Dragoon helmet, First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, 1835 (missing horsehair crest).
When the conflict began it was apparent that in order to even fight a short war both sides needed more men. A call for volunteers was issued by the Confederacy and the Union. Many men who answered those calls wore their militia uniforms; others received uniforms of various patterns from local depots or tailors, resulting in considerable variation in dress even among companies within the same regiment.
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