Fugawee’s Smooth side out Civil War Union army Jefferson

The Army used the term “Jefferson”. The reason goes back to Thomas Jefferson:

During the French Revolution, large, fancy shoe buckles were considered the mark of the Aristocrats.

Shortly, wearing any shoe buckles at all could cause your head to leave your body. Shoe buckles quickly went out of style in France.

In the United States, Thomas Jefferson was a strong supporter of the French Revolution so, at his inauguration in 1801 he wore laced-up shoes. This set a fashion. All laced shoes soon were called “Jefferson Shoes.”

The term “Jefferson” continued to mean laced shoes until the early twentieth century. “Bootee” is a diminutive of “Boot” and signifies a short boot. “Brogan” is derived from “Brogue”, an English term for a rugged shoe that almost covered the ankle as opposed to a shoe which was lower and a boot which was higher.

The majority of Confederate shoes came through the blockade and were made much in the fashion of an English military boot and of riveted or nailed construction. The British did not make many shoes with pegs until the 1870’s when they started to use them in leather sea boots because pegs were not corroded by sea water.

Civil War shoes are pretty hard to tell apart. Once they have been stomped through the mud a few times your eye can’t tell where they came from. That’s when your feet will tell you that you are wearing Fugawee’s Civil War shoes.