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Photo by Author
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”…their clothing is a match-coat like mantle – either
a blanket or a bear skin…” – Reverend
William Andrews, 1712 1
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| Robert Beverly, “Fig. 1. [R] wears the proper Indian Match-coat, which is made of Skins, drest with the Furr on, sowed together, and worn with the Furr inwards, having the edges also gashed for beauty sake. Fig. 2. [L] wears the Duffield Match-coat bought of the English, on his Head is a Coronet of Peak, on his Legs are Stockings made of Duffields” |
What is a Matchcoat?
During the 17th,
18th and early 19th centuries, the era of the fur trade
with the Native Americans east of the Mississippi, the English used the word
matchcoat to describe a length of coarse, rough, woolen cloth, such as Stroud
or Duffel, that was traded to the Native Americans and worn by them as a cloak
or a loosely wrapped mantle. The word matchcoat
is an English word; it is believed to be a corruption of the Algonquin word “matchkore”, meaning a robe2. Originally, Native Americans would have worn
a mantle made of fur, it would have been worn fur inward during cold or rainy
weather and fur outward during nicer weather.
As contact with the Europeans continued, a matchcoat came to mean coarse
woolen blanket, worn as an outer garment.
And, as contact with the Native Americans continued, European colonists
began to copy “the Indian Manner”3
of dress, for example, George Washington wrote on December 23, 1753 that I “…tied myself up in a Match Coat”, which
with leggings and moccasins was called, an “Indian
Walking Dress”4.
Blankets during the late 18th and early 19th
centuries…
For those who are interested
in life on the Old Northwest Frontier, during the late 18th and
early 19th centuries, John U. Rees wrote a fascinating article on
blankets that would have been used then (it can be found HERE). In it, he wrote that blankets were made from
wool, linen or a linen-wool mix, called linsey-woolsey, and were often white in
color. Additionally, since American
looms could only produce cloth between 30-42 inches wide, blankets manufactured
in the American colonies, would have had a center seam where the two pieces of
cloth were stitched together. Blankets
manufactured in England and shipped to the American colonies for sale; would
not have had a center seam, as British looms were able to weave cloth between
74-117 inches wide. As for size, a
white, 3-point blanket, that was carried by a Revolutionary War soldier, and is
currently in a museum, is 53 inches by 72 inches and has two, 2-3/4 inch wide
indigo stripes on each end.
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| Edward Cave, The Boy Scout's Hike Book, p. 150 |
How to Wear a Blanket as a Matchcoat
"...over my great coat, I wore a blanket, pinned
under the chin in the Indian fashion, and confined to the waist by a leather
belt; to which was suspended a large hunting or scalping knife. Fifteen years ago, this was a common dress in
Kentucky, as it is now on the frontiers of Indiana and in the Illinois
Territory" -- Elias Pym Fordham, 1818 5
Many times in American
history, blankets have served as both clothing and bed coverings and a blanket would
have been worn as follows:
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| Photo by Author |
1.
Start by holding
the blanket lengthwise behind your back.
Next, drape the blanket over your head and down your back, so that the
middle of the top edge is just above your eyebrows.
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| Photo by Author |
2.
Wrap the blanket
around your waist, so that the bottom edge of the blanket is at the level of
your knees and secure the blanket at your waist with a sash, rope, belt, pin,
etc.
3.
You can now bring
the top edge of the blanket down from your head and drape it around your
shoulders. Arrange the blanket within
the belt or sash so that you are able to move and walk freely.
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| Photo by Author |
4.
In the case of
rain, or if it is cold, lift the top edge of the blanket up over the head to make
a hood and secure the edges at the throat with a pin, stick, etc.
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| Photo by Author |
5.
If it warms up,
drop the blanket off your shoulders to hang from your belt or sash
The Well-Dressed Survivor…
Now, this is great information for people
who are new to historical reenacting of the late 18th and early 19th
centuries, on the Old Northwest Frontier: however, why is it important for
people who are not reenactors? Why
should modern day outdoors-people know what a matchcoat is and how to put it
on? Let us say you are in a survival
situation and you need to keep in the heat and keep out the cold and wet. A matchcoat is a great way to make an
improvised jacket or raincoat. In a
pinch, you can wrap anything around yourself, a square of plastic, a piece of
canvas, or a blanket. If you are going
to use a blanket in the outdoors, wool should be your-go-to fabric. Unlike cotton, it keeps you warm even when it
is wet and it is fire-resistant.
So, put that matchcoat on and
keep warm in the great outdoors.
Notes
1 Hawkins, Ernest, Historical Notices of the
Missions of the Church of England in the North American Colonies, [Published
by B. Fellowes, London, 1845], p 267, https://books.google.com/books?id=Xu9HAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA267&lpg=PA267&dq=their+clothing+is+a+match-coat+like+mantle+%E2%80%93+either+a+blanket+or+a+bear+skin&source=bl&ots=EywVEFBpH3&sig=ACfU3U1FnujPbqiQW0vQ1OKbiJKnHhf5gQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2u5yLiKfhAhUEhuAKHf_GCEYQ6AEwB3oECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=their%20clothing%20is%20a%20match-coat%20like%20mantle%20%E2%80%93%20either%20a%20blanket%20or%20a%20bear%20skin&f=false, Accessed 3/29/19
2 English Oxford Living Dictionaries, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/matchcoat,
Accessed 3/30/19
3 Smith,
James, William McCullough Darlington, Editor, An Account of the Remarkable Occurences in the Life and Travels of Col.
James Smith, [The Robert
Clarke Co., Cincinnati, 1907], p. 108 https://books.google.com/books?id=q9o_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA108&dq=%22the+Indian+manner%22+%22james+smith%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiu64ClyKrhAhWPmOAKHWs9AXsQ6AEIUTAH#v=onepage&q=%22the%20Indian%20manner%22%20%22james%20smith%22&f=false,
Accessed 3/30/19
4 Fitzpatrick, John C., Editor, The Writings
of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, Vol. I,
1745-1799, [United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 1931], p.28
https://books.google.com/books?id=D3KMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=%22tied+myself+up+in+a+Match+Coat%22&source=bl&ots=FZAuHvv3Ru&sig=ACfU3U39ilO9HoNS_0h-Lm7klTHtYaRC8A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXnY3pu6rhAhXklOAKHZE9BeQQ6AEwAnoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22tied%20myself%20up%20in%20a%20Match%20Coat%22&f=false,
Accessed 3/30/19
5 Fordham, Elias
Pym, Edited by Frederic Austin Ogg, Personal Narrative of Travels in Virginia,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio…, [The Arthur H. Clark Company, Cleveland,
1906] p. 158 https://books.google.com/books?id=yBk1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA158&lpg=PA158&dq=%22over+my+great+coat,+I+wore+a+blanket,+pinned+under+the+chin+in+the+Indian+fashion%22&source=bl&ots=sCMZ8FDvuw&sig=ACfU3U1DNsT9eqnYNA-NdhlpQixA5TdnTQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwin0fCbjKfhAhXwQd8KHYRoDrwQ6AEwAHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22over%20my%20great%20coat%2C%20I%20wore%20a%20blanket%2C%20pinned%20under%20the%20chin%20in%20the%20Indian%20fashion%22&f=false,
Accessed 3/29/19
Sources
Cave,
Edward, The
Boy Scout's Hike Book, [Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden
City, NY; 1920] p 150 https://books.google.com/books?id=B3NLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PR14&lpg=PR14&dq=%22how+to+wear+a+blanket+as+an+overcoat%22&source=bl&ots=VPW6gssrlV&sig=ACfU3U2G7VU4zloBfwHdxiNJtKgSTcjz-g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiL_uqa5qfhAhUQk1kKHbsXC_EQ6AEwAnoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22how%20to%20wear%20a%20blanket%20as%20an%20overcoat%22&f=false, Accessed
3/29/19
English
Oxford Living Dictionaries, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/matchcoat,
Accessed 3/30/19
Fitzpatrick,
John C., Editor, The Writings of George Washington from the Original
Manuscript Sources, Vol. I, 1745-1799, [United States Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C. 1931], p.28 https://books.google.com/books?id=D3KMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=%22tied+myself+up+in+a+Match+Coat%22&source=bl&ots=FZAuHvv3Ru&sig=ACfU3U39ilO9HoNS_0h-Lm7klTHtYaRC8A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXnY3pu6rhAhXklOAKHZE9BeQQ6AEwAnoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22tied%20myself%20up%20in%20a%20Match%20Coat%22&f=false,
Accessed 3/30/19
Fordham, Elias Pym, Edited by
Frederic Austin Ogg, Personal Narrative of Travels in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Ohio…, [The Arthur H. Clark Company, Cleveland, 1906] p. 158 https://books.google.com/books?id=yBk1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA158&lpg=PA158&dq=%22over+my+great+coat,+I+wore+a+blanket,+pinned+under+the+chin+in+the+Indian+fashion%22&source=bl&ots=sCMZ8FDvuw&sig=ACfU3U1DNsT9eqnYNA-NdhlpQixA5TdnTQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwin0fCbjKfhAhXwQd8KHYRoDrwQ6AEwAHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22over%20my%20great%20coat%2C%20I%20wore%20a%20blanket%2C%20pinned%20under%20the%20chin%20in%20the%20Indian%20fashion%22&f=false,
Accessed 3/29/19
Hawkins, Ernest, Historical Notices of the
Missions of the Church of England in the North American Colonies, [Published
by B. Fellowes, London, 1845], p 267, https://books.google.com/books?id=Xu9HAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA267&lpg=PA267&dq=their+clothing+is+a+match-coat+like+mantle+%E2%80%93+either+a+blanket+or+a+bear+skin&source=bl&ots=EywVEFBpH3&sig=ACfU3U1FnujPbqiQW0vQ1OKbiJKnHhf5gQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2u5yLiKfhAhUEhuAKHf_GCEYQ6AEwB3oECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=their%20clothing%20is%20a%20match-coat%20like%20mantle%20%E2%80%93%20either%20a%20blanket%20or%20a%20bear%20skin&f=false, Accessed 3/29/19
Rees, John U., "White Wollen," "Striped Indian
Blankets," "Rugs and Coverlids": The Variety of
Continental Army Blankets, [Originally
published in The Brigade Dispatch, vol. 30, no. 2 (Summer 2000),
11-14], http://revwar75.com/library/rees/variety.htm, Accessed 3/30/19
Beverly, Robert, The
History and Present State of Virginia, [Printed by R. Parker, London, 1705],
https://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/beverley/plate-book3-4-1.jpg,
Accessed 3/30/19
Smith, James, William
McCullough Darlington, Editor, An
Account of the Remarkable Occurences in the Life and Travels of Col. James Smith, [The Robert Clarke Co., Cincinnati, 1907],
p. 108 https://books.google.com/books?id=q9o_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA108&dq=%22the+Indian+manner%22+%22james+smith%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiu64ClyKrhAhWPmOAKHWs9AXsQ6AEIUTAH#v=onepage&q=%22the%20Indian%20manner%22%20%22james%20smith%22&f=false,
Accessed 3/30/19
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