CONSTRUCTING AN EARLY WAR FEDERAL SHELTER TENT

By David Turpin

This article is intended to be a guide to allow re-enactors to construct an early war type IIA Federal shelter tent. All the information for this article has been gathered from Frederick C. Gaede's excellent book "The Federal Civil War Shelter Tent". This article will detail step by step how to construct your own tent together with accompanying diagrams and photographs.

The first shelter tents produced for use by the Federal army were based on the French Tente d'abri (tent of shelter) . Now referred to as the type I, these were based on George McClellan's recommendations following his observation mission to Europe and the Crimea in 1855/56. The tent on which this article is based was known as the type IIA and was produced between March 1862 and May 1864 and was distributed through the Eastern depots in New York and Philadelphia. These tents are therefore ideal for an early war impression.

The type IIA was of a three piece construction, with the seams of the tent running vertical, it consisted of a narrow centre panel with two wider panels on each end. The reason that the tent consisted of 3 panels and not 2 panels as was the case in the construction of the later war type III variants was due to the availability of the material used and the width that they originated from the loom. Ideally the type IIA would have been constructed in cotton duck, however at the time this material was in limited supply as its use was needed for sails and the construction of tents where strength was at a premium, hospital and wall tents for instance. As a result of this cotton drill was designated as being suitable for its construction, however as this was machined with a textile trade width of 28 1/2 inches, two widths were not enough to make the designated width of 66 1/2 inches when sewn together. To get around this problem a third centre panel was needed to make up the difference. This problem did not occur when manufacture went over to cotton duck later in the war when supply was not a problem, here this material was machined with a textile trade width of 33 1/2 inch which was enough to cover the designated width with 2 panels, and these tents have since become known as the type III.

It is worth mentioning here a couple of points concerning the type II tents. Initially the first few contracts produced tents using linen duck, this was probably a legacy from the type I, copies of the French Tentes d'abri which used this material. Another is that there was a second variant of the type II the type IIB which although of 3 piece construction had a horizontal rather than vertical seams. These were largely distributed by the Cincinnati depot and included variants such as button reinforcements which again differed them from the type IIA.

Construction:

The overall designated size of the shelter tent was a length off 66 1/2 inches with a depth of 63 inches. As already mentioned the type IIA consisted of 3 panels with vertical seams with the centre panel being between 7 and 10 inches wide. The seams were machine sewn whilst the hems were hand finished. The top and bottom of the tent were hemmed whilst the sides utilized the selvedge edge of the material and so did not require any finishing. In each corner of the tent was a piece of additional material between 3 and 5 1/2 inches square which was used as reinforcement, this was sewn into place by hand. Each shelter tent had nine bone buttons running along the top edge together with nine hand finished button holes, these holes were finished using a proper button hole stitch, a blanket type stitch was not used. Along each edge of the tent were seven bone buttons and button holes, making a total of 23 buttons per tent half. The buttons used were 5/8 inch or 27 thread in size with the button holes being 3/4 inch in length. In each of the corners an additional 2 horizontally aligned round grommet holes were cut, these were hand worked in button hole style. the 2 holes in the bottom edge corners of the tent allowed for a loop of hemp or Manilla cording to be used through which a tent peg was passed for fixing into the ground, whilst the 2 holes in the top corners of the tent were to allow the use of tent poles and/or guy ropes.

Shelter Tent Dimensional Diagrams:

The diagram above depicts the overall dimensions of the type IIA shelter tent. The two main panels are of the textile trade width for cotton drill of 28 1/2 inches, with 1/2 inch being lost in the centre panel seam. The selvage edge is used on both the right and left edges of the tent. The centre panel is 12 1/2 inches wide with 1 inch being lost on either edge as part of the centre panel seams. The hem on both the top and bottom edge of the tent were approx. 1/4 and 3/8 of an inch

The button hole placement is 4 inches from each edge with the button hole being 1/2 inch from each edge and directly opposite the corresponding button. Along the top edge the first button is placed 1 inch from the edge with the other 8 buttons being equally spaced at 8 inch intervals with the measurements being taken from the centre of each button. Along the edges the first button is place 12 inches from the top with each of the remaining 6 buttons equally spaced 8 inches apart, this will leave the bottom button 3 inches from the bottom edge, again these measurements are taken from the centre of each button. The button holes were hand worked with waxed cotton thread utilizing a correct button hole stitch.


Bottom Left Corner Reinforcement
Top Left Corner Reinforcement
The above two diagrams show the corner reinforcements of the bottom left and top left corners, the bottom right and top right would be mirror images of those depicted above. The reinforcement panels were situated in each of the shelter tents 4 corners and were between 3 and 5 1/2 inches square and constructed using the same material as the tent material, although existing examples show a few which utilized alternative material. These were hemmed and hand stitched into place. There was no definitive specification with regards to the location of the grommet holes although it was stipulated that the holes on the top corners, used for the fixing of a guy rope and tent poles should match up when two tent halves were buttoned together. It is documented that soldiers would exchange tent halves until they were able to find matching sets that they and their pard could put to use. The grommet holes were hand worked with a button hole stitch using a thicker cord than that used for finishing the button holes, waxed linen thread being probably the most common material used.

Shelter Tent Seams and Hems:


Hem Construction and Centre Seam Construction
The Diagram on the left shows how the shelter tent and hem and centre seams should be constructed.

The hem is folded and stitched into place by hand using a back stitch.

The centre seams are stitched in place using a simple machine locking stitch. The best machine for this are old fashioned crank handled machines similar to those produced by Singer, these are readily available from antique and brick-a-brack shops. A good quality one will cost about £30 and is a worth while investment if you plan on producing your own garments and have the advantage that stitch lengths can be adjusted to the appropriate setting.

Getting Started:

The following items are required for the construction;
  • Enough cotton drill material to produce the shelter tent
  • Cotton thread
  • Linen thread
  • 23 bone buttons
  • Six strand hemp or Manilla cord
  • Bees wax

Once purchased the cotton drill is cut to the appropriate dimensions

  • Main panels should be 28 1/2 inches by 64 inches this will allow 1/2 inch for both the top and bottom hems
  • Centre panel should be 12 1/2 inches by 64 inches this will allow 1/2 inch for both the top and bottom hems, and 1 inch for the centre left and right seams
  • Reinforcement squares should be 5 1/2 inches square to allow for a 1/2 inch hem around all sides
Step 1
Fold the seams of he first main panels and the centre panel, pin together and once satisfied machine stitch together as shown on the stitch diagram, you will have two rows of stitching when complete, the stitch length should be approx. 8 - 10 per inch. Next pin together the remaining main panel to the centre panel and machine stitch together in the same manner. It is worth noting here that some of the existing examples show that the machine stitching was somewhat erratic, the stitching can be seen to be wander along the length of the seam, in one case it has wandered off the seam onto the tent panel before returning to the seam. So do not be too concerned if your stitched seam is not 100 percent perfect on its alignment, a little deviation will add to the authenticity.
Step 2
Take the four corner reinforcements, fold the 4 sides in 1/2 inch from each edge and iron flat. Form the top and bottom hems of the tent and iron flat. Align the reinforcements into the corners of the tent ensuring that they go under the hem seam. Pin both the hem and reinforcement panels into place and then hand stitch both hems using a back stitch.
Step 3
Hand stitches the corner reinforcements into place using a back stitch.
Step 4
Mark out and cut the grommet holes into the corners of the tent as shown in the above diagrams, be careful that the holes in the main tent panel and the reinforcement square match up and that there is no slippage of alignment between the two material surfaces. Next cut a length of linen thread and wax using the bees wax. The easiest way of doing this is to hold the thread against the wax between your index finger and thumb and quickly pull the thread through, the friction caused by pulling the thread between the surface of the wax and your thumb will melt the wax onto the surface of the thread, pull the thread through 7-8 times to achieve this. Once threaded, hand work the grommet hole using a button hole stitch, and example of which is detailed below.
The Button Hole Stitch
Once the thread has been waxed hold the thread along the top edge of the material, with the end pointing in the direction you are going to sew. Make a loop, with the top of the loop pointing upward. Inserting the needle through the loop, then into the fabric from the wrong side and then through the large loop left on the right side of the material. Tighten your stitch, keeping the purl on top by see-sawing the thread and using your fingernail. The additional stitches are created by arching the thread over the right side opening of the buttonhole in the direction you are sewing, then looping down and back around in the opposite direction your are sewing, through the loop at the top, then through the material from the wrong side about 1/16th of an inch from the last stitch, through the large loop on the right side and then tightening as before. Continue doing this all the way around the buttonhole until done.
 
Step 5
Mark out the positions of the 23 button holes as detailed in the diagrams above and hand work the buttons holes in the same manner as the grommet holes. When complete sew the bone buttons into position ensuring that a cross stitch is used.
A Suitable Bone Button
 
Step 6
Take a length of the manilla cord approx. 6 inches in length and thread through the grommet holes in the bottom 2 corners of the tent to form the loop that will accept the tent pegs. Tie a simple overhand knot large enough into each end of the cord to prevent the cord from being pulled through the grommet holes.

The picture above shows the external detail of the top left corner of the shelter tent.
The picture above shows the external detail of the bottom right corner of the shelter tent.

Conclusion

By following the guidelines above an authentic early to mid war Federal shelter tent can be constructed at a reasonable price, the one I have constructed cost under 37.00. Of course once you have done that you have the task of encouraging all you pards to follow suite, or if you are of a particularly generous nature you could make them for them!

Happy Sewing

Reference

The Federal Civil War Shelter Tent - Frederick C. Gaede - ISBN 0-9670731-3-8

Bone Buttons From Golden Age Buttons - www.goldenagebuttons.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm

Article by Lazy Jacks Mess

CONTINUE TO TENTING TONIGHT
BACK TO INTERACTIVE TRAINING GUIDE