re: Is it acceptable to wear Civil War garb in public?

Why would you want to wear heavy arse itchy wool unless you had to

The heritage you so eagerly want to celebrate included men that would take their hat offwhen they entered a room.

Why did you leave your hat on in their house? The host nonetheless.

Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is a quality troll. It has something for everyone. Racism, horrible taste in attire, wearing a jersey as a grown man, a controversial take on history so everyone can come in and act like a historical scholar, and a woman throwing a fit.

Well done. I don't believe for a second any of it was real, but it provided for some good reading.

Why did you even waste your time and breath talking to her? You're an adult, wear what you want.

One of my GFs was a 1st Sgt in The 33rd Ga.(Gilmer Tigers.) His regiment was taken POW when Pemberton surrendered to Grant at Vicksburg and was later paroled in a prisoner exchange. After coming home, the regiment was reformed and they were active in the siege of Chattanooga. After the siege was broken and Grant broke out and the Union forces commenced their march to Atlanta, the confederates made winter camp around Dalton, Ga.

Most of the confederate soldiers that were in camp that winter were North Ga mountain men who never supported the legislature in secession in 61. Most, including my GF, were coerced by Confederate Home Guards to enlist and report to muster. The decline to do so resulted in property(farms mainly) destruction, beatings, and even some killings of local mountain men at the hands of the home guard. They weren’t on the side of the Union but were not ardent secessionist as they had little skin in the game as most of them were not slave owners. The ardent supporters in Ga were down on the plains and/ or near the coast. In fact, secession votes in the legislature show that the upper counties in the mountains were overwhelmingly not in support of secession.

Grant was persuaded by an under officer that a good idea would be to offer the soldiers who were in that winter camp a way to remove themselves from the fighting. Grant signed off on the plan and the Underground Railroad for defectors was put into action. They were able to get word to the soldiers in camp that a system was in place to help them to escape to Chattanooga where they would be able to pledge an oath of allegiance to the U.S.. Once they did so, they were given two options. 1. Travel north of the Ohio River and work in Union labor camps with pay or 2. Join newly formed regiments of defectors and serve as labor/rear guard to Sherman’s troops with the promise of no combat. Either way, they were to be bound to their service until the war ended.

My GF was at this time close to his farm in Ellijay and took the second option to remain fairly close to home. Many of the North Ga men chose this option. He was one of the last men in his regiment to defect. Over 80% of his regiment defected from winter until early spring. A few were caught and executed trying.

My GF made it through and became a 1st SGT in the 5th Tennessee Mounted Infantry and remained there doing rear guard labor for Sherman until they passed Atlanta and then they were redeployed to do labor work in N.C. until the end of the war. He ended up applying for and receiving a union pension in 1888 when he was 62.

I have documented every one of my GFs who fought for the Confederacy (12) and have discovered some fascinating records for most of them but his might be the most unique of them all. He is the only one who participated in the war as a NCO for both sides.

Another was my GF who was in the 2nd Charleston Battalion as a 2nd Lt at Battery Wagner when the 54th Mass (all black regiment) made its vanguard assault on the fort. He ended up with Col. Shaw’s sword , scabbard, and silk sash and kept it until he returned it to the Shaw family ten years after the war.