Why did the Confederates wear gray?

Because the United States (Union) regulation color was already dark blue, the Confederates chose gray. However, soldiers were often at a loss to determine which side of the war a soldier was on by his uniform. With a shortage of regulation uniforms in the Confederacy, many southern recruits just wore clothes from home. read more

Confederates wore gray for a number of reasons. At the First Battle of Bull Run both the Federals and the Confederacy wore "what they brung". Generally these were blue uniforms either purchased for the State Troops prior to the war or "Dirty Shirt" Blue uniforms from the federal stores. read more

Confederate soldier's uniforms would often wear out or be badly torn and they would use the uniforms of the Union soldiers often causing problems as far as "who was the enemy." Answer Grey uniforms were quite common during the early 1800's. read more