Wednesday, March 12, 2025

"Paint, or Colour with Bark": Dyed hunting shirts in Revolutionary America

 "An Indian Interpreter was here a few Days past from the Ohio, who saw thirty or forty People seated on the Banks of that River on the lands ceded by the Six Nations, and on whose Approach some Indians in the Neighbourhood abandoned their Dwellings and removed. Many of these people were half naked, chiefly covered with loose, Coarse, linnen Frocks, such as the Frontier People Manufacture for themselves, and paint, or Colour with bark; and they differ little from Indians in their Manner of Life. They have no means to purchase Clothing but by skins, and that induces them to hunt, and consequently to intrude on the Indian hunting grounds; which is often productive of Quarrels, and Murthers." 

(General Thomas Gage to Lord Hillsborough.NY October 7th 1772)

Although the majority of hunting shirts were likely made from unbleached and white linen, many references to both military and civilian hunting shirts being dyed various colors survive from primary sources in the 18th-century. Professional dyers like Philadelphia's John Hickey advertised that he "dyes linen or woollen blue, green, red, yellow, purple or any other color." (Pennsylvania Gazette, March 11, 1756). Merchant records show that both indigo and copperas were common commercially available dyes in many back country stores, and home brew concoctions made with bark are also mentioned with some frequency. Attempts to dye sometimes met with limited or fugitive success, many Virginia deserters are described in "dark coloured" or simply "died" hunting shirts. In some cases, such as the account of James Nourse below, we have very vague information to work on.

May 10 1775 Camp at Smith Point mouth of the Great Sandy 40 miles below the Great Kanaway

"The men that bound in the other canoes for Kentuke set off- as did soon after Cressop.  Saturday 13th May.  Tom finished washing my linen and dying my Hunting shirt..."

Thankfully, not everyone was as mysterious as Nourse, and we have some clues as to the colors and the dyestuffs that were utilized in the 18th century.


Black:

Black was achieved with elderberry bark and iron filings.

The Fountain of Knowledge, or British Legacy 1770 p45

 

 April 4, 1777 The Virginia Gazette
"Twenty DOLLARS reward. Deserted from Elk Ridge landing, Maryland, the 5th of February last, four soldiers belonging to capt. Charles Flemings company of the 7th Virginia Regiment  had with him a bundle in a blanket, and a rifle. Joel Johnson, a low well set man, about 5 feet 5 or 6 inches high, wears his own dark hair and very large whiskers, full faced; had on a hunting shirt dyed black, fringed round the capes, ruffles, tail, and down the breast, belted with the skin of a rattlesnake, had with him a bundle in a blanket..."

 Blue:

Indigo was cultivated as a dyestuff in Colonial America, particularly South Carolina, and was commonly available in the Colonies. For more information on dying with indigo look here.

Indigo dyed linen (link).

 

 Thomas Trap, Serjeant, 30 Years of Age, 6 Feet high, dark Hair, slim made, pitted with the Smallpox, talks in a whining Manner; his Wife, who was heavy with Child, went off with him. Philip Ragan, Corporal, 22 Years of Age, 5 Feet 7 Inches high, brown Hair, speaks fierce, of a dark Complexion. Brice Ragan, a Private, Brother to Philip, near his Size, 20 Years of Age, fair Complexion, of an agreeable Look. Henry Mace, a Private, 5 Feet 8 Inches high, well set, fair faced, had a blue hunting Shirt when he went off; the Serjeant, Corporal, and Philip Ragan, carried off their Regimentals of Blue with white Worsted Binding; they, with Mace, were enlisted into Captain Alexander's Company, and may be taken in Frederick County, Virginia. EIGHT DOLLARS Reward for each Man, to be paid by
ALEXANDER SPOTSWOOD, Col. 2d Virg. Reg. - 
Virginia Gazette (Dixon & Hunter), Williamsburg , September 5, 1777 .

 

  Brown:

 "Brown linen" ca. 1759 from The Dress of the People by John Styles p262

 "Brown" linen in contemporary usage was natural colored or unbleached linen. At times this was enhanced or overdyed to be a darker brown than the light tan color of "brown" osnabrigs linen that was commonly used for hunting shirts. This brown overdye was likely most commonly achieved by putting the shirt into a leather tanning vat (generally using oak bark to provide tannins).

 Oak bark dyed linen from Experimental Archaeology in NCU - Newsletter, no 6 (2019-2)
 

"a strong tanned shirt, short trowsers, leggins and mokawsons or shoe packs."(An Historical Account of Colonel Bouquet's Expedition Against the Ohio Indians in the Year 1764

Virginia Gazette (Purdie & Dixon), Williamsburg , July 8, 1773.

 "  FIFTEEN POUNDS REWARD. RUN away from NEABSCO Furnace, two Convicts, and an indented Servant, belonging to the Honourable John Tayloe, Esquire, viz. JOSEPH LOVEDAY, from the West of England, about twenty three Years of Age, five Feet seven Inches high, of a ruddy Complexion, with sandy coloured Hair, a red Beard, a pretty smooth Face, very squeaking Voice, a large Scar on his Throat, and his Knee has been disjointed when he was a Boy, which makes him trail his leg when he walks. He went off some time last Fall, and was seen, I am lately told, about Mr. Zeen's Iron Works, in Frederick County; so that it is presumed he is still in that or some of the back Counties, and may be employed in the Farming or Team driving Business, which he professed, but is very ignorant of both. He carried with him a blue Fearnought and a white Cotton Jacket, long Trousers died brown with Tan Bark, and in other Respects was clothed as Servants commonly are."

 

 

Detail from an apparently overdyed brown linen short coat or jacket. Connecticut Historical Society 1981.110.0 


Virginia Gazette (Purdie), Williamsburg , September 6, 1776.

    DESERTED from the College camp, the 2d instant (September) a soldier who says his name is JOHN BOYD, born in New England, and a shoemaker by trade. He is about 30 years of age,
5 feet 9 or 10 inches high, and has some scars about his mouth; had on a brown hunting shirt fringed, and trousers of the same colour. He told some persons before he went off, that he was going to York town for a rifle, and some clothes that he said he left there. He had taken the place of a soldier
in my company the day he went away, and I expect he is either gone towards York or Fredericksburg. Whoever will deliver the said Boyd to my company of the second regiment shall receive 40 s. reward, paid by FRANCIS TAYLOR. 

Green:

"General Observations upon dyeing" from the 1773 edition of  the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Vol 2 page 461) mentions "That although green be the most frequent and the most common of natural colours, yet there is no simple ingredient now used alone to dye green with upon any material; sap -green being the nearest, which is used by country people." The 1767 Instructor: Or, Young Man's Best Companion by George Fisher has a section on "Colours and Dying" that clarifies that "Sap-green...made of the Juice of Buck thorn Berries."

Buckthorn berry dye on cotton, linen, silk, hemp, and wool fibers, from Dye plants in curious spaces.


Schoolmaster John Guy's 1796 Miscellaneous Selections; or, the rudiments of useful knowledge mentions that "Green colours are to be produced only by a mixture of blue and yellow...it is common first to dye the cloth blue with indigo,and then yellow with any yellow colouring ingredient; by which means a green colour is produced." For further discussion on greens, look here.

"A regiment from Virginia lay in York.  I prevail'd on my mother to make me a hunting shirt and trousers, green with yellow fringe.  Thus equip'd I was constant with this Virginia encampment.
 Then men were in a poor condition to meet an enemy: old and young, rich and poor, all in brotherly bond, some with out shoes or stockings, some no coats, some with old muskets and some with fowling pieces,
however as they went on their journey, whear supplied by citizens who could spare them clothes and provisions..."Memoir of John Durang Pitssburgh 1966 p6 -
Katcher's Uniforms of the Continental army p 169


The Virginia Gazette, January 19, 1776
Richmond, December 26, 1775
The above servant was lately seen in Williamsburg, in a hunting shirt with green trimmings, and said he had enlisted in a company at York town.

The Pennsylvania Gazette Philadelphia, August 22, 1776.

FIFTY SIX DOLLARS Reward. DESERTED, this morning, from Captain Copenhaver company, 2d Battalion of Riflemen, of Lancaster county, commanded by Colonel GREEN, the five following men, viz.

Balizer Bomgardner, about 32 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches high, well set, sandy coloured hair; had on a green frock and trowsers; took his arms and accoutrements with him. Adam Bomgardner, brother of the said Balizer, about 30 years of age, near 5 feet 10 inches high, black hair; had on a green frock and trowsers. Adam Tidler, about 20 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches high, stoops in his walk, sandy coloured hair; had on a green frock and trowsers; took his arms and accoutrements with him.Jacob Musser, about 20 years of age, near 5 feet 8 inches high, a Shoemaker by trade; had on a green frock and trowsers. John Toops, about 25 years of age, 5 feet 2 inches high, well set, black hair; had on a green frock and trowsers; was Drummer to the company.They were all of Hanover township, Lancaster county, neighbours to each other, had all received the advance money. - The said Balizer Bomgardner had entered in the place of another man, who paid him Ten Pounds for the same. - The arms and accoutrements were appraised in order to be paid for by the public. Whoever takes up said deserters, and delivers them at the camp, at Amboy, or secures them, so that they may be delivered to the Commanding Officers of said Battalion, shall receive for the said Balizer Bomgardner, the reward of Twenty four Dollars, and for each of the others Eight Dollars, and all reasonable charges, paid by THOMAS COPENHAVER , Captain.

 Purple:

Purple could be achieved with maple bark and copperas (a green hydrated ferrous sulfate used especially in making inks and pigments), as well as imported logwood dyes. 


Purple from Sumac on cotton, linen, ramie/silk, wool, and silk fibers from Dye plants in curious spaces.


"It is Expected that each Capt. will with all Expedition Provide Legins for his men & hunting shirts Dyd of a purple Coulour"   (Orderly Book of the 2d Virginia Regiment, October 27, 1775) 

 Virginia Gazette or, Norfolk Intelligencer (Duncan), Norfolk , June 15, 1775.

"   RUN away from the subscriber the 20th instant, (May 1775) a convict servant man named GEORGE NEWTON, a farmer, born in Yorkshire, imported in the Justitia this spring; a stout man about 6 feet high, much freckled, a very red beard, walks clumsily, has a scar on the fore part of his head and some on his left arm, said to be occasioned by shot, he has been in some office about the custom-house in London. He took with him two oznabrig shirts almost new, one of them lately dyed of a purple colour with maple bark and copperas, a pair of trowsers of thin dutch or oznabrigs very narrow for him, a bound felt hat, a pair of old country made shoes, a jacket without sleeves, when new was of a claret colour (much worn) he stole a white linen shirt, stock and brass stock buckle, one pair of new worsted hose mixed brown and white, one pair of white yarn stockings; he may have stole other clothes..."

Yellow:

 

Dandelion flower dyes on cotton, linen, and ramie/silk, from Dye plants in curious spaces.
 

Yellow could be achieved with Hickory bark.

"In the year1776 belonged to a Company of militia composed of Young men, natives of America of good character and standing Commanded by Capt. Peter Mantz, Adam Grosh first Lieut., and Peter Adams second Lieut., natives and residents of Frederick-Town Maryland. A Hunting shirt, dyed yellow with Hickory bark, Pantaloons of the same, a pair of Indian Legons of gran [green?] cloth with a piece of Bearskin over the crown of the hat: armed with a good Rifle and Tomahawk, shot pouch & powder horn   thus armed and accoutred, we took up the line of march about the 1st of June for the City of Annapolis..." S31960 John Shellman

 

1777 Va Gazette
Twenty Dollars Reward
For apprehending John O'Neal, who deserted from Winchester the 3d instant. He is about 5 feet 9 inches high, stout made, and wears a yellow hunting shirt. He was enlisted by col. Neaville, and served some time at fort Pitt. Since his desertion I have been informed he enlisted with capt. Craghorn of the 8th regiment, and was left sick at Williamsburg when that company marched to New York, and that he has received the bounty of several recruiting officers besides myself.
Matthew Smith
1st Virginia Regiment  Winchester, April 15, 1777


Sunday, January 5, 2025

Upcoming F&I conference: "Washington's First War" starting 2/14/25

 



 
 
 
Washington's First War: The Great War for Empire on the American Frontier
 
The George Washington Hotel, Winchester, Virginia
 
February 14-15, 2025

Includes tours of Fort Frederick and Winchester. Speakers include David Preston, John R. Maass, Ph.D., Scott C. Patchan, Timothy Shannon, Ph.D., Jim Mullins, James M. Dubik  and Glenn F. Williams, Ph.D.
 
Further information and registration info is here 
 

Photo courtesy Todd Post
 

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

"fine Fowling Pieces...of Richd & Wm Wilson & Compy" for South Carolina 1763

 A 1763 shipment to Charleston, South Carolina for twelve fowling pieces of varied quality and price from the Wilson firm can be found in the Robert Hogg Account Books. Hogg was a merchant in Charleston, S.C. and Wilmington, N.C.

 

 

Vol 1.  p31, Robert Hogg Account Books, #343, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Crate
93 Case of Richd & Wm Wilson & Compy 12 Octb

No. 1    2 fine Fowling Pieces 18/- 1/16
    2. 2 Ditto 25/-    2/10
    3. 2 ditto with wrot [wrought/engraved] brass furniture 30/-    3/-
    4. 2 ditto Blue Barl. Silver Sights    40/    4/
    5. 2 ditto Barrels to take out & ca. 50/ 5/
    6. 2 ditto Ditto & ca.    55/     5/10

p32

No. 4 Invoice for the Nancy Capt Mitchell Continued

Amount Brought forward....88/1/5

93 a Case of Richd & Wm Wilson Brot forward 21/16
    12 list Cases    6
    12 Bridle Gun Locks    5/6    3/6/-
    12 Setts Screw Pins    2

 

In addition to fowling pieces, a few entries in the same ledger contain items related to militia and sporting goods that were being imported.

 


Dead Game (before 1794) Carrington and Bowles. Note the "hair Shot Bags with Button" and "brass mounted Powder flask with Strings".

 [p24 on the Little Carpenter for Hogg and Clayton]

#56 Trunk of Whitbread & Gifford 6 Sepbr. 1762

No. 1   6 Buckhandled Lacqd Cuttoes with Belts [cuttoe swords]  4/4- 1/6
    2 6 Boiled white Ebony handles with Do 7/6-2/5
    3 1 dz Cartouch Boxes 19/-
    4 1 1/2 dz hair Shot Bags with Buttons 15/-    1/2/6
    5 1/2 dz Ditto ...Ketches 18/    9/-
    6 1 dz brass mounted Powder flasks with Strings 15/-
    7 1/2 dz ditto better 39/-    19/6
    8 4 ditto without strings 2/6    10/-
    9 3 neat Leather Shott Bags with brass Tops 2/6    7/6
    10 2 Leather powder flask with strings 3/6    2/
    11 1 dx Single Gun Worms Say Hammers 4/
    12 1 dx double Do    do    8/
    13 3 M fine Yellow Gunflints 24/ 3/2
    14 1/2 M pistol do 12/-


 

Friday, October 11, 2024

New Article on the Material culture of Dunmore's War


 

My recent work on the material culture of Dunmore's War is in print, just in time for the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Point Pleasant. Copies of the Sept/Oct 2024 issue of Muzzleloader Magazine featuring this work and more are available here:  https://www.muzzleloadermagazine.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_70&products_id=419

Saturday, September 7, 2024

New Revolutionary War exhibit- "The Revolutionary Roots of Southwest Virginia"

 

 


 I am excited to announce that some of my recent work for the Town of Wytheville Museums will be opening soon. "The Revolutionary Roots of Southwest Virginia" was made possible by a grant from the VA250 Commission and features artifact loans courtesy of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources from the Fort Chiswell site. The exhibit highlights the diverse role that Southwest Virginia played in the American Revolution. The opening reception will be on September 13, 2024 at 5pm at the Thomas J. Boyd Museum.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Glenn F. Williams Lecture—Lord Dunmore’s War July 17, 2024 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Virtual and In Person

Lecture—Lord Dunmore’s War with Glenn F. Williams
July 17, 2024 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Virtual or in Person
Date:
July 17, 2024
Time:
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Event Category:
Lectures and Author’s Talks Venue
Anderson House 2118 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20008 United States
Phone:
202-785-2040
Organizer

The American Revolution Institute
Phone:

202-785-2040

About the Speaker

Glenn F. Williams was the senior historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History, Fort McNair, D.C. Prior to that, his positions included historian of the National Museum of the U.S. Army Project, historian of the Army Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration, historian of the American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service, curator and historian of the USS Constellation Museum and assistant curator of the Baltimore Civil War Museum – President Street Station. He is the author of several books, including Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign Against the Iroquois (Westholme Publishing, 2006) and Dunmore’s War: The Last Conflict of America’s Colonial Era (Westholme Publishing, 2017). In 2018, he received the Shelby Cullom Davis Award from the Society of Colonial Wars and the Judge Robert K. Woltz Award from the French and Indian War Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Monday, March 18, 2024

Backcountry gardens

The Norman Gateway and Moat Garden, Windsor Castle c. 1770 
by Paul Sandby (Royal Collection Trust)

On the eve of the first day of spring, I'd like to share some information on what produce was being grown in the gardens of the 18th-century backcountry in Colonial America- as one cannot live on parched corn and jerky alone. In the late 1760s in the Carolinas, the Reverend Charles Woodmason complained about "Subsisting on my Bisket and Rice Water and Musk Melons, Cucumbers, Green Apples and Peaches and such Trash."

ca. 1602, Juan Sánchez Cotán.

Annie (Henry) Christian of Dunkard's bottom wrote to her sister in law, Anne (Christian) Fleming at her home Belmont (Roanoke, Virginia) on April 29, 1775 "...I left some Turnip seed behind a glass in your Hall (if I remember right) with please send @ first oppertunity, & I must beg some Colewort [kale] seed [and?] Cabbage seed from you, as all that Mr. Christian brought me up, Seems good for nothing...P.S. I want a little Cucumber seed too." [MSS x-4 Washington & Lee University William and Anne Fleming Family papers

 
Sarah and James Nourse
 
While traveling in Kentucky in the same year, Virginian James Nourse wrote about the food (including fresh greens) he ate:

"Sunday, June 18th ....Stopt about half an hour to eat Mulberries- by which means got wet before we got to Harrod's between 5 and 6 oClock, got an excellent stew of buffalo and as much Lettuce and young Endive as I could eat but no bread, made as good a Meal as ever I would with-a tolerable good house having a floor and a Chimney but not stopt- a pleasant situation & good water. Monday 19th Having breakfasted upon Stewed pork without Bread or Salad, proceeded for Boonsburg..."
 
William Calk's Journal of his trip to Kentucky mentions "...Elk gardin...Suplid our Selves with Seed Corn & irish tators...a walet of Corn..."[March 30, 1775].
 
An extensive list of the vegetable, flower and fruit seeds that "Messers Benton and Wharton" shipped to the Illinois country in 1768 is available in Appendix C of Mark Baker's "Sons of a Trackless Forest" (print version only).