tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post6960059521137020155..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Looking Narrowly at Broadcloth with Hallie LarkinUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-14410235719002545422014-12-02T14:50:35.412-05:002014-12-02T14:50:35.412-05:00That makes sense because the A&H Company was b...That makes sense because the A&H Company was basically rebooting itself in 1786 after more than a decade of inactivity, signing up a lot of Continental Army veterans who were fond of those colors. <br /><br />In 1738, it appears, the A&H was dressing in the same "scarlet and crimson" as British army regulars, but of course they couldn't go back to that right after the war.<br /><br />Since "buff" was basically undyed cloth, it seems like it would be the default. Or, in the case of that 1738 sermon, perhaps the assumption of how an earlier, plainer, hardier generation dressed. J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-57821369029017470712014-12-02T13:31:52.611-05:002014-12-02T13:31:52.611-05:00In 1786 the Honorable Artillery Company adopted Bl...In 1786 the Honorable Artillery Company adopted Blue and Buff as well. But a centennial sermon preached in 1738 indicates that the buff, at least, was part of their uniform in the early days, "Our scarlet and crimson can boast no proved valor equal to their hardy buff." Some writers seem to have concluded (based on nothing, as far as I can tell) that the original uniform included blue coats.Daudnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-20950820278289184552014-11-24T13:32:38.829-05:002014-11-24T13:32:38.829-05:00That brings up another question. I had also read t...That brings up another question. I had also read that buff and blue were the traditional Whig colors, and therefore adopted by Washington for the Virginia independent companies at the end of 1774 and transfered to the Continental Army in 1775. <br /><br />However, it looks like the phrase "buff and blue" became popular only after the rise of Charles Fox, and British Whigs of that time were adopting the colors in imitation of Washington's army and not the other way round. <br /><br />There are mentions of "true blue Whigs" from the very early 1700s, but are they paired with buff cloth as well? As there examples of British Whigs adopting that dress before 1775 (though perhaps not yet using the phrase "buff and blue")? J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-64153320201492433312014-11-24T13:07:43.840-05:002014-11-24T13:07:43.840-05:00And usually worn with buff-colored small clothes, ...And usually worn with buff-colored small clothes, which became a sort of informal "uniform" for English Whigs in<br />the 1766-1775 period. Which explain's Washington' adoption of blue with buff small clothes and facings for his uniform in 1775 and throughout the war.G. Thomas Fitzpatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07467577516360711271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-513712987608108182014-11-24T12:26:08.099-05:002014-11-24T12:26:08.099-05:00Ooh, a direct tie between John Wilkes and blue-dye...Ooh, a direct tie between John Wilkes and blue-dyed cloth, from 1771! It's great to know how much expertise <b>Boston 1775</b> readers command. J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-79537311463415784502014-11-24T09:52:14.359-05:002014-11-24T09:52:14.359-05:00From Andrea Feeser, _Red, White, and Black Make Bl...From Andrea Feeser, _Red, White, and Black Make Blue_ (Univ. of Georgia Press): "A 1771 issue of _The Middlesex Journal; or Chronicle of Liberty_," for example, singled out a Yorkshire merchant and dyer for the distinctive manner in which they supported populist politician John Wilkes, who embodied liberty for Britain's middling classes: 'A clothier in Yorkshire has sent Mr. Wilkes up a present of cloth to make his liveries--the patriotic tailor of Leicester-fields has offered to make them gratis; and an eminent dyer in the Borough, not to be behind-hand in patriotism (as the cloth was white) has engaged to dye them of a true blue (and from Mr. Wilkes regard for the American colonies) with Carolina indigo.'"Chauceriannoreply@blogger.com