Need a Civil War soldier costume for a class project, presentation or Halloween party? Check out the various costumes in this article.
To get a historically accurate and authentic-looking costume, you should base your costume on the types of Civil War uniforms that soldiers and officers wore.
Confederate soldiers wore gray double-breasted frock coats, or single-breasted sack coats, with french blue or gray trousers and either a Hardee hat or a kepi hat. The coats had colored facings on the cuffs and collars indicating which branch of service they were in with yellow for cavalry, red for artillery and blue for infantry.
Union soldiers wore dark blue single-breasted frock coats, or single-breasted sack coats, with sky blue trousers and either a Hardee hat or a kepi hat. The coats were usually trimmed with colored cording indicating which branch of service they were in with yellow for cavalry, red for artillery and blue for infantry.
Both Confederate and Union officers had various types of collars and sleeve insignia to indicate their rank. Union officers wore either double-breasted or single-breasted frock coats depending on their specific rank.
The following Civil War soldier costumes best match these descriptions:
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Child Union Soldier Costume:
This child Union soldier costume by FunWorld includes a dark blue single-breasted sack coat and forage hat, light blue trousers, a shoulder strap with detachable belt and buckle. The rifle is not included.
The costume matches the fatigue uniform that Union soldiers wore perfectly. It is also rare for a Civil War costume to have the hat included so that is also a plus.
The costume is made out of polyester and is available in sizes 6, 8, 10 and 12. The costume is one of the best-selling Civil War soldier costumes on Amazon.
Adult Union Soldier Costume:
This adult Union soldier costume by Alexander’s Costumes includes a dark blue single-breasted sack coat with yellow trim, dark blue trousers and a belt. The hat and sword are not included.
The costume is the only one I could find that even closely resembles the Union soldier uniform. Yet, the costume doesn’t match the Union uniform exactly because the coat is a much darker blue and the trousers are not sky blue. Other than that it is quite similar and can easily pass for a Union cavalry uniform.
The costume is made out of polyester and lycra and is only available in one standard size.
Child Confederate Soldier Costume:
This child Confederate soldier costume includes an open face gray jacket with yellow trim on the sleeves, collar and front edge of the costume and gray trousers. The sword, hat and shirt are not included.
This child Confederate soldier costume is the only costume I could find that even closely matches what Confederate soldiers wore. The costume doesn’t match the Confederate uniform exactly because it has yellow trim instead of colored facings on the cuff and collar and doesn’t have any buttons down the front of the jacket. Yet it is still easily recognizable as a Confederate soldier costume.
The costume is available in small (4-6), medium (8-10) and large (10 to 12.)
Adult Confederate Soldier Costume:
This adult Confederate soldier costume by Tabi’s Characters includes a gray single-breasted sack coat with yellow facings on the collar and yellow trim on the sleeves, and gray trousers with yellow braids on the side seams and pockets.
This is the only adult Confederate soldier costume that I could find that even closely resembles an actual Confederate soldier uniform. The costume doesn’t match the official Confederate uniform exactly because it has yellow trim on the sleeves instead of colored facings on the cuffs but it is pretty similar.
The listing doesn’t say what fabric the costume is made out but my guess would be polyester. The costume is available in sizes medium, large, x large, xxl.
Child Union Officer Costume:
This child Union officer costume by Forum Novelties includes a dark blue double-breasted coat with yellow facings on the cuffs and collar and a yellow sleeve insignia, and dark blue trousers with a yellow stripe down the side seam. The hat is not included.
The costume matches the Union officer uniform pretty much perfectly, except that the trousers should be sky-blue instead of dark blue.
The costume is made out of polyester and is available in sizes small, medium and large.
Adult Union Officer Costume:
This adult Union officer costume by Forum Novelties includes a dark blue double-breasted coat with yellow facings on the cuffs and collar and a yellow sleeve insignia, and dark blue trousers.
The costume matches the Union officer uniform pretty closely except that the sleeve insignia is upside down. The base of the insignia should be along the edge of the cuff and the tip of the insignia should be pointing towards the elbow. Other than that it is almost spot on.
The costume is made out of polyester and is available in a standard one-size-fits-all.
Child Confederate Officer Costume:
This child Confederate officer costume by Forum Novelties includes a gray double
-breasted coat with yellow facings on the cuffs and collar and a yellow sleeve insignia, and gray trousers with a yellow stripe down the side seam.
The costume matches the Confederate officer uniform almost perfectly except that the sleeve insignia is on the elbow rather than near the cuff but that is only a minor difference that most people won’t notice anyway.
The costume is made out of polyester and is available in sizes small, medium and large.
Adult Confederate Officer Costume:
This adult Confederate officer costume by Alexander’s Costumes includes a gray double-breasted coat with yellow facings on the cuffs and collar and a yellow insignia on the sleeve, and gray trousers.
The costume matches what Confederate officers wore almost perfectly. The costume is made out of polyester and is available in one standard size.
Confederate Kepi Hat:
This Confederate kepi hat by HJ features a brass hat insignia and a faux leather brim. The hat is made out of gray wool with a black polyester lining and the brass hat insignia is most likely made out of plastic. The hat is available in sizes x-small, small, medium, large and x-large.
The hat matches the kepi hat Confederate soldiers wore almost perfectly except that the hat insignia looks like it features two crossed guns instead of the two crossed cannons or crossed sabers that actual kepi hats had but it looks similar enough that it is not really noticeable.
Union Kepi Hat:
This Union kepi hat by the Jacobson Hat Company features a brass hat insignia and a faux leather brim. The hat is made out of dark blue wool with a cotton lining and the brass hat insignia is made out of plastic. The hat is available in one standard size.
The hat matches the kepi hat Union soldiers wore almost perfectly except that the hat insignia features two crossed guns instead of the two crossed cannons or the crossed sabers that actual kepi hats had.
Sources:
Lord, Francis. Uniforms of the Civil War. Mineola: Dover Publications, INC, 1970
Varhola, Michael O. “Blue, Gray and Everything in Between.” New York Times, 15 June. 2011, opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/blue-gray-and-everything-in-between/
Gathman, Allen. “September 14, 1861: Union standardizes uniforms.” Seven Score and Ten, 14 Sept. 2011, gathkinsons.net/sesqui/?p=3155
Adolphus, Fred. “Basics About Confederate Uniforms.” Adolphus Confederate Uniforms, 10 May. 2010, adolphusconfederateuniforms.com/basics-of-confederate-uniforms.html
“Union Uniform.” Smithsonian Institute, www.civilwar.si.edu/soldiering_union_uniform.html
“Confederate Uniform.” Smithsonian Institute, www.civilwar.si.edu/soldiering_conf_uniform.html
“Guide to Military Uniforms.” Military.com, Military Advantage, www.military.com/join-armed-forces/military-uniforms/uniform-and-insignia-guide.html
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