For the Men...
The following is a basic list of clothing and equipment items needed for a solid Southeastern Native portrayal. It is not a be-all and end-all list. There are exceptions to every rule. This list will provide general information by time period and article but will not include specific documentation. Historical references can be found elsewhere throughout this website and the accompanying blog.
Let's begin with a note on decoration. Fancy clothing was reserved for fancy occaisions. When at war, it was standard practice for the warrior to leave all the fancy stuff at home. That means they were not going into battle covered with bling - no silk ribbon, silver, beads... . It is easiest and cheapest to start out by building a kit for the campaign. Plain blue wool everything... don't waist your money on beads, silver and silk. Save that for later when you have the basics. Dont even worry about fancy sashes and garters - they werent wearing those in battle either!
Matchcoat: No Native man should be without his matchcoat. While a man might go without a shirt, he never went without a matchcoat... except while in combat. A matchcoat is simply a rectacle of cloth, roughly 60" by 65". If we follow the historical record, blue wool was the most common throughout the entire 18th century. It can be decorated with silk ribbon, beads, and even ring broaches. It could also be left entirely plain. Either way, every single man should have one.
Breechcloth: The breechcloths were the pants and underwear of the 18th century Native male. Typically, they were about 10" wide, give or take. It was worn with a belt of some type (leather, strips of cloth, a sash) tied around the waist and the clout draped over it, front and back. Like the matchcoat, blue was the most common color, though red was mentioned a bit too. They could be decorated or plain.
Leggings: Leggings of the 18th century were universally described as having a flap about 3 to 4 inches wide running the length of the leg. Many reenactors do not like flaps on their leggings - but the 18th century Indians did. Suck it up and keep the flaps! There is also no evidence for centerseam leggings being worn until the very tail end of the 1700's by anyone; so dont even think about it!
During the F&I war period, SE Natives were bursting at the seams with blue wool. Any Native male that participated in a British military expedition would expect to have 3 to 4 pairs of blue wool leggings. That doesnt even cover all the trade that was going on. At the start of the American Revolution, however, trade was almost completely cut off. The Cherokee were lucky to get ammunition while others, like the Creek and Chickasaw still recieved a trickle of goods. By the time the Chicamagua War started, the Cherokee were in pretty rough shape. This would be the time when leather leggings and such would be most common. In the earlier period, they were rarely used by the peoples with any access to trade.
Shirt: White linen shirts were most common in the 1750's but were quickly loosing ground to check linen shirts. By 1758, check linen was the absolute most common shirt traded or gifted in the SE. This held true through the later 1780's as well. Window pane checks were far more common than the tablecloth style.
The shirt should have narrow wrist bands, under 1" wide. The neck could be closed with a button and buttonhole or ties. The wrist bands could be closed with a button and buttonhole, sleeve links, silk ribbon, or ties.
Moccasins: In the Southeast, the puckered toe, center seam moc was the most common. Here is a pretty good set of directions on making them by David Mott. It would be best to make them undecorated and to have multiple pairs. Do not try to waterproof them. All it does is delay the inevitable and slow down the amount of time to get them dry once they are soaked.
Garters: It is best to start out by using 1" wide red wool tape such as sold here. Once again, fancy garters were not commonly worn during battles but red wool tape like this was commonly worn all of the time. Likewise, it is easy to get the wrong style of expensive, fancy fingerwoven or heddle woven bead garters. Then you are out lots of money! When you are ready to get fancy garters, just remember that diamond, chevron, and other fancy weaving techniques are wrong for most of the 18th century Southeast. Oblique weave, on the other hand, was common well into the 19th century!
Sashes: Like fancy garters, sashes were not worn in combat. Sashes were a fancy, dress up item used to impress. "So how did they carry their war club/ax..?" Shirts were not worn in combat. The club or ax was easly stuffed in the same belt that held the breechcloth and legging up. If you absolutely have to wear something around your waist during a battle, use a leather belt with a brass buckle. But please avoid the sash... its just wrong!
Powderhorn: Styles of horns varied by region and time. It is best to get a plain horn with little or no decoration in either cow or buffalo. Yes, there were buffalo east of the Mississippi River! There are a number of buffalo powderhorns which survive. Now, if you absolutely have to have something fancy, get a heddlewoven bead, or oblique fingerwoven powderhorn strap. If you can stomach being plain, use that good old 1 inch wide red wool tape mentioned above! Other colors of twill tape were used as well - blue, green, yellow, black, etch... but red is most commonly mentioned.
Shot Bag: Here is where most folks go real wrong. Unfortunately, there are a lot of uneducated "artisans" out there who care more about making a buck than they do about authenticity. First a list of donts:
Don't use a painted bag.
Don't use a twined bag.
Don't use a wool broadcloth bag.
Don't use a quilled bag.
Don't add tons of beads, silver, and deer hair to a bag.
But Jason, you're so harsh! I know... I know...
The best bag to use for a shot bag is either an otter hide bag, with the hair still on it, or a simple "D" shaped or rectangular braintanned bag. There just is no documentation to prove that anything else existed... therefore, it is all fantasy! That is right, its make believe!
Knife: Knives were traded by the thousands. More than anything else, folding knives dominated! Get yourself a good, quality folding knife, then search for a common trade knife. Stay away from knives with antler handles, and those made from old files.
Guns: In the Southeast, the "Carolina Gun" or "Type G" was the most common. French "Type C" and "D" are found archaeologically throughout the SE as well. There are only a couple makers producing GOOD trade guns. Things to look for in a quality trade gun: Barrel no shorter than 46: for a British gun or 44" for a French gun. Light weight: 5 to 7 lbs is the heaviest which should be acceptable. Brass furniture should be sheet brass, not cast.
Mike Seidleman, Jack Brooks, Mike Brooks, and Ben Coogle are the go-to guys for English trade guns.
Alex Efremenko is the only fellow I am aware of who is currently producing a really solid French trade gun - and they are awesome!
Tumpline: To transport deer hides to market, blankets and food while traveling... or what ever... the tumpline was the Native way to go! The safest direction to go with a tumpline is the undecorated, woven variety (avoid jute at all costs! Use hemp, dogbane or something similar). There are many originals which survive and they all have remarkably similar features: A twine woven center section typically measuring about 22" long by 2" wide. The two ends of the woven section taper into oblique woven tails measuring at least 6' each, with the last 1 to 3' split. Tumplines may also have been made of buffalo hide in similar fashion to the woven cordage variety.
Blanket: Just as common as the matchcoat, blankets were very important, especially in the colder months. Duffel blankets were probably the most common in the SE. They were white, with one to three colored stripes on each end. The stripes were most commonly red or blue. There is little information supporting "half blankets" (that is a modern reenactor fad) or decorating blankets. However, a blanket could certainly double as the matchcoat!
Jewelry: As mentioned above, less is more, especial when it comes to war. It was rare to see much of any decoration on men while on campaign. While not actively engaged with war, however, men became quite dandy. Silver ball and cone earrings, silver ball and cone noserings, silver arm bands, silver wrist bands, silver gorgets, beads around the neck, and the wrists too! It is best to stay far away from most brass and all copper ornaments however. These have been made popular by reenactors who refuse to spend a little bit of extra money to buy the right stuff. Generally speaking, if it isnt Sterling silver, do not wear it! Concentrate on the basics before digging into the fancy stuff.
There are other items, but these are the basics. Start off getting the plain stuff. Otherwise, you'll end up waisting a bunch of money down the road. I know I have.
Images of men doing it right:
Let's begin with a note on decoration. Fancy clothing was reserved for fancy occaisions. When at war, it was standard practice for the warrior to leave all the fancy stuff at home. That means they were not going into battle covered with bling - no silk ribbon, silver, beads... . It is easiest and cheapest to start out by building a kit for the campaign. Plain blue wool everything... don't waist your money on beads, silver and silk. Save that for later when you have the basics. Dont even worry about fancy sashes and garters - they werent wearing those in battle either!
Matchcoat: No Native man should be without his matchcoat. While a man might go without a shirt, he never went without a matchcoat... except while in combat. A matchcoat is simply a rectacle of cloth, roughly 60" by 65". If we follow the historical record, blue wool was the most common throughout the entire 18th century. It can be decorated with silk ribbon, beads, and even ring broaches. It could also be left entirely plain. Either way, every single man should have one.
Breechcloth: The breechcloths were the pants and underwear of the 18th century Native male. Typically, they were about 10" wide, give or take. It was worn with a belt of some type (leather, strips of cloth, a sash) tied around the waist and the clout draped over it, front and back. Like the matchcoat, blue was the most common color, though red was mentioned a bit too. They could be decorated or plain.
Leggings: Leggings of the 18th century were universally described as having a flap about 3 to 4 inches wide running the length of the leg. Many reenactors do not like flaps on their leggings - but the 18th century Indians did. Suck it up and keep the flaps! There is also no evidence for centerseam leggings being worn until the very tail end of the 1700's by anyone; so dont even think about it!
During the F&I war period, SE Natives were bursting at the seams with blue wool. Any Native male that participated in a British military expedition would expect to have 3 to 4 pairs of blue wool leggings. That doesnt even cover all the trade that was going on. At the start of the American Revolution, however, trade was almost completely cut off. The Cherokee were lucky to get ammunition while others, like the Creek and Chickasaw still recieved a trickle of goods. By the time the Chicamagua War started, the Cherokee were in pretty rough shape. This would be the time when leather leggings and such would be most common. In the earlier period, they were rarely used by the peoples with any access to trade.
Shirt: White linen shirts were most common in the 1750's but were quickly loosing ground to check linen shirts. By 1758, check linen was the absolute most common shirt traded or gifted in the SE. This held true through the later 1780's as well. Window pane checks were far more common than the tablecloth style.
The shirt should have narrow wrist bands, under 1" wide. The neck could be closed with a button and buttonhole or ties. The wrist bands could be closed with a button and buttonhole, sleeve links, silk ribbon, or ties.
Moccasins: In the Southeast, the puckered toe, center seam moc was the most common. Here is a pretty good set of directions on making them by David Mott. It would be best to make them undecorated and to have multiple pairs. Do not try to waterproof them. All it does is delay the inevitable and slow down the amount of time to get them dry once they are soaked.
Garters: It is best to start out by using 1" wide red wool tape such as sold here. Once again, fancy garters were not commonly worn during battles but red wool tape like this was commonly worn all of the time. Likewise, it is easy to get the wrong style of expensive, fancy fingerwoven or heddle woven bead garters. Then you are out lots of money! When you are ready to get fancy garters, just remember that diamond, chevron, and other fancy weaving techniques are wrong for most of the 18th century Southeast. Oblique weave, on the other hand, was common well into the 19th century!
Sashes: Like fancy garters, sashes were not worn in combat. Sashes were a fancy, dress up item used to impress. "So how did they carry their war club/ax..?" Shirts were not worn in combat. The club or ax was easly stuffed in the same belt that held the breechcloth and legging up. If you absolutely have to wear something around your waist during a battle, use a leather belt with a brass buckle. But please avoid the sash... its just wrong!
Powderhorn: Styles of horns varied by region and time. It is best to get a plain horn with little or no decoration in either cow or buffalo. Yes, there were buffalo east of the Mississippi River! There are a number of buffalo powderhorns which survive. Now, if you absolutely have to have something fancy, get a heddlewoven bead, or oblique fingerwoven powderhorn strap. If you can stomach being plain, use that good old 1 inch wide red wool tape mentioned above! Other colors of twill tape were used as well - blue, green, yellow, black, etch... but red is most commonly mentioned.
Shot Bag: Here is where most folks go real wrong. Unfortunately, there are a lot of uneducated "artisans" out there who care more about making a buck than they do about authenticity. First a list of donts:
Don't use a painted bag.
Don't use a twined bag.
Don't use a wool broadcloth bag.
Don't use a quilled bag.
Don't add tons of beads, silver, and deer hair to a bag.
But Jason, you're so harsh! I know... I know...
The best bag to use for a shot bag is either an otter hide bag, with the hair still on it, or a simple "D" shaped or rectangular braintanned bag. There just is no documentation to prove that anything else existed... therefore, it is all fantasy! That is right, its make believe!
Knife: Knives were traded by the thousands. More than anything else, folding knives dominated! Get yourself a good, quality folding knife, then search for a common trade knife. Stay away from knives with antler handles, and those made from old files.
Guns: In the Southeast, the "Carolina Gun" or "Type G" was the most common. French "Type C" and "D" are found archaeologically throughout the SE as well. There are only a couple makers producing GOOD trade guns. Things to look for in a quality trade gun: Barrel no shorter than 46: for a British gun or 44" for a French gun. Light weight: 5 to 7 lbs is the heaviest which should be acceptable. Brass furniture should be sheet brass, not cast.
Mike Seidleman, Jack Brooks, Mike Brooks, and Ben Coogle are the go-to guys for English trade guns.
Alex Efremenko is the only fellow I am aware of who is currently producing a really solid French trade gun - and they are awesome!
Tumpline: To transport deer hides to market, blankets and food while traveling... or what ever... the tumpline was the Native way to go! The safest direction to go with a tumpline is the undecorated, woven variety (avoid jute at all costs! Use hemp, dogbane or something similar). There are many originals which survive and they all have remarkably similar features: A twine woven center section typically measuring about 22" long by 2" wide. The two ends of the woven section taper into oblique woven tails measuring at least 6' each, with the last 1 to 3' split. Tumplines may also have been made of buffalo hide in similar fashion to the woven cordage variety.
Blanket: Just as common as the matchcoat, blankets were very important, especially in the colder months. Duffel blankets were probably the most common in the SE. They were white, with one to three colored stripes on each end. The stripes were most commonly red or blue. There is little information supporting "half blankets" (that is a modern reenactor fad) or decorating blankets. However, a blanket could certainly double as the matchcoat!
Jewelry: As mentioned above, less is more, especial when it comes to war. It was rare to see much of any decoration on men while on campaign. While not actively engaged with war, however, men became quite dandy. Silver ball and cone earrings, silver ball and cone noserings, silver arm bands, silver wrist bands, silver gorgets, beads around the neck, and the wrists too! It is best to stay far away from most brass and all copper ornaments however. These have been made popular by reenactors who refuse to spend a little bit of extra money to buy the right stuff. Generally speaking, if it isnt Sterling silver, do not wear it! Concentrate on the basics before digging into the fancy stuff.
There are other items, but these are the basics. Start off getting the plain stuff. Otherwise, you'll end up waisting a bunch of money down the road. I know I have.
Images of men doing it right: