General Appearance Part 1.

We have a standard image in our mind's eye of what Civil War Generals looked like, we see Lee in his fine dress uniform surrendering to the sloppily dressed US Grant, we see the hundreds of images of them with their double dressed frock coats and golden trimmings, but is that the reality? Just as today, there were dress uniforms and there were fatigue uniforms, and generals on either side were not exempt from not wishing to dispoil their finery. This is the first of several posts that will give descriptions of what a Army of Tennessee General looked like in the field.

From Sherman's March Through The South by Captain David Conyngham regarding the truce after the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, June 27, 1864;

"I saw Pat Cleburne, with that tall, meagre frame, and that ugly scar across his lank, gloomy face, stand with a thoughtful air, looking on the work his division had done; for it was his troops that defended the line of works in the centre, and committed such fearful havoc on Newton's and Davis's divisions. He looked a fit type of lean Cassius...Cheatham looked rugged and healthy, though seemingly sad and despondent. He wore his fatigue dress-a blue flannel shirt, black neck-tie, gray homespun pantaloons, and slouched, black hat..."