The Fourth Sub-Legion
of the United States 

In the spring of 1792, the reorganized American Army began to take shape under the supervision of General Wayne, Secretary of War Henry Knox and Quartermaster Isaac Craig. The army also began to take on the uniformed appearance of a legitimate and organized fighting force, like that of the European military powers.  Anthony Wayne, who had always been a strict adherent of military discipline and ceremony, immediately began re-dressing his troops.

 

Until 1792, the army was being supplied primarily with old uniforms from the Revolutionary War. By the fall of 1792, most of the uniforms issued to the original legion, dark blue coats with scarlet facings, were beginning to wear out. While waiting for the new uniforms to be issued, Wayne ordered the tails of the coats to be cut off and used as patches for coats and trouser knees. A 1792 drawing by Archibald Robertson of the troops stationed at West Point, New York, shows the assembled soldiers with distinctive round blue dots on their knees. The dots were a result of rudimentary repair work being done by the soldiers in a futile effort to maintain their uniforms. Also, the traditional cocked hats had become misshapen and were in various states of disrepair. Wayne ordered that they be converted into “jockey” style caps, similar to a modern baseball cap with a small visor and a shield on the front made from scraps of the brim.

 

By the time of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794, most of the troops had been issued new uniforms developed for the army. Coats would be dark blue with scarlet-colored facings and a stand-up collar. Turn backs and linings would be white linen or wool. Following a change of fashion occurring in the civilian world, waistcoats were cut straight across the bottom.

 

Buttons on the coat and waistcoat were molded with a federal eagle or “frog-legged eagle,” the unofficial symbol of the new republic. Trousers were long-legged “overalls” that covered the top of the shoe and buttoned high above the natural waist. Leather neck stocks were to be worn when on duty. Finally, the hats were new “round” hats, like a modern top hat, cocked up on the left side. These hats were covered with bearskin to protect them from the elements.

 

Bindings and trim on the hats were to designate the Sub-Legion that the soldier belonged to. The First Sub-Legion had white binding upon their caps, white plumes with black hair. The Second Sub-Legion had red binding to their caps, red plumes with white hair. The Third Sub-Legion had yellow binding to their caps, yellow plumes with black hair. The Fourth Sub-Legion had green binding to their caps, green plumes with white hair.

 

Each soldier would have a waterproof knapsack (painted red or blue), a wooden canteen (painted blue) and a cartridge box holding a full combat ration of twenty-four cartridges (loaded with both round and buck shot).  The infantry was armed with surplus French muskets from the Revolution.  The muskets were equipped with a bayonet that was to always remain “fixed” and “scabbards and frogs to be thrown away” because, according to Wayne, a man should never be without his “cold steel.”