The Revolutionary War: A Time of Subterfuge and Fancy Dress

[Rhondinella]

Discuss here.  Generally.

[Turtle]

I'm hoping I'll figure out who all the characters are pretty soon.  Even with the exposition, I was a little confused.  

I know that the Redcoats had better resources during the war, but were their uniforms really that bright red and pristine?  I'm no historical scholar, but it just struck me as unlikely that so many officers, while so far from home, would have uniforms in such good shape.  Wigs too.  Anyone have any insight?

[Constantinople]

If I just looked at the art work for the poster, and the title of the series, I'd swear it was another vampire show, only about how patriotic American vampires feasted on the blood of the redcoats.

[HalcyonDays]

I know that the Redcoats had better resources during the war, but were their uniforms really that bright red and pristine?  I'm no historical scholar, but it just struck me as unlikely that so many officers, while so far from home, would have uniforms in such good shape.  Wigs too.  Anyone have any insight?

Just reading a bit on the internet about it, the red is supposed to be one of those "official" colours of England, descending from Tudor's times.

Also, during that war, the guns used required powder to fire, and apparently battlefields would fill with heavy smoke, so to figure out who your enemy or friend was, a bright red coat might help.

Also, I swear I remember reading this long ago, but the Revolutionary War is where they had "turncoats", i.e. literally a coat with one side blue, one side red. Depending on whose army decided to show up, you could flip your coat inside-out and look like you were loyal.

[Raja]

I'm hoping I'll figure out who all the characters are pretty soon.  Even with the exposition, I was a little confused.  

I know that the Redcoats had better resources during the war, but were their uniforms really that bright red and pristine?  I'm no historical scholar, but it just struck me as unlikely that so many officers, while so far from home, would have uniforms in such good shape.  Wigs too.  Anyone have any insight?

I doubt if they remained TV bright in actual life, more so the white shirts. If I remember Sharpe's Rifles correctly when Sharpe was forced into the Red Coat and when wearing the Green Jacket of the Light Infantry being a poor officer most of the time unable to afford servants and such. The disrepair of his uniforms was part of the reason that other "gentleman" officers shunned him

[not Bridget]

The British uniforms would certainly become worn with time. Officers' uniforms were made with a more expensive red dye (cochineal), so they resisted fading better than the enlisted men's. Which made things easier for the Continental sharpshooters--who made a practice of picking off the officers.

 

But the invasion of New York was fairly recent, so the British & Hessian invaders might still be "fresh."  In Real History (in which the Culpers won't begin until 1778), winter is coming--we'll see how the uniforms hold up.

 

The British uniforms are pretty generic; different units & ranks had different colored "facings" (lapels).  Red uniforms were not universal for the Brits & Hessians usually wore green or blue jackets. (We only got a glimpse of the Hessians.)  The costume designer for Sleepy Hollow pointed out that her show was sticking with Red for Brits/Hessians & Blue for Continental--for dramatic purposes--although she knew uniforms varied on both sides. Many "Americans" were militia--whose outfits might be elegant for the silk-stocking units or rough linen/buckskin for the backwoodsmen. American militia & Continental "enlisted" men became progressively more ragged as the war went on. We haven't seen large numbers of soldiers because actors (& extras) cost money....

 

Abe's black outfit with leather jacket in the last episode was distractingly modern. Yes, men might wear caps instead of hats--but his cap looks like hipster attire.  

[HalcyonDays]

Abe's black outfit with leather jacket in the last episode was distractingly modern. Yes, men might wear caps instead of hats--but his cap looks like hipster attire.

 

I saw a tweet from the head costume designer (I think she's the head) for Sleepy Hollow and she mentioned that some of the Sleepy Hollow costumers are also working on TURN.

 

The costumes on Sleepy Hollow, I've never thought "out of place", but Abe's cap and coat throws me off big time. The coat and cap looks too modern.

And the last episode - Epiphany - I had to pause to look at Abe's boots. They looked out of place too. They looked exactly like brown suede cowboy boots. You see them when he's walking up the steps in his dad's home, to steal the papers.

[OakGoblinFly]

Regarding Abe's knit cap - it is historically accurate.  This type of cap was mostly sported by fisherman/whalers; I remember seeing them when I visited the museum in Cold Spring Harbor.

[OakGoblinFly]

I saw a tweet from the head costume designer (I think she's the head) for Sleepy Hollow and she mentioned that some of the Sleepy Hollow costumers are also working on TURN.

 

The costumes on Sleepy Hollow, I've never thought "out of place", 

 

 

 

Well to be fair, when you're dealing with a universe where the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse become corporeal, witches are trapped in limbo, a small town deputy is named a Witness, and a time-travelling/resurrected Revolutionary War soldier I don't think any costume can be considered out of place.

 

Though I do think that Tallmadge's uniform is more accurate than Crane's ..... that is if Crane is in a uniform; I'm not quite sure.

[HalcyonDays]

Regarding Abe's knit cap - it is historically accurate.  This type of cap was mostly sported by fisherman/whalers; I remember seeing them when I visited the museum in Cold Spring Harbor.

 

Really? The cap is accurate. Good to know. It's actually a cool cap. I think the problem is that we see so many young guys wearing those caps today, so I automatically equate it with a modern item of clothing.

 

Well to be fair, when you're dealing with a universe where the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse become corporeal, witches are trapped in limbo, a small town deputy is named a Witness, and a time-travelling/resurrected Revolutionary War soldier I don't think any costume can be considered out of place.

 

Though I do think that Tallmadge's uniform is more accurate than Crane's ..... that is if Crane is in a uniform; I'm not quite sure.

 

Ha! True. Sleepy Hollow would/is be the more insane show. I totally agree about Tallmadge vs. Crane. Tallmadge's does look more authentic than Crane's does. For a time that was all about status and showing that status, Crane should have more embellishments as such to show he's a Captain, nobility, etc.

 

Abraham is the only character on TURN whose clothing throws me off. The rest are fine. With Abraham, I see a modern day cap, a trendy modern day leather jacket and like I said for the last episode, suede cowboy boots. Maybe it's deliberate so that he as the main character stands out from the rest?

[OakGoblinFly]

Really? The cap is accurate. Good to know. It's actually a cool cap. I think the problem is that we see so many young guys wearing those caps today, so I automatically equate it with a modern item of clothing.

 

 

Ha! True. Sleepy Hollow would/is be the more insane show. I totally agree about Tallmadge vs. Crane. Tallmadge's does look more authentic than Crane's does. For a time that was all about status and showing that status, Crane should have more embellishments as such to show he's a Captain, nobility, etc.

 

Abraham is the only character on TURN whose clothing throws me off. The rest are fine. With Abraham, I see a modern day cap, a trendy modern day leather jacket and like I said for the last episode, suede cowboy boots. Maybe it's deliberate so that he as the main character stands out from the rest?

 

 

I think the thing to remember with Abraham's costume is that even though he is a farmer, he lives on the north shore of Long Island .... an area that known for fishing as well as farming.  So, to me, it seems perfectly reasonable that Abraham would wear clothing that you would see on a farmer as well as a fisherman.

 

I didn't notice the boots as I seem to recall Abraham wearing the leather/canvas shin wrappings most of the time.

 

And you are correct, lead characters are often given something that makes it easier to spot the actor during scenes. 

[HalcyonDays]

I think the thing to remember with Abraham's costume is that even though he is a farmer, he lives on the north shore of Long Island .... an area that known for fishing as well as farming.  So, to me, it seems perfectly reasonable that Abraham would wear clothing that you would see on a farmer as well as a fisherman.

 

I didn't notice the boots as I seem to recall Abraham wearing the leather/canvas shin wrappings most of the time.

 

And you are correct, lead characters are often given something that makes it easier to spot the actor during scenes. 

Good point about the fisherman part - in fact there are nice shots of the coast at the edge of Setauket in the show. Do you (or anyone) know where the show is actually filmed? Or is it greenscreen?

 

Would a fisherman wear a leather jacket like Abraham though? It obviously had to be something that was waterproof (for the most part), windproof and sturdy. I guess leather would be it. Maybe it's the missing collar (which wouldn't a fisherman want to have) and trendy modern look styling that throws me!

[OakGoblinFly]

I believe the fisherman of the day mostly wore treated canvas (durable and waterproof) ..... I'm not sure about leather though I would think there would be whale hide around for tanning.  Perhaps Abraham's coat is whale leather.

 

The show was filmed mostly in Central Virginia.