continental army uniform

Continental Army soldiers in a Revolutionary War reenactment wear white linen hunting shirts.Alamy Stock Photo · The hunting shirt was an Anglo-American invention developed on the Western frontier and first introduced to Washington by sharpshooters from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Unlike the typical military uniform made from imported British wool, the hunting shirt was made of linen, a product Americans could grow and process domestically.

Published: June 17, 2026

Continental Army

Army of the United States from 1775 to 1784

The Continental Army was an army founded on June 14, 1775, by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to coordinate the mutual defense of the United Colonies against the Kingdom of Great … Wikipedia

Factsheet

Founded June 14, 1775

Disbanded June 2, 1784

Country United States

Factsheet

Founded June 14, 1775

Disbanded June 2, 1784

Country United States

Wikipedia

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Continental Army - Wikipedia

3 weeks ago - Later on in the war, the Continental Army established its own uniform with a black and white cockade among all ranks.

Background History Organization Officers and men Operations Campaigns Encampments Disbandment Uniforms and insignia Further reading

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The Gear of Revolutionary War Soldiers | In 4 Minutes - YouTube

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Continental Artillery Uniforms 1775-1776 - YouTube

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The Truth About Continental Army Uniforms!

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Smithsonian Institution

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George Washington's Uniform | Smithsonian Institution

Notably, he also wore this uniform when he reviewed troops called up in response to the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 and when he visited Philadelphia on Provisional Army duty in December 1798. Washington devised the blue and buff colors of the uniform while serving at the Second Continental Congress in 1775, just prior to being named Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

YouTube

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A Stereotype? The History of The United States Army's First "Official" Uniform - YouTube

10:07

Chapters:0:00 Intro and The Continental Army2:13 The First Uniform Regulations4:09 The Colors and Red's Potential Popularity5:49 Post War: The American Regim...

Published: June 13, 2025

Amazon

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Amazon.com: Continental Army Costume

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War

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Common Threads: Army | U.S. Department of War

Army uniforms have changed considerably since 1775, but they share a common thread: keeping soldiers safe, on the move and on mission. Take an interactive look at how warfighters' clothes and gear have evolved to meet the times.

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Heritage Costumes

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Revolutionary War Costumes & Patriot Uniforms | Heritage Costumes

Shop Revolutionary War costumes for school reenactments, historical presentations, and patriotic stage productions. From Patriot and Loyalist uniforms to notable figures like Alexander Hamilton to George Washington, these styles are designed to create a strong visual impact and look sharp in both photos and live events.

Washington Crossing Historic Park

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Continental Army Soldiers’ Clothing, Head to Toe | Washington Crossing Historic Park

September 27, 2021 - Despite much variation between different units, some clothing staples would have been part of any uniform. Here’s an overview of the clothing a typical soldier would have worn during the Revolutionary War. During the colonial period, hats were commonplace for both men and women. Tricorn as well as cocked hats – folded and pinned on one or multiple sides – were worn by many soldiers in the Continental Army.

reddit.com › r/askhistorians › revolutionary war uniforms

r/AskHistorians on Reddit: Revolutionary War Uniforms

May 7, 2012 -

I have been watching some stuff on the Revolutionary war lately and one thing has really struck me as odd. Especially at the beginning the American effort was largely rag-tag, and were dangerously short on supplies and weaponry. Despite all of this the documentaries always show them all decked out in nice blue jackets.

Were the Americans really that well uniformed or is that just the documentaries way of differentiating?

Top answer

1 of 2

Good question, and one with a multi-part answer. First and foremost, the historical reality of the situation - Uniforming the American military was, in large part, a supply issue. Most uniforms of the time were made of wool. Being that wool was Britain's biggest export, the British went out of there to make sure that a significant wool industry never developed in the colonies. As such, the Americans were never really able to mass-produce uniforms throughout the war. Uniform coats, the largest and most visible part of the uniform, were a mix of domestically produced , imported (from France) , or captured and dyed . Importantly, the Continental Army was wearing a mix of these uniforms for pretty much the entire war, so consistency of appearance was difficult to achieve. Then there is the matter that, for much of the war, regiments had their uniforms designed not by Congress, but by their states. As such, even when individual regiments were well-uniformed, there is no guarantee that they would anything like the regiments from another state,or even other units from their own state. Compare [this guy from the 4th New York] ( http://www.historicalimagebank.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=604&g2_serialNumber=2 ) to this guy from the 3rd NY . In 1780, Washington tried to standardize the uniforms by declaring that everyone should wear a blue coat, with different facing colors and button materials indicating branch of service and state. Infantry New England would wear blue faced white , the middle colonies (who made up most of the Yorktown expedition) [blue faced red] ( http://www.historicalimagebank.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=23447&g2_serialNumber=4 ), and troops from the Southern states blue faced blue . All infantry were to have pewter or silver buttons on their uniforms. Artillery was to wear blue faced red with gold buttons , which was more or less the international uniform for artillerists. Cavalry were to wear blue face yellow, though no one paid this much mind. As ever, though, these standards were the ideal, and reality often lagged well behind. As such, even when there were clear uniform standards on the books, reality lagged well behind. As late as the winter of 1782-83, when Washington said the army was "better equipped and better fed than he had ever seen it," most troops were still either wearing their 1780-81 uniforms or those captured and dyed British coats I mentioned earlier. Still griping about the "disagreeable and speckled appearance" of his troops, Washington arranged them in camp and on the field by uniform color as much as possible. Now, on to the modern part of your questions. Filmmakers, even the ones making documentaries, are usually not history people. As such, authenticity comes second to a visually striking (or at least sensible) image. The popular perception is that Americans wore blue coats, so filmmakers want their Americans wearing blue. Also, these documentaries usually call on reenactors to either portray historical figures or anonymously mill about in the background. The preference among reenactors is to re-create units that did cool stuff - like fight in the Southern and Yorktown campaigns. As discussed earlier, most of these units were from the Middle States, and thus were (or should have been) wearing blue-face-red coats (the New Englanders were left to garrison the Hudson Valley/keep the British in NYC, and a lot of the Southern units were obliterated at Camden). As such, these units are the most readily available to be filmed. TL;DR - History is complicated, film is simple.

2 of 2

I'm no expert on this, Civil War is more of my area but I know a little bit about Rev War. I think much like the Confederate Army in the Civil War, I think supplies for Americans were there but were far between at times. I think to a certain extent they were well supplied, but at times they weren't supplied well at all (that is where you start seeing the rag tag militia like soldiers) Also (especially in the southern colonies) the continental army relied heavily on militia.

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reddit.com › r/askhistorians › during the american revolution, how did continental soldiers dress and is the depiction of their uniforms in television/movies accurate?

r/AskHistorians on Reddit: During the American Revolution, how did Continental soldiers dress and is the depiction of their uniforms in television/movies accurate?

June 14, 2015 -

In HBO's John Adams miniseries, Gen. Washington is shown wearing a uniform of blue and gold. The same is shown of Continental dragoons in the TV series "Turn." Is how the Continental Army actually dressed, and if so, how did those forces come across those uniforms?

Top answer

1 of 1

Part 1: Washington did wear a uniform of Blue and Buff- The Uniform worn by the Fairfax County troop of horse, of which he was colonel, prior to becoming c-in-c of the continental army. The depiction of the said uniform in John Adams is generally correct- Though the fit-- which is too loose and baggy-- is way off, the cut slightly less so. CW Peale's earliest portrait of Washington in his distinctive blue and buff uniform , dated 1776, shows the uniform he wore early in the war. The collar buttons onto the top button of the lapel (some of Peale's later portraits do not show this), and the coat is adorned with uniform, large, flat gilt buttons. The uniform in the TV series is worn with a type of cuff seen in the later Peale portraits. The 1776 portrait shows a more typical, indented-v shaped cavalry-style cuff. In the portrait, the waistcoat is laced with a thin filigree of gold lace. Turn's depiction of the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons draws heavily from John Trumbull's paintings. Trumbull depicted this regiment in French-style dragoon helmets, with leopardskin turbans, blue coats faced white. Not only was this was a uniform adopted later in the war-- Detmar H. Finke and Marko Zlatitch place it as c. 1780-83-- but this regiment did not even exist in 1776! Light Cavalry duties were instead taken up by various state troops of light horse, such as the Philidelphia Light Horse who frequently served as Washington's bodyguards. The question of what the Contiental Army wore when is a complicated subject, which could fill volumes (and, indeed, has). What follows is a quite incomplete sketch of the development of the dress of the Continental Forces. Hopefully, the books listed below should provide you with more in-depth material. Throughout the war, the Continental Army was plagued by a distressing inability to acquire uniforms. The system of supply was something of a tripartite affair, with Congress, the States, and Regimental Commanders each struggling to outfit their troops. The army often fell short of ideal uniformity, but it should also be remembered that officers worked hard to maintain a soldierlike appearance in the ranks. Though the rag-tag and bobtail Continental is much beloved in American memory, such an image is not the complete story of the Continental's dress: the American soldier could just as often present an elegant appearance to rival, or even surpass, his British foes or French allies. The Massachusetts forces encamped around Boston in 1775- with a few exceptions-- wore no uniforms, prompting Washington to authorize a stop-gap regulation in July of 1775, in order that officers might be distinguished from men. General officers, general staff, and brigade majors were distinguished by various colored ribbands, worn beneath the coat and over the waistcoat. The commander-in-chief wore a blue ribband, major generals pink (later purple), brigadier generals pink, aides-de-camp and brigade majors green. Regimental officers were distinguished by cockades: field officers wore red or pink, Captains yellow, and Subalterns green. These distinctions persisted until June of 1780. The first Continental Troops to be provided with uniforms were, in fact, the Northern Army under Arnold sent to invade Canada. On 2nd November, 1775, Congress ordered its agents in New York to purchase 3,000 felt hats, 3,000 caps, 3,000 prs. of Buckskin Breeches, 3,000 waistcoats, 3,000 shoes, and 300 watchcoats of fearnought or duffel. Such uniformity did persist through to 1777. A Hessian observer remarked that none of the American soldiers under Horatio Gates wore no uniforms of any sort. In October, Washington sought further to establish some uniformity in the ranks when he, in a meeting with representatives of the Congress at the Army Headquarters in Cambridge (it should be remembered that, at the time, the army under Washington was encamped and laying siege to British troops pent up in Boston). Brown was decided upon as the color for soldiers' coats, with regimentally colored facings, the cost of which (10s) was taken out of the soldiers' pay. The actual clothing turned out to be of all colors-- And evidence shows blue, brown, and green cloth, faced in any number of colors, in use. Captured British regimentals filled in where locally made uniforms could not be procured. In May of 1777, James Mease, the Clothier General, proposed to outfit the newly raised regiment of the 4th Continental Light Dragoons in captured uniforms of the 8th and 21st Foot. The Webb's Additional Regiment, not part of any state line, was outfited in Red faced Yellow uniforms, much to the chagrin of the Commander-In-Chief. Later, imported French coats of Blue and Brown cloth lined red or white, with white smallclothes, were assigned to the various regiments. These were of very good quality cloth, lined with serge, white wistcoats and breeches made for knee-buckles (though these last were not supplied). The lappels could be buttoned over the belly in cold weather, and the coats were adorned with white buttons and slashed sleeves. Even with these imports, the army frequently fell short of ideal uniformity, and at any given time a number of men were rendered unfit for duty for want of clothing. The lack of uniformity seen in the continental ranks owed something to the haphazard nature of supply. It should be remembered the colonies formed an army, essentially, out of whole cloth-- And there existed no domestic institutions with the requisite means of supplying such a force on such a scale. From its inception in 1775, through to 1778, Congress held responsibility for clothing the army. Initially, in 1775, the Quartermaster General Thomas Mifflin in the army headquarters at Cambridge dealt with the headache of clothing the troops of Washington's army. Early on, Congress sought to suplement insufficient local supplies with imported cloth. Some of these ventures were successful-- in 1776, the Happy Return sailed into Providence carrying 2,000 yards each of brown and blue cloth. In October of 1776, a Comissary was appointed to each of the two armies under Congress's control-- George Measam for the Northern Army, and the confusingly similarly named James Mease, who assumed the broader role of Clothier General in 1777. In the mean time, Congress encouraged the states to supply their own troops with clothing upon enlistment, and many continued to do so as Congress proved ineffectual in its job of outfitting the army. Regimental commanders, too, stepped in to procure uniforms where they were wanting-- and could be bankrupted in the process.

American Revolution

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American Revolution Continental Soldier Uniforms - AmericanRevolution.org

The clothing worn by Continental soldiers would depend on the militia or regiment that they were a part of. Often, hunting shirts would be worn, which were a type of long-sleeve shirt that allowed for easy movement of the arms.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

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Uniforms of the American Revolution

October 29, 2020 - By August of 1775, the army George Washington commanded at Cambridge Camp was destitute, lacked proper clothing, and was in no way uniformed in a traditional military sense. In an effort to cheaply and effectively clothe his troops Washington attempted to outfit the newly formed Continental Army with hunting shirts, but the hunting shirt was not adopted as a uniform of the Continental Army until 1776.

Srcalifornia

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American Revolutionary War Insignia

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Colonial Sailor Costume

Colonial sailor costume | Continental navy uniform, 1700s sailor outfit, Historical clothing · Skip to content · When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures · Log in · Sign up

Military Uniform Supply

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Revolutionary War Reenactment: Clothing, Boots & Gear

Reenactment clothing and gear for Colonial Costumes and Revolutionary War reenactors. Breeches, Vests, and Gear for Revolutionary War and 18th Century Costumes.

Weebly

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Uniforms of the Continental Army

gave George Washington the privilege of creating the first "official" Continental Army · uniform, and in 1779 the Continental Army accepted the design for its national uniform.

Fort Ticonderoga

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Seeing Red - Fort Ticonderoga

June 21, 2019 - American troops though, continued to wear red uniforms. Some of these were made in the colonies and later states. The dire need for suitable clothing though, made captured garments extremely valuable, despite the danger of wearing the enemy’s colors. the Continental army benefited from as many as 15,000 uniforms captured from the British over the course of the war.

Wvssar

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Uniforms – West Virginia Society SAR

November 19, 2014 - In 1779, a general order standardized the uniforms of the American Continental Army, although there continued to be uniform differences due to uniform and clothing material shortages that were present throughout the war.