Somerset
Clothing and Authenticity Guidelines
On Uniformity in the Royal Navy:
There is a persistent belief among the general public, and many reenactors as well, that sailors in the Royal Navy wore whatever they wished. This is only partially true. To be sure, enlisted men’s clothing was not officially regulated until 1857, but the supply system designed to provide the men with clothing had been in place since at least 1627.[i] Purser’s “slops” were available for purchase aboard nearly every ship in the fleet. Prior to 1758, individual contractors’ agents supplied clothing to the navy. When a ship was outfitted for sea, the vessel’s purser bought the items required from these purveyors. The clothing, wrapped in bundles and shipped in casks, was stowed in the “slop room,” a compartment usually located at the after end of the orlop deck. When a sailor needed or wanted new clothes, the purser charged the items against the man’s pay and the contractors themselves drew the money from the Pay Office. As one might expect, this system was extremely vulnerable to all manner of dishonest transactions: it was quite easy to cheat the men, the government, or both. After 1758 the Navy Board itself assumed the job of contracting for and distributing slop clothing. Contractors had to supply goods of an acceptable quality at a pre-set price. The Navy Board also took the liberal step of charging a standard price for the items. No longer could pursers (in collusion with contractors) charge their captive customers exorbitant prices for substandard garments. Relegated to the role of shopkeeper in this matter, pursers had to content themselves with a profit of £5 per every £100 worth of slop clothing sold. In addition, a purser could not sell a single man more than 5s worth of slops per month. An exception to this rule was allowed when a man entered a ship for the first time- he could then purchase clothing worth 2 months’ pay (during the American Revolution a seaman’s pay amounted to 24s per lunar month, before deductions. After deductions for
What has all of this to do with uniformity? All of the slop clothing available for purchase was made by a few contractors producing garments to match a “sealed pattern.” Therefore, they would have all looked the same. Seamen who voluntarily entered a ship might have sufficient clothing left over from a previous cruise, but many of the “Lord Mayor’s Men,” the sweepings of jails and drunk tanks, runaways, and pressed men probably did not. They would be bidden to purchase clothing as soon as their names were on the books. Even for those men who had clothes at the beginning of a commission, after several months these would begin to wear out. Unless granted leave and given an advance on his pay, a man would have no choice but to purchase clothing from the purser. Alternately, the man could buy cloth and make his own garments if skilled in that department. Yet again, all of the fabric, whether wool or linen, would be identical in color and weave. Therefore, aboard
Gabriel Bray’s drawings provide an idea of what this would have looked like. All the men in his pictures wear short, double-breasted blue jackets. Most wear white trousers, although some clearly preferred blue breeches. The Navy Board regularly purchased all these items. Thus, if we were to witness
Hats and Hair:
Sailors wore a variety of hats during our period. Most styles parallel those popular among their land-bound brethren of the same social class. The vast majority of seamen are depicted wearing wool or fur felt round hats with narrow (less than 3 inches) brims. The crowns of these hats could be round or squared, depending on individual taste. The hats were individualized to a greater extent by binding the brims with wool tape of various colors (usually referred to as “ferret” in period documents), or by adding bands or rosettes of silk. Black was perhaps most common, but the three round hats recovered from the General Carleton were brown.
Cocked hats are also much in evidence in period pictures. Again these typically feature narrow brims turned up on three sides and were always worn with the point over the right eye. This had nothing to do with shouldering a firelock as it did in the army, but seems rather to have been a fashionable affectation among sailors. Most cocked hats were left plain, with unbound brims and no cockade (although one always finds exceptions).
It can be cold on the open ocean. Seamen therefore wore some sort of knit woolen cap. There has been much discussion of late as to what these caps were called by the men who wore them. One frequently hears of a brimmed style of knit cap called a “Monmouth cap” or "Dutch cap". In 1712 Daniel Defoe ("Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain") described "Monmouth Caps, sold chiefly to the Dutch seamen, and made only at Bewdley." In 1756, Jonas Hanway, head of the charitable Marine
Society, whose task it was to clothe young orphans and send them to sea, wrote that he was including "1 Dutch cap" and "2 Worsted [caps]" as part of the slop issue (they cost 1s. 2d and 8d respectively). Hanaway later remarked that "Dutch caps of woolen stuff wove, though thick, imbibe much water unless it be pitched...hats of long hair in a short brim, to turn the water, may do better.” In 1773, 45 year old ship's carpenter Thomas Glass ran from the ship Chance wearing "a round Dutch Cap," while two years
later John Kennedy ran from the Catherine while wearing a "Dutch cap".[ii] Appropriate Monmouth or Dutch caps can be purchased from Colonial Williamsburg for $25.
A few other men, possibly ethnic Scots, wore what is termed a Scotch bonnet. One who left us a record of such a thing was Samuel Kelly. During a passage to
So there are a number of options available when choosing a hat. What we should not see, but which has for some reason caught on among a great number of sailor reenactors, is the tarred or painted canvas “tarpaulin.” For this we must blame C. Keith Wilburs’ Pirates and Patriots of the Revolution. While some of his drawings and text are useful, much of what he presents is badly researched or not of our time period. Nowhere is this more true then when it comes to his depictions of sailor clothing. The tarred straw or canvas hat is a fashion of the 19th century. All extant examples in museum collection in
knocked out) and sewed a round canvas hat on top of it. The conservator was closely questioned about this, and she swore that this was how the hat was found. It was thought that maybe the hats had been stacked in storage in someone's sea chest, but some of the original stitching was intact, and the two pieces (that is, the canvas top and the felt
bottom) were originally joined. The brim was 3 3/16 inches wide, with a 3 1/2 in high crown. The whole thing was sewn with double ply sail twine. Yet this is the only example known.
Hair is just as important as clothing when it comes to presenting an authentic impression. Naval seamen have traditionally been distinguished by their long plaited and bound queues. It seems, however, that this style did not come into vogue until the late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth century. A perusal of sailor pictures reveals that the earliest instance of a bound queue dates to 1785 ("The True British Tar" by Carrington Bowles). From 1730 to the end of the century, almost every picture depicts sailors
with untied, shoulder-length hair. So much for the pictorial record, but what about the documentary record? After delving into runaway advertisements printed between 1752 and 1782 one might draw the following conclusions. The vast majority of sailors "wore their own Hair." Wigs were rather prevalent early in the period. In 1752 a runaway
seaman wore "a Grizle Wig." In 1755 one wore "a pale wig," while in 1756 another wore "a buckled wig" (this term comes from the French 'boucle' meaning 'curled', i.e. a wig with side curls). By the 1760s, men seemed to have worn their own hair much more
frequently. One sailor who absconded in 1768 "wears his own hair, which is short and fair, and sometimes wears a false curl which a stranger would not know from his hair, being exactly of a colour."
Three Royal Navy deserters from the sloop-of-war Scorpion [cited at length above] had "short black hair curled around," "long black hair," and short straight black hair." A large number of sailors are described as having "short hair." But what did this mean in the eighteenth century? Was this hair closely cropped to the head, such as most men wear now, or was it the shoulder-length hair of the pictures? As is usually the case with sailor fashion, there is much room for interpretation. If, however, we accept period pictorial depictions of sailor’s hairstyle as accurately portraying what was accepted as fashionable, we should all wear wigs unless we have our own “long hair.” A closely cropped head not covered by a wig would have indicated to a eighteenth-century viewer that the person had just been de-loused, which is not probably a message most of us wish to convey.
Shirts and Handkerchiefs:
Throughout the eighteenth century and indeed, well into the twentieth, shirts were considered underwear. Only laboring men (this can include sailors) would appear out of doors without a jacket or coat, and only then with a sleeveless waistcoat worn over the shirt. Any standard period shirt pattern is acceptable, as long as it is made of linen. Checks and narrow stripes in almost any color show up time and again in period images, although blue seems to have been the most popular for both these patterns. There are several details one must consider when making or purchasing a shirt. First, common sailors would not have worn ruffled shirts as part of their working kit. While they very well may have owned them for “fancy dress”- and they do show up in such a context in a few pictures- they should probably not be worn when depicting a landing party or other shipboard work detail. Also, shirts of the 1770s and 80s had relatively narrow cuff bands (about an inch), unlike Regency era shirts of thirty years later which have wide (up to three inches) ones. In addition, the neck opening (whether ruffled or not) should not have a buttoned placket- it is just an open slit. If this seems strange and unsightly, remember that a waistcoat should be covering this gaping slit and would also be partially filled by the handkerchief.
The handkerchief is worn about the neck and tied in a loose square knot. Nearly all documentation points to silk having been the favored fabric for this item, although printed cotton handkerchiefs were also imported in great quantities from India (these were the “Banda” handkerchiefs, the origin of our “bandanas”). Most handkerchiefs were approximately 36 inches square with narrow rolled hems. An example from the General Carleton wreck was 36 inches long, but only 8 inches wide. Evidence suggests that black and red were common colors, but red or black with white polka dots was also very common, as were red and yellow stripes. Just as men pick their ties today based on the situation and personal taste, so to did eighteenth-century sailors.
Waistcoats:
The 1770s and 1780s were a transitional period for waistcoats. During the previous two decades and before, waistcoats were almost invariably single-breasted, with long skirts reaching to mid-thigh. During the second half of the 1760s and on into the 70s, the skirts became shorter and the front cut-away more pronounced. By the 1780s, if not before, “square-cut" or "
One other note on waistcoats. Laborers’ garments often had the same sturdy fabric on the back as on the front, the logic being that it would both last longer and be less offensive when the man removed his jacket to work.
As evidenced by the images, blue and red stripes (both horizontal and vertical) as well as solid colors were worn, with personal preference again dictating the choice. Royal Navy slop lists from the 1740s indicated that the government regularly contracted for “Striped Ticken Waistcoats” and “Waistcoats of Kersey,” but without the slop lists from the 1770s and 1780s, it is impossible to know if these standards remained in effect.[v] A note on “ticken”: This is what we call “ticking” today, a cotton fabric with narrow, broken stripes. This fabric did not appear until the nineteenth century. Eighteenth century ticking featured solid stripes. Therefore, avoid what the chain fabric stores quaintly call “railroad ticking”- it is wrong.
Jackets:
The outer garment of choice for sailors was the jacket. The term itself needs to be defined. For our purposes, a “jacket” is a short outer garment with sleeves. Contemporary writers expressed their own ambivalence (or perhaps confusion) when it came to the term, often using “sleeved waistcoat” and “jacket” interchangeably. Besides his trousers, a sailor’s jacket was his most distinctive garment. The cut and length of jackets varied by decade in the eighteenth century, but by the revolutionary period jackets were usually made in one of two forms. The first, seemingly sported most often by merchant seamen and those who purchased from slop shops ashore, were generally single-breasted, with center back vents and pleated side vents, and came to just below the waist. These garments fit the body closely, and usually had welted pockets and slashed cuffs. These cuffs were especially distinctive. Fashioned in the marinière style, the cuffs had a placket or flap that could be unbuttoned and rolled back for work. Judging from the images, three buttons on the cuff was standard, although some jackets clearly had many more.
The second style of jacket worn by sailors was a double-breasted, waist-length garment. Nearly every image of Royal Navy seamen depicts the men in this style of jacket. This was probably the style contracted for by the Navy Board, but until someone finds the slop lists for our period, this is only an educated guess. Several jackets of this style came from the wreck of the General Carleton. The best preserved specimen was unlined and featured sixteen buttons on the front and three on each cuff.[vi]
Breeches and Trousers:
There has been a great deal of discussion of late about the sort of lower garments most commonly worn by seamen in the period. Until a few years ago, nearly every naval reenactor wore what were referred to as “slops”- short, wide-legged, trouser-like garments that were worn over breeches to protect the undergarment from paint, dirt, and tar. Such items were undoubtedly worn by sailors and fishermen. But we must ask how frequently they were worn. Very few images of Royal Navy sailors depict them in slops. Nearly all wear trousers. Those few who do not wear trousers wear breeches instead. The reason for this is not difficult to surmise. The slop lists of the 1740s (the latest period uncovered to date) list trousers and breeches among the items available for purchase. Slops (or petticoat trousers, by which this garment is sometimes known) are not enumerated in these lists. This would have been a garment made by individual sailors from purser-bought canvas. So, while slops may have been worn for especially dirty jobs, trousers and breeches would have been worn on a daily basis aboard ship as well as ashore.
Breeches could be made of wool or linen, but should all exhibit characteristics of the period. Waists were generally lower than they were twenty years later; they were worn just about where we wear our pants today, low-slung about the hips. The most characteristic feature of the garment is the fall, or flap, closure in the front. The small fall, which covers only one-half to one-quarter of the breeches’ front was most common. Knees closed with multiple buttons and either a buckle or a tie. Mid-eighteenth century images depict sailors’ ticken breeches with ties at the knee, but later images almost always show them with buckles or a simple button. One pair of rough kersey breeches from the General Carleton had only a vent at the knee without anyway to fasten it.
Long considered “a badge of the lower orders,” trousers were adopted by seaman (and land-bound laborers) long before the fashionable world embraced the garment. Trousers could be made of wool, linen, or canvas (most often
Shoes and Stockings:
Given the relative expense of shoes and their rapid deterioration in saltwater, it is likely that sailors would have gone barefoot as much as possible. On the other hand, in northern latitudes, such airiness is not an option for a large part of the year. In addition, it is quite difficult, if not painful to work aloft in bare feet. The narrow footropes and ratlines dig into the sole, and without a stacked heel to brace against, the sailor would be in greater danger of slipping off his foothold.
A great many shoes have been recovered from shipwrecks. Luckily, it is only the shoes’ linen thread that disintegrates rapidly in saltwater. Leather, once covered by silt, lasts indefinitely, and provides for us the pattern of the shoes.
Men had the choice of two types of shoes, turned or welted. Turnshoes were made with a thin leather (usually calfskin) upper and sole. The cordwainer sewed the two halves together inside-out and then, taking it off the last, turned it right-side out (hence the name “turnshoe”). Welted shoes were sewn on the last right side out. A thick rim of leather (the welt) was stitched to the bottom edge of the upper, increasing flexibility and making the seam watertight. Military welted shoes were generally made with the rough flesh side out and then waxed or blackened.[vii] Unfortunately, no sutlers currently sell turnshoes off the rack.
Pictorial evidence, coupled with the archaeological record, tells us that sailors preferred shoes with narrow latchets, low heels, and pointed toes. By the 1770s, buckles were quite large and often extremely elaborate, reflecting perhaps a man’s luck with prize money. At the same time, simple laces began to replace the more extravagant (and fragile) buckle. It is likely that most men would have worn laced shoes aboard ship, reserving their costly buckles for shore. Archaeological examples from H.M.S. Invincible, sunk 1758, had been modified for laces by trimming off the latchets, as were examples from H.M.S. De Braak (1798).[viii] A man who ran from a sloop at
For more information on period correct buttons for the Royal Navy please follow the below link
http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/navy%20buttons.htm
[i] G.E. Manwaring, “The Dress of British Seamen- II,” Mariners’ Mirror, 9.6 (1923),167-169.
[iii] Samuel Kelly, Samuel Kelly, An Eighteenth Century Seaman, Whose Days have been few and evil....(New York, 1925), 97, 103.
[iv] C. Willett Cunnington and Phillis Cunnington, Handbook of English Costume in the Eighteenth Century (
[v] G. E. Manwaring, “The Dress of the British Seaman from the Revolution to the Peace of 1748,” Mariner’s Mirror, 10.1 (1924), 43.
[vi] For a more detailed description and pattern see Matthew P. Brenckle, “A British Seaman’s Jacket of 1785,” Military Collector and Historian, 57.1 (2005), 22-25.
[vii] Stephen R. Davis, “With Feet Firmly Planted: Footwear from Archaeological Sites,” in Issued to the Troops, Military Uniforms of the Last Half of the 18th Century, Winterthur Museum Symposium Papers (Wilmington, Del., 1996), n.p.
[viii] McGuane, Heart of Oak, 85; Shomette, The Hunt for H.M.S. De Braak, 304.
[ix]
