1861 U.S. Sanitary Commission Red Wool Flannel Undershirt

One of the first garments to be supplied to soldiers by the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the summer of 1861 were gray and white wool flannel undershirts. The construction specifications of this garment were distributed through published circulars that reached communities across the nation. As the war continued into autumn of that year, the construction specifications of these undershirts were further expanded. In addition to clarified instructions, a certain detail stood out—they were to now be constructed of red wool flannel for “rheumatic patients.” This color was not chosen for aesthetics, but rather because of the believed medicinal value of the vegetable dyed red wool flannel. An 1860 dated Medical and Surgical Reporter states the medicinal value of red wool flannel as having “two purposes—protecting the body against cold and changes in temperature, while it acts at the same time as a counter irritant.” Irritants that red flannel was thought to counter, included rheumatism asso