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Fancy Pants
A Short History Of The Uniform Of The Marines
By Col. Robert H. Rankin
Thanks To advertisements for men's wear, we have long since
been sold on the idea that clothes make the man. Although it takes more than
a uniform to make a soldier, the fact remains that a soldier suit does give a
man's morale a lift and makes for the much desired esprit de corps. The Marines
can readily testify to the truth of this, and pride in the uniform has been traditional
with the Corps. Leatherneck uniforms have always been colorful, and they provide
an insight into military fashions during the past hundred and seventy-five years.
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As To Uniforms in
general, no one knows for sure just when they actually
first appeared. Of course, armor itself was in the nature
of a uniform, and it is possible that the lads in the tin
pants were the first to attain anything like a uniform
appearance. We do know that the knights were in the habit
of wearing distinctive surcoats and jupons over their iron
suits, and these may be regarded as something of a uniform.
For instance, at one time English knights wore a white
surcoat, emblazoned with the red cross of St. George, while
the Scots gentry of the same period wore a blue garment
decorated with a white St. Andrew's cross.
Quite possibly the first uniforms, in the sense that we know them today, were
those worn by the Papal Guard, designed by no less a worthy than Michelangelo
himself, and by the scarlet clad Beef Eaters of Yeomen of the Guard of Henry
VIII's time/ Interestingly enough, these organizations are still in existence,
and today they wear much the same uniform as they did at the time of their inception.
The Eighteenth Century
A review of the subject reveals that military garb has pretty generally been
patterned after that worn by civilians. Thus, during the Eighteenth Century
most military organizations wore square-cut coats with large, turnback cuffs
and lace ruffles; long waistcoats pocketed like the cots; stockings drawn up
over the knee and gartered below it; lace neck cloths; square-toed, buckled
shoes; and three cornered hats. About the only difference in this garb was
the fact that the military wore distinctive colored facings on their coats.
It is rather interesting to note that nations successful on the field of battle
have often imposed their military fashions on the world at large. For instance,
with the French military successes early in the 1850's, practically all nations
clothed their troops in some variation of the French uniform, including even
the absurd kepi. Then along in 1870 came the disaster of Sedan,and immediately
the whole world switched to German-inspired uniforms, complete even to the
spiked helmet of Pickelhaube.
Early Use of Green
Getting back to the Marines, we find that
the first members of that fighting organization ( founded
in 1775 ) were outfitted in green; that is, all except
those who served with John Paul Jones. It isn't known
at this late date whether he couldn't secure green cloth
of the proper shade or whether he just wanted to be different,
but in any event the redoubtable Jones turned out his
Marines, in scarlet and white similar to that worn by
His Majesty's sea soldiers.
The coat of the Continental Marines was
tailored with turn-back skirts, faced with white for
officers, and it was liberally sprinkled with decorative
buttons bearing a foul anchor device. Officers wore a
white waistcoat and breeches, the later edged with green,
and a white ruffled shirt. Black boots and a black cocked
hat with cockade and colored plume completed this rig.
The get-up of the enlisted men was just
about as fancy. Their coats were faced with red, and
they wore buff breeches, green ruffled shirts, buff woolen
stockings, and black shoes with pewter buckles. A small,
round, derby-like hat with white binding topped off this
outfit.
Origin of Leathernecks
A particular abomination of all early uniforms
was the leather stock, the wearing of which caused the
Marines to be dubbed Leathernecks. There is a legend
to the effect that this leather choker was originally
worn to protect the neck and throat from cutlass slashes,
but that is pure fiction. The fact is that it was designed
for the simple purpose of making the wearer hold his
head erect at all times, and it encircled the neck so
tightly that it was impossible to turn head.
That the stock was rugged article of wearing
apparel is ... |
...testified to in a letter from a Major
Daniel Carmick to an early Commandant of the Corps, in
which communication he discussed the issue of a Marine's
possessing more than two stocks at a time. "Two
stocks should be sufficient for five year," he wrote. " I
wore one myself for nine years, and then laid it aside
because it was out of fashion, not that it was any worse
for wear. " It is reported, incidentally, that the
major was just as tough as the leather in his stock.
Still another absurdity of the times was
the three-cornered cocked hat. More often than not it
was improperly fitted and was difficult to keep on, particularly
in a wind. More than one sea-going Marine officer complained
officially that they had trouble with enlisted men's
hats blowing overboard. Each hat lost was charged against
the man's pay, and since the hat cost around two dollars,
there was often little enough left out of his monthly
pay of seven dollars.
The Nineteenth Century
By the turn of the Nineteenth Century the
Leathernecks were wearing what was to become the traditional
scarlet and blue for the first time. Uniforms in all
services were running to extremes, influenced no doubt
by the fancy outfits worn by some of the British, French
and Hessian regiments in this country during the course
of the Revolutionary War.
Up until the War of 1812 Marine uniforms
underwent numerous changes, and prior to 1804 the only
attempt at uniformity was through letters from the Commandant
to commanding officers. However, in 1804, the first formal
uniform regulations were issued by the Secretary of the
Navy.
At this time officers were wearing long
blue coats with scarlet lining and lapels, together with
a scarlet vest, blue breeches, black boots and black
cocked hat with scarlet plume.
Enlisted men were turned out in blue coats
and pantaloons trimmed with scarlet, scarlet cross belts
and vests, and shakoes with a scarlet pompom in front.
The hair of both officers and enlisted men was queued
and powdered according to the custom of the times.
In spite of the fancy uniforms this was
the season of severe and brutal discipline. Flogging
was the usual form of punishment. The lashes of the cat
were laid on at the tap of a drum, and the whole thing
was conducted with considerable ceremony. Commanding
officer had extremely broad powers in administering discipline,
but Congress, in 1799, specified the CO's could not award
more than twelve lashes. Other punishments of the time
included shaving half the head, drumming a man out of
garrison, and hard labor with ball and chain.
Old Marine Corps records reveal
that in 1820 a private was sentenced for desertion to wear
an iron collar round his neck for four months with a
6-lb ball and forfeit all the pay; then be drummed out
of garrison. For being asleep on his post another
Marine was sentenced to walk post with iron collar
and balls for two months. A rugged breed they must
have been in those days!
Changes in Uniform Regulations
It is significant that the
early commandants of the Corps invited suggestions from
both officers and enlisted men, and such suggestions
were directly responsible for many sensible changes.
In 1819 eight junior officers signed a letter to the
Commandant in which they asked that lower grade officers
be allowed to wear uniform patterned after that worn
by the enlisted men, pointing out that junior officers
could not afford the high cost of a dress uniform. The
Commandant approved the request, and in 1820 the Secretary
of the Navy issued regulations which permitted junior
officers to wear the same style shako, blouse, and trousers
as were provided for enlisted men.
This proved to be so practical
and economical that a year later the Commandant requested
the Secretary of the Navy to approve an undress uniform
in order that the necessity of the officers wearing
their full uniforms on ordinary duty may be obviated
and a less expensive dress be substituted. The request
was approved, and an order was issued prescribing and
undress uniform for officers, consisting of a plain single-breasted
coat ...
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| ... Instead of the elaborately decorated
double-breasted affair worn for dress occasions.
Blue and scarlet predominated in the Marine uniforms until
1833, when President Andrew Jackson approved a practical
outfit with grass green coats and light grey trousers.
However, the green cloth had a tendency to fade, and in
1839 there was a return to the traditional colors.
At this time officers wore for dress a dark blue double-breasted
coat with standing collar and red slashed cuffs. Trousers
were blue with a scarlet stripe, and a crimson net sash
with bullion end fringes was passed twice around the waist
and tied on the left side. Black boots and a black beaver
hat with red cock feathers completed the picture. Enlisted
men wore a single-breasted blue coat, sky blue trousers,
white cross belts, and a shako with red plush pompom.
Uniforms in the Civil War
During the period which included the Civil
War, Marine uniforms, in common with those of most other
military organizations,
showed a decided French influence. Officers wore a loose,
double-breasted frock. Enlisted men and officers serving
with troops wore light blue slacks, while staff officers
wore dark blue trousers with a scarlet welt. Enlisted ranks
wore a comfortable, single-breasted frock coat. Field officers
and below and the enlisted men wore an awkward French shako,
that of the officers having a gold net pompom, while the
headpiece of the troops was decorated with one of red worsted.
During the Civil War the shako was replaced by the kepi.
The headgear was decorated with a device consisting of
the shield of the United States, enclosed in a half wreath
bearing a bugle and the letter M. This cap device,
which was worn between 1859 and 1868, was the ...
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... third distinctive insignia to
be worn by the Leathernecks. The insignia worn previous to
this,
and which appeared simultaneously
between 1840 and 1859, consisted of the letters U S M enclosed
within a wreath or a foul anchor circled in laurel.
In 1868, the eagle, anchor and globe insignia, substantially
the same as that now in use, was adopted. Along about this
period the German influence began to be felt, and both enlisted
men and officers wore a spike helmet, but by 1898 the uniforms
were becoming somewhat more sensible and soon developed into
approximately the dress blues worn today.
For the six years between 1898 and 1904 Marines were on various
hard fighting assignments all over the world and the field
uniform at least became more utilitarian. Enlisted men fighting
the Spanish in Cuba and the Boxers in China wore a coarse grey
blouse and trousers, dark blue flannel shirt, high canvas leggings
and campaign hats, the latter creased fore and aft. Officers
wore loose-fitting single-breasted blue coat with mohair trimming,
coarse grey trousers, canvas leggings and campaign hat.
Marines serving in the Philippines in 1900 had the dubious
distinction of being the first to wear the khaki campaign uniforms,
including breeches that laced and fit snugly below the knee,
and canvas leggings.
In 1912 the distinctive field green winter uniform was adopted,
but due to difficulty in procuring suitable material of the
right shade, it was not worn until 1914.
The English Influence
With the entry of the United States in the First World War
the English influence began to be felt, and officers donned
the then new Sam Browne belt, the enlisted men were required
to go from bad to worse by giving up the awkward lace canvas
leggings for the imbecile aberration of spiral puttees, and
the shallow English-type tin hat was issued to all hands. Then,
in January 1918, all Marines serving with the American Expeditionary
Force were outfitted in regular Army issue olive drab. This
change was based to some extent on problems of supply, but
more particularly on the desire of General Pershing to have
all American forces in the same uniform in order to prevent
identification by enemy intelligence.
The English influence was again felt in 1928 when, in the
most recent change to be made in the uniform, roll collar winter
green and summer khaki blouses appeared for the first time.
However, the traditional leatherneck collars were retained
for the blue uniforms.
Every war, including some of the smaller ones, has brought
about piratical changes in uniforms. During the Second World
Was Marines in the Pacific wore a sensible, loose, camouflaged
outfit, this being the first time that common sense and judgment
were used in outfitting the fighting man for service in the
field.
We can't forget the lady Marines, Heaven bless 'em. In the
First World War they wore a feminine adaptation of the green
service uniform, but during the Second World War they turned
male heads with specially tailored outfits. For winter they
appeared in green wool, and in summer they sported green and
white striped seersucker during duty hours and all-white outfits
for dress uniforms.
Marine on the fighting front today are clothed in practical
battle outfits but those stateside appear in the well-known
green service uniform and the by now famous blues. What the
future may bring no man knows, but it is reasonable to expect
that the soldiers of the sea will always be counted among the
best dressed men of the year.
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