Period Correct Infantry Boots

[1961MJS]

Hi

I'm looking at getting into SASS / NCOWS / GAF shooting since I live in Cowboy land (Kansas since 1995 and now Oklahoma).  I don't have gun 1 yet for the sport, but I've been looking into the history etc while I'm moving.  My question is about boots.  I don't plan on buying a horse, so I'd rather portray an Infantry soldier from 1866 to 1890 era.  I own civil war era brogans.  What boots would be correct for an infantry officer of that period?  Should I wear the brogans?

Thanks

Mike
Norman OK

[River City John]

Wear the brogans and save your money for other stuff.

RCJ

[pony express]

Agree with RCJ. I wear a pair of brogans with my Span-Am outfit. They're not really correct, but the right ones are about $200 or more, and that source doesn't offer anything between Civil War and the 1892 model shoe.( http://www.civilwarboots.com/  ).
Missouri boot and shoe USED to make the indian wars period shoes, but he doesn't make the 1892 model anymore, I don't know about the earlier models.
http://missouribootandshoe.tripod.com/id17.html
 

[cpt dan blodgett]

Navy boondockers from army navy store in chicago run $50 and are close enough for gov't work if you tire of the cw brougham

[1961MJS]

Hi

Thanks for the information.  I'll wait on the boots for now and blow the $ on other toys.   

Later

Mike
Norman OK

[Trailrider]

Officers in the Indian Wars period generally wore whatever they wanted to in the field, including left-over CW gear/clothing/etc. Since they also bought their own, they probably would have ordered a better quality shoe/boot. However, if the infantry officer had been enlisted during the CW, and then received a field promotion, or possibly attended West Point, he might have kept the enlisted shoes (brogans), and worn then less, so they wouldn't have worn out so quickly. (Most CW enlisted footwear was made of a cheap material that became a name for low-quality goods...i.e., "shoddy".)

[Gen Lew Wallace]

I wonder if "Shoddy" was the name of the maker?   

[River City John]

I thought 'shoddy' had its origins in unscrupulous Contractors who supplied uniforms made out of a felt like mixture of fibers pounded together and smoothed to resemble cloth, but could melt away in the rain. Didn't stand up to field campaign use.
I guess term passed into popular jargon as anything of an inferior workmanship or material.

RCJ

[FriscoCounty]

Actually, shoddy was wool made from recycled wool - old clothes, rags, etc.  It was shredded and then spun into fresh thread and rewoven.  The problem with shoddy was that the wool fibers were very short as a result of the shredding and the cloth didn't have any integrity, so it would tear very easily. 

During the Civil War, unscrupulous purchasing agents would substitute shoddy for virgin wool and pocket the difference.   

[Gen Lew Wallace]

Very interesting.  So where does "shod" come from when talking about feet, both animal and human?

[PJ Hardtack]

Victorian terms:

shod - v., the past tense and past participle of 'shoe'.

shoddy - n., an inferior kind of wool made of woolen waste, old rags, yarn, etc.
adj., pretending to be better than it is; of inferior quality; poorly made or designed.