What Price Glory: 1885 Shirt

[Niederlander]

Just noticed What Price Glory now offers the 1885 campaign shirt.  I hope he keeps doing more stuff for our period!

[Sagebrush Burns]

Good looking shirt, but wool flannel?  Seems like it might be a tad warm for any time other than winter.

[pony express]

Don't know about the WPG ones, the River Junction one is not too heavy fabric, I have worn it in 70s, maybe even low 80s. If it gets any warmer than that, I have a blue cotton flannel shirt from Wal Mart that's "close enough"

[Delmonico]

To be truthful, wool is cooler than cotton, but because of the way our bodies are, you won't feel cooler.  When your body temp goes up you feel cooler, when it is normal you will feel hotter.   

But it's all back to hydration and electrolytes, it was the lack of water that did so much damage at places like Gettysburg, not the wool uniforms as is commonly thought.

[Delmonico]

What is funny we were just talking about this on a dutch oven group and I posted this, part of my book draft.


Working in the heat

Anyone doing reenacting/living history will depending on the area of the country, often find themselves doing their demonstrations in weather a bit on the hot side,  I have done many where the heat was around 100F and the heat index higher than that, sometimes the actual cook area can reach 150F.  (You use a meat thermometer.)  This can get uncomfortable at times, but a healthy adult should not have problems with it if you take proper care of yourself.  The key here is to know how to take care of your self, it is not taking care of ones self that leads to heat related injuries such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion. 

One of the first things to consider is if you are in good enough health to do these things, anyone with a medical problem most likely already knows any restrictions their doctor recommends or should.  One of the very real problems that can come up is medication; some medications can be affected by the heat and cause problems with the person taking them, these can be either prescription or over-the-counter types.   The first thing to do is read all the cautions on the label or on the printed sheet that comes with them, prescription medications come with a printed sheet that is often stapled to the bag when you pick it up.  These can sometimes be several pages long, but should be read regardless.  Also do not be afraid to ask your doctor or pharmacist if there is anything you need to know about any medications you take, that is there job and they should be more than willing to help.

Another problem that the modern 19th century cook runs into is many of us work and most of us live in an air conditioned world plus we often travel in an air conditioned world.  This can make it harder when we are tossed out in a hot cook camp, on a hot day around a hot fire, going from air conditioning to heat of a 100F or more is hard on a person, one wants to acclimatize a bit. 
A big step in doing this is to not run your air conditioning in your vehicle on the way to an event.  On really hot days it may be 80F already when you leave for an hour drive or so, it may be 90F by the time you get there.  Most people run the air conditioning in their car lower than they would at home especially if there are back seat passengers complaining about being warm.  When you exit the vehicle you are hit by the hot air that can be 30 or more degrees warmer.  Never run the air going to an event on a hot day, save that for the trip home.  Also never linger more than you have to in stores or visitor centers because it can be a shock to go back out in the heat.    I try to go set up the day before an event and acclimatize that way, it gives me a half a day or so to set up, often there are some others that show up that day so I make a late supper for us, often a smaller group is better for trying out a new item and a smaller group is better to discuss it with.

The next part of beating the heat is staying hydrated and keeping the electrolytes balanced.  This is the most important part, with out doing this all other precautions will be null and void and you can be too.
Since although they are related, we'll separate them first, hydration is simply keeping up the amount of water in you body.  To start with, 57-60% water is what the average human body has, losing 1% is the start of dehydration and thirst often does not start till one has lost 2-3% of the bodies' water.  In most cases this is not a big problem because in lower temperatures and/or higher humidity you will be able to hydrate very quickly.  But in extreme conditions it can be hard to get rehydrated once you have gotten to that state.   

The best way to stay hydrated is to not get dehydrated, but since when you are thirsty you are already becoming dehydrated how do you know for sure?   The first thing is when in extreme conditions is to drink before you get thirsty, just make it a habit to drink when you have a little time, drink often whether you think you need it or not, it's pretty hard to over do it in very hot weather and a healthy person's kidneys will take care of it any way.

Your own kidneys are your best gauge to tell when you are getting dehydrated, the first thing to keep track of is how often you urinate, and it should be every two hours minimum, if not you need to be drinking more water.  Also one needs to observe to color of the urine, if it is clear to pale yellow then hydration is where it needs to be, if it is darker yellow then more water is needed.  If it starts to get brown red or orange it means that one is already deep in trouble and a trip to the ER would be best.   This chart is a US military one I found on the internet, at this time I am not sure if it is truly public domain, but if it is not, it should be. (I will find out, or get another one or at least get permission to use it before the book is done.)



To stay hydrated in the heat, it is best to get a leg up on it by starting the day before, if you arrive already dehydrated even if just a little bit, then not only do you have to maintain hydration, but you have to get hydrated to begin the day and depending on the heat and the amount of work you are going to be doing, you may never catch up.   

Besides the body needing to have the proper percent of water to function properly we also need the proper amount of the minerals we call electrolytes.  With out getting deep in to chemistry, the simple explanation of these is they help maintain the electrical connections between your bodies cells, when these are lost through sweat or urine the body tries to protect it self by shutting down the production of both of these fluids.  Since sweat is used by the body to cool it self through evaporation the loss of this vital function allows the body temperature to rise, if it raises enough this can cause brain damage or even death, at best the person will not be able to function well.
 
As I mentioned the electrolytes also help the body's nerves transmit the electrical signals from the brain to the rest of the body. Among the problems these "bad connections" cause are muscle cramping, confusion and irregular heart beat. 

The ones the human body needs and loses are sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium which are simply elements and also metals.   Phosphorus a non-metallic element is obtained as a salt of phosphoric acid called inorganic phosphates.  Chlorides are chlorine gas that gains an extra electron and becomes an ion and forms salts with metals, sodium chloride being the most common.   Sodium bicarbonate is also one, it raises PH which keeps things in balance and helps stop aching in the muscles when they build up lactic acid.

The chemistry of these and how they work are a bit more complicated than a simple paragraph will tell, but it shows the main ones, normally in a normal environment a proper diet will take care of all these, however in the extreme heat where the heat index is over 100F we will likely have to add more to the system,  Since we also have to add water back into our system perhaps the easiest way for most is to simply to use the modern sport drinks, these have what you need in most cases. 

I do tend to push the sport drinks heavy around my camps, I can feel when I need them and I feel better and work better when I use them heavy.  I carry the dry powdered kind, and I tend to carry a lot of it, it is better to have too much than not enough.  Sometimes a supply can be at quite a distance and small town stores often don't carry large amounts and can run out.  Also the powdered kind keeps well, is light and easy to store plus it is much cheaper than the pre-mix type, so there is no reason to not have it.  For those who are concerned about the high fructose corn syrups, the powdered ones do not contain it and the pre-mixed often do. 

I tend to mix my powdered drink a bit on the stiff side, I learned this from a friend who had been a corpsman, what it does is get a good dose of electrolytes in your system, it will not cure your thirst, but it will often make you thirstier.  This forces folks to seek water to cure the thirst, this is always a positive because under normal circumstances you will not feel thirsty till you have already started dehydrating, once that starts it is much harder to keep up. 

When it is very hot and I'm working around a fire, I make my sport drinks very strong; often I use about an inch of powder in a coffee cup and fill it with iced tea.  I stir it in as best I can and drink, I often have to fill it and stir a couple of times to get it all dissolved. 

This brings up a bit of a controversy, some will say one should never drink coffee or tea in the heat because they are diuretics and will help dehydrate you, other references say its ok, or it's ok if you leave the dairy products out and/or the sugar.   This also confuses me, since the sport drinks that are recommended contain some form of sugar in most cases.  I also drink coffee through out the day even when it is hot out. 

What I do make sure of is that I urinate at least every two hours, and that I keep the flow in the paler yellow range.  When it ever drops down to the darker range and not often enough, I make sure I drink a lot more to get it timed like it should be and keep it to the paler range.  I have found out by doing it this way I can consume more total liquid than with pure water, pure water tends sometimes to upset one's stomach in the heat, getting sick by over drinking will set hydration levels back. A big mistake is drinking drinks that are too cold, cool is ok, cold will lower your core temperature and the body will have to work to over come it, this will cause your body to work harder. 

An item I keep in my supplies the old timers will remember the younger folks may not have ever seen or used them; these are salt tablets or thermo tablets.  These are what those of use who worked in high heat used to use before the modern sport drinks got popular and salt became a "bad" item. 

These tablets contain a lot of sodium chloride, but they also contain Potassium, Magnesium and carbonate, all items we also need.  Unlike my sport drinks, I do not offer these to just anyone, but reserve them for myself and any helpers I have who are working directly in the extra heat generated by the fire and the coals themselves.  Today with processed foods being more the norm, many if not most folks eat far too much Sodium chloride (table salt).  The results are since so many people have high blood pressure, a lot of people are on low sodium diets, and a lot of them need to be.  The big problem is that now the masses sometimes think all salt is bad, like anything it needs moderation.   And with our modern diets and living in mostly climate control most people get all the sodium they need.  What you need to be aware of is you may need a higher salt intake when dealing with fairly high heat.  This is another item it would be best to discuss with your doctor.

It's easy to keep the electrolytes up today with our modern sport drinks and the older fall back on salt tablets, but for those who want to stay period correct is there an easy way?  The answer is yes, there were recipes for drinks that in a lot of ways could be called 19th Century sport drinks or in the era of a large part of the people in the US depending on agriculture as a livelihood, it was called hay field drink or switchel.  This homemade version varied in how it was made, but the best recipes I've seen as the ability to do the most good would start with barley water.  (Water in which barley had been boiled) For each cup of barley water add a ½ or so teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and 1-2 tablespoons of molasses add a ¼ teaspoon of ginger if desired to help it quench the thirst and to settle the stomach.

This old version of our modern sport drinks will provide all the electrolytes that the modern ones do, taste is not as great, but the idea is not to drink it because it tastes good, but to drink it because you need it.

So we now have an idea how to stay hydrated and keep our electrolytes in balance, so we have part of the battle to beat the heat figured out, we will now discuss that item that scares a lot of folks, those heavy long clothes that we have to wear, what most people don't realize is that a lot of period clothes are cooler than the minimal clothing that is popular to wear outside in the heat today.  This will come as quite a shock to a lot of people, but covering your body as much as possible with clothing will help keep you body cooler than having large areas of skin exposed, providing you wear clothing made of the right materials, the natural fabrics.  (There are some of the newer modern synthetic fibers which do the same, but since they have no place in historical clothing I need not cover them.)

What is hard for most people to understand is that these natural fabric clothes actually protect your body from the heat by blocking the rays of the sun and acting as insulation from the heat.  Remember insulation on your body will work like insulation in a building; it can keep heat out as well as heat in.  When working around a fire and dutch ovens the radiant heat from the fire can sometimes cause 1st degree burns to exposed skin in the short time it takes to remove coals, add them to ovens and add wood to the fire, this makes it important to be covered with at least one layer. 

Since my feet and lower legs are the most at risk, I wear leather boots, most times these are the 16-18 inch "stovepipes" and very heavy wool socks, and this has always kept my feet cool when working around a fire.  Also I prefer leather soles, the "rubber" type will often melt if you step on a hot coal or two.
 
The natural fabrics (silk, wool, cotton and linen) will help pull the moisture from perspiration away from the body and to the surface of the garment, here it evaporates and cools the garment down, cooling the body temperature.

One also needs to keep your head covered, a cap is ok, a broad brimmed light colored hat is even better, and this shades a person.  I prefer the braided palm leaf hats made in Guatemala and southern Mexico, these hats are inexpensive and durable, and can actually be wetted to allow more evaporation to help cool the body especially the head.  I wear the flat topped "Plantation style" with a 5 inch flat brim, a type of hat that has been around since at least the 1820's so it works for a large time period span.
This is the other key to working safe in high heat; the body temperature has to be kept as close to the normal temperature as possible.  The clothing insulating you from the fire and sun helps, the sweat evaporates and cools, the hydration and the electrolytes allows our body to sweat and cool itself. 

While we are talking about body temperature, a lot of people will tell you that dressing in the heat and sun where you are fully covered will make you hotter than they typical person who often comes to watch at living history events, the uncovered, often bald heat, the tank top, the shorts and the sandals.  They will swear up and down they are cooler because they feel cooler dressed that way. (No pun intended.) 
They are not, they feel cooler because very simply this type of dress allows the body temperature to go up, when we get a fever when we are sick most times we feel cold, a fever however slight caused by being out in too much heat will actually make you feel cooler than before it started to go up. 
This is one of the common problems with heat related stress; the person having the problems often does not realize what is going on before it is too late.  If one is outside and you start to feel cooler and there is no good reason such as the sun going behind a cloud, a breeze coming up or the temperature dropping, then it is a good idea to find out the reason why in case it is heat related stress coming on. 

[Bat 2919]

Well now Del, that's a little more information than any of us needed.

I own the WPG green 1916 army reproduction shirt (I was wearing it for that first HOW color guard we did together) and can tell you that like every other product I've purchased from WPG it's first quality. 

I went to my first Grand Muster last year and didn't have anything in the way of blue uniforms.  I bought both the wool and the flannel blue shirts from River Junction before the match.  The wool shirt is by far the better choice for warm weather wear.  I know it sounds counter intuitive.  Pitsptr told me to go for the wool and he was right, but of course I had to prove it to my self.

[Niederlander]

Glen is obviously a man of few words!  (Good information, by the way.)  I'd agree with the wool shirt.  I wore a wool British "grayback" last year and it IS cooler!

[Delmonico]

I plan on having that chart (US Government issue BTW) printed and posted in a few places this year.

We have never had anyone go down yet and I want to keep it that way.

[Pitspitr]

When I started doing Living History at Ft. Hartsuff in the early 1990's the staff took white modern dress shirts and modified them to resemble shirts used in the 1870's. In 1995 the General Miles Marching and Chowder Society held their annual encampment at Ft. Hartsuff and I joined them for several sessions of drill so as to become a better Living Historian. One thing I noticed was the quality of their uniforms (which in accordance with their bylaws must be museum quality). I thought, "If they're tough enough to wear wool shirts them I am too." When I got one I quickly found out that during the summer when one is wearing wool the wool seems hot when it is first put on, but as soon as the wool becomes damp from perspiration it will actually cool you off, kind of like a blanket covered canteen. The wool shirts were much more comfortable than the white cotton blend dress shirts we had been wearing. Oh, and if you get good quality wool in a good weave it isn't itchy. It's soft.

[Delmonico]

Most clothing today is made from the Merino breed of sheep, it's a softer less itchy wool, (yuppies pay extra for it under the label "Smart Wool")   That is all I wear for socks and have for over 20 years, less problems and my feet are cooler.   They really help around the fires because they keep the heat out.   They also draw the moisture away from your feet preventing fungus.  Wool socks are a good cure for anyone with foot fungus often called Athletes Feet.  Cotton socks should come with a warning label saying, "Caution, may cause foot rot."

[pony express]

Wool socks are a good cure for anyone with foot fungus often called Athletes Feet.  Cotton socks should come with a warning label saying, "Caution, may cause foot rot."

Slightly OT, I have found my solution for athlete's foot problem, was the ditch the "athlete's" shoes. Used to wear a lot of running/tennis/walking shoes, all made out of plastic, rubber, and foam. Constant itchy feet, and the smell........ Then, with an approaching shoulder surgery, bought some cowboy boots, so I wouldn't have to tie shoes. Viola! Boots were all leather, except the soles, no more fungus, and at the end of the day, they just smelled like.....leather! Now I'm wearing mostly lace up work boots, same result, although you have to search hard sometimes to get work boots that aren't made with all the plastic and foam.

[Delmonico]

Well that too, nasty things they are.

BTW old time remedy to cure the problem is peeing on your feet.  Seems the ammonia kills the fungus.

[Niederlander]

While that may well work, I believe I will pass on peeing on my (or anyone else's) feet. ( Might be hard to look over the coffee fire at a man once you'd peed on his feet. Just sayin'...........)

[Delmonico]

Just stuff that shows up in old books.   Does make sense and cheaper than a Rx.

[Bat 2919]

I learned long ago that natural materials are the only thing to wear close to the body.  Wool shirts, silk scarves and 100% cotton undershirts are your best bet.  Wool (and you would think, cotton/flannel as well) are the best at not only keeping you cool in warm weather as but also keeping you warm during cold weather.  Like Pitsptr said, any breeze blowing through damp wool works sort of like wearing your own little swamp cooler.  Whats a swamp cooler you ask, well in my part of the country (the dry arid part) we cool our homes by pumping in wet cool air to cool them, at less than half the cost of AC.  No, it doesn't work well in the humid climes, but out west, at anything less than the century mark (where it still  keeps the house comfortable, just not cold) it's every bit as good as AC.  The concept date back to the pueblo's where they would hang wet blankets in the open windows in the summer.  Keeps the sun out and any air movement through the blankets caused cool air to flow through the home.  Everything old is new again, we just have to re-learn what our for fathers simply knew, and took for granted.

[Niederlander]

You're right, but I'm still not peeing on anyone's feet!

[Delmonico]

You're right, but I'm still not peeing on anyone's feet!

I tend to pee in some of them's oatmeal.

[Niederlander]

Remind me not to eat any of THAT at the Muster........................

[Delmonico]

Remind me not to eat any of THAT at the Muster........................

I doubt we'll ever have it at the Muster and I meant figuratively not literally.   

[Pitspitr]

Wool shirts, silk scarves and 100% cotton undershirts are your best bet.  Wool (and you would think, cotton/flannel as well) are the best at not only keeping you cool in warm weather as but also keeping you warm during cold weather. 

I think in the example I used there were 3 issues with the wool shirt being cooler. First was that the white dress shirt probably wasn't 100% cotton, but had rayon or polyester in it. Second was that it was a tight weave that when it got wet just stuck to you like a plastic sheet. And third was that it seems the layering system seems more pronounced when 1 layer is cotton and the second is wool or something along those lines.