Uniforms of the Texas Revolution- Texians What makes the uniforms of the Texians so interesting (and challenging) is that most of the Texian Army were made up of volunteer militia. Only a select few soldiers were part of an organization that had true “uniforms”.

Most of the Texian volunteers were fighting with clothes they wore for the jobs they held in civilian life, including farming, ranching, merchant services, government posts, etc. Therefore, when choosing the colors for your Texian Army, make sure that the mini’s do not have a uniform look. Feel free to use a variety of colors, from blue jackets, white shirts and grey pants to green jackets, yellow shirts and black pants. It is best to go with more earth tones, as most of the volunteers would not have spent the money on “colorful duds” for their civilian life. Some of the officers, however, would have come from the more prominent families and would have tended to wear more colorful attire.

With hats, most farmers/ranchers would have a straw color while merchants and others would also have brown (leather), black, and grey as well. With top hats, black was the dominant color, with grey and burgundy as secondary choices.

There are two units to consider that would have a bit more of a uniform look, the New Orleans Grays and the Alabama Red Rovers.

The Grays uniform was similar to the U.S. uniform of the time except that it was grey in color and the trim was black instead of white. With the cap, there is still some debate as to whether it was a grey forage cap or black sealskin. It is best for the individual collector to determine which they would prefer.

The exact uniforms of the Alabama Rovers are a little more difficult to determine as they seem to have had two. What can be confirmed is that the uniforms were colored in different hues of red (due to dyes and the Texan sun) from bright red to reddish brown. The first uniform seems to be made of a leather frock and matching pants (similar to a frontiersman in America in the late 18th and early 19th century) with a hue of red for both articles of clothing. The second uniform resembles the U.S. uniform of the time but with a red jacket and white pants. The hat may have also been red.

For more details on the Texian uniforms of the Texas Revolution please read Osprey Men-At-Arms #398 The Texas Army and Uniforms of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution 1835-36 by Bruce Marshall.

For the Mexican Army, Mr. Marshall’s book is a fine reference, as well as the Osprey Elite #102 Santa Anna’s Mexican Army 1821-1848.

-Script by Tony Rocha-