that it’s what you HAVE to wear to portray the backcountry is wrong. Are you trying to portray history or are you trying to portray you from Mansker’s station in 1997?

                Because when you think you have it figured out ya gotta remember there is an account of a guy wearing a jacket with a dead duck on his head and then there is this fun one from  George Bryan to Draper “,'Have seen Squire Boone wear a scarlet vest trimmed with gold lace and gold (or gilted) buttons, and a macaroni hat and a coarse check shirt on. Was sometimes dressed as a British officer, and sometimes as a hunter. A curious oddity.'"