I feel kinda stupid asking cause it's been asked 87 times...EDIT USMC/SAW???

[smoke]

I can't get the search feature to work so I need to ask a few questions.  

Coon Creek M1883 pants, they are a good copy. correct?  Are they a good durable pair of pants?  

Who makes a correct and durable pair of leggins for the 1880's-1900?

Is the Coon Creek buff Campaign hat well made?

My budget is limited so I need to buy gear that will last.

EDIT>>What books would you all recomend about the SAW/Philippines etc?  I have A Splendid Little War, The Rough Riders by TR w/additional tex by R. Bar and the Osprey book Roosevelt's Rough Riders.  Looking for some history and some on uniforms.


Thanks!

[Drydock]

Coon Creek has good quality stuff, well researched, at good prices.  I've exchanged a few phone calls and E-mails with Leta and Buck, they're first rate, and will work with you on most anything you want.  THe M1898 uniform I'm wearing just to the left here, is from Coon Creek.

[pony express]

Well, I can't tell you about their hat or pants. I have a set of the Coon Creek leggins, they are ....ok....but the material is pretty light weight. When worn over wool pants, all is ok, bur over cotton they tended to slide down and bunch around my ankles. My solution to that was a small bit of velcro at the top of the leggins and on the pants leg. Not really period correct, but invisible, so it's good enough for me. Also, I "tailored" them a little, they were loose around the ankles, but it was easy to "take them in" a little.

Don't have any other clothing from them, but all the leather gear I have from them is great. My hat and blue wool campaign shirt are from River Junction, no complaints with them at all.

[Niederlander]

A good source for khaki leggings is e-Bay.  Get an original pair of Marine or Navy World War II style leggings.  If you want leather straps, change them out.  I'm doing just that right now.  (I've been wearing them with the webbing straps for years.)

[smoke]

Thanks guys for the help.  Look like Coon Creek will get some of my $$ for the pants.  If thier campaign hat is the one I want, who would you recommend for reasonably priced hat?  It does not need to be a perfect repro....something that looks good and will last.

[smoke]

A good source for khaki leggings is e-Bay.  Get an original pair of Marine or Navy World War II style leggings.  If you want leather straps, change them out.  I'm doing just that right now.  (I've been wearing them with the webbing straps for years.)

I would go with original but I would need at least a size 5, maybe 6.  Don't see too many of those sizes around.

[Drydock]

You can get these from What Price Glory.  The only real difference between these and the M1898s is the canvas strap as opposed to leather, and you can remove that and rivet on a leather strap if you want.  With some RIT brown dye you can dye them in your washing machine to match the earlier M1884 leggings.

http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopexd.asp?id=5119

[Niederlander]

Yeah, I lucked into a couple of size 6 pairs.  I'm keeping one with the webbing straps for a 1930's impression, and I've got a set with a couple of paint spots I'm converting to leather straps.  Strangely, both pairs were in basically new condition when I got them.

[Drydock]

For books-
-Uncle Sams Little Wars-  GI series, by John P. Langellier
-Osprey Men-at-Arms #437 "The Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection"
-The Splendid Little War- Frank Freidel
-The Spanish American War- Donald M. Goldstien

Find all the above on ebay

If you can find it: "History of the Spanish-American War" by Henry Watterson, publshed in 1899.  662 pages of exaustive detail at the source.  The Victorian Hyperbole is entertaining, and the source documentation is amazing.  The diplomatic manuvering of Great Britian is fascinating, few realize that the "Special Relationship" was born in the Spanish American War.

[smoke]

Drydock,

Thanks for the list.  I have couple of of those books on the way.  I'll be ordering a few more this week.   Do you know any good books the cover the USMC during this period?  I keep reading about a Brassey book but I don't know the title.

Thanks!

[Drydock]

IM US Scout  (CinCGAF)  He's the expert on all things US Marine in the Victorian era!

You might also Google images of the Boxer Rebellion, in which the Marines figure heavily.

[Niederlander]

Smoke,
     The one thing I'd warn you about USMC stuff in the Victorian era is that the research is VERY incomplete.  I've been doing some research in the last few years and found at least a couple of things, uniform-wise, where the prevailing "knowledge" is wrong.  One example is what we would call the campaign shirt.  Every reference I've found says it was the same as the Army pattern blue campaign shirt, but it's not.  While Marines wore a lot of Army shirts, there was a distinct Marine "campaign shirt" that was collarless and had white buttons.  I found this out when I discovered that the shirt described in the Marine uniform regs DID NOT match the Army shirt.  Then I found pictures of Marines wearing shirts in the Phillippines that EXACTLY corresponded with what the regs said.  Also, photographic evidence would also say that the switch to wearing the Corps device on the front of the campaign hat as opposed to the side did not happen as evenly as what some references would indicate.  Just as we've discovered with Army uniforms, the fact that uniform regs changed on a certain date didn't mean that the changes were necessarly evident in fleet units in anything like a timely fashion.

[Cowtown Scout]

 

Drydock,
Thanks for the list.  I have couple of of those books on the way.  I'll be ordering a few more this week.   Do you know any good books the cover the USMC during this period?  I keep reading about a Brassey book but I don't know the title.
Thanks!

Smoke

The title is: Brassey's History of Uniforms, Spanish-American War 1898  by Ron Field, color plates by Richard Hook.  Published 1998.  This is a Great Book!

Brassey's has a series of books on History of Uniforms from different time periods.

Scout

[Guns Garrett]

Brassey's book is very complete, but is mostly correct and accurate when describing the Army and Volunteer uniforms, and those of the Cuban and Spanish forces, as well as the Filipinos and Moros. Only about a half-dozen photos of Marines in the book. 
Information on the Marines, both text info and the non-photo illustrations (artist's renditions) are inaccurate. Example:  a colored drawing/painting showing the capture of Cuzco Wells depicting the NCO cheverons being red with yellow/gold edging - exactly opposite of what they actually were. 
Marines did not have a suitable tropical/hot weather field uniform.  They DID have their "summer whites", but - not really suitable.  They made good use of Army clothing, as it became available.

[smoke]

Guys....thanks for all the input.  It is a lot of help.  Does any one have an opinion on this book?

Equipping the Corps, Volume I: Webgear, Weapons and Headgear by Alex S. Tulkoff

http://www.amazon.com/Equipping-Corps-Volume-Webgear-Headgear/dp/1932970150/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_2