Scholars debate how much influence the Civil War had on clothing and how much impact clothing had on the Civil War. One argument contends that women's participation in the war effort stimulated reform in their apparel; another insists, with some exceptions, that those who could afford to do so followed the vagaries of fashion in a normal manner. As the war raged on, fashion magazines increasingly emphasized mourning attire, and the demand grew for mourning veils and black yard goods. Matters related to dress and textiles figured in every sector of the war from the battlefield to the home front and did not only concern fashionably-attired women.

Uniforms, more than any other item of clothing, affected the war effort. When the Civil War broke out in April 1861, state volunteer regiments on both sides marched into battle wearing an array of colorful uniforms; this lack of standardized uniforms often...