Original Civil War Enlisted Man’s Brogans

Original Civil War Enlisted Man’s Brogans – This pair of Civil War brogans are only the third pair that we have had; this pair is in overall very good condition, with relatively minor wear on the uppers and considerable wear on the heels and soles. The brogans exhibit all of the characteristics of period, soldier’s “bootees” – wood, diamond shaped, pegging on the soles; leather stacked heels, nailed to the uppers; highly squared toe box; rectangular sewn attachment of the heel or quarter section to the vamp; exterior sewing visible for the attachment of the interior counter or heel lining; rough side out leather for the vamp and quarter areas; interior lined with more pliable, thinner and supple, light brown leather; tongue of brogans are integral to the vamp; quarters or heel areas extend to either side of the vamp’s tongue, each with three eyelets for laces (we do not know the age of the rawhide laces although they appear old). According to the entry describing Union Army footwear in Frederick Todd’s seminal work “American Military Equipage; 1851 – 1872”:

“In 1854, the Quartermaster General determined that footwear intended for the mounted service would be called the ‘boot’, while that for the foot service would be called the ‘bootee’. The word ‘shoe’ was rarely used in military writing, being apparently confined to ladies’ footwear and to the lower or lighter styles of shoes worn by men. Army dress regulations throughout the period, mention only the ‘ankle boot’ and the ‘Jefferson boot’ … the ‘bootee’ or ‘Jefferson’ meant a high quarter shoe or, in rougher forms, a ‘brogue’ or ‘brogan’.

The onset of the Civil War saw the handmade shoe become a rarity, with most being produced via machinery, with some hand-finishing; even the cheapest shoes of the period came in pairs made on right and left lasts. The vamps of military issue shoes ran from the instep to a soft, low, highly squared toe. The quarters were moderately high, with two to four eyelets for laces. The soles were either sewn to the uppers or fastened by pegs, nails and, on rare occasion, by rubber. The heels were made of stacked leather, usually fastened by nails. Both U.S. Army boots and shoes of the Civil War period were almost always constructed of black leather, with the so-called “flesh” or rough side out. Although many enlistees in infantry insisted on wearing boots, as low leather boots were the commonly worn footwear for young farmhands in this period, as these boots wore out, many young soldiers were introduced to lace-up shoes, which would become a markedly more utilized mode of footwear after the war.

Measurements: Brogans are about 9.5” in overall length