so long as they did their duty.  Least of all can one imagine Stonewall Jackson exercising his mind as to the cut of a tunic or the polish of a buckle.  The only standing order in the English army of the Peninsula which referred to dress forbade the wearing of the enemy’s uniform.  It was the same in the Army of the Valley, although at a later period even this order was of necessity ignored.  As their forefathers of the Revolution took post in Washington’s ranks clad in hunting shirts and leggings, so the Confederate soldiers preferred the garments spun by their own women to those supplied them by the State.  Grey, of all shades, from light blue to butter-nut, was the universal colour.  The coatee issued in the early days of the war had already given place to a short-waisted and single-breasted jacket.  The blue kepi held out longer.  The soft felt hat which experience soon proved the most serviceable head-dress had not yet become universal.  But the long boots had gone; and strong brogans, with broad soles and low heels, had been found more comfortable.  Overcoats were soon discarded.  “The men came to the conclusion that the trouble of carrying them on hot days outweighed their comfort when the cold day arrived.  Besides, they found that life in the open air hardened them to such an extent that changes in temperature were hardly felt."* (* Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia chapter 2.) Nor did the knapsack long survive.  “It was found to gall the back and shoulders and weary the man before half the march was accomplished.  It did not pay to carry around clean clothes while waiting for the time to use them."* (* Ibid) But the men still clung to their blankets and waterproof sheets, worn in a roll over the left shoulder, and the indispensable haversack carried their whole kit.  Tents—­except the enemy’s—­were rarely seen.  The Army of the Valley generally bivouacked in the woods, the men sleeping in pairs, rolled in their blankets and rubber sheets.  The cooking arrangements were primitive.  A few frying-pans and skillets formed the culinary apparatus of a company, with a bucket or two in addition, and the frying-pans were generally carried with their handles stuck in the rifle-barrels!  The tooth-brush was a button-hole ornament, and if, as was sometimes the case, three days’ rations were served out at a single issue, the men usually cooked and ate them at once, so as to avoid the labour of carrying them.

Such was Jackson’s infantry, a sorry contrast indeed to the soldierly array of the Federals, with their complete appointments and trim blue uniforms.  But fine feathers, though they may have their use, are hardly essential to efficiency in the field; and whilst it is absolutely true that no soldiers ever marched with less to encumber them than the Confederates, it is no empty boast that none ever marched faster or held out longer.