How necessary is cleaning your Civil War Uniform?

The every day Confederate or Union soldier’s uniform was actually never made to be washed. They wore out so fast that many of them were never cleaned - ever.

This leaves us with question –

Do you really need to wash or dry clean your Civil War uniform?

Some reasons for cleaning a uniform may be

1. To prevent it from smelling really bad.

(Some hardcore reenactors feel that smelling really bad is part of mystique? What do you think about having an “authentic smell?)

2. To prevent various body chemicals that uniform can absorb or acquire like sweat, body oils, from destroying integrity of fabric.

3. To have your uniform look good.

4. To do some type of seasonal, yearly, monthly maintenance to preserve your uniform.

So, considering all of these things, if you still want to clean your uniform, here are my suggestions. 1. Do as little as possible. Less is better.

Somehow, as we age, we often lose that creative innocence and exuberance, and in process, lose a very gratifying part of our lives. I see people every day that are unhappy and don't know why. I believe that if they could "rediscover" a creative outlet of some form, it would so enrich their lives that they would return to it again and again. Often I hear adults say, "I can't do that! I can't even draw a straight line!". Well, straight lines don't matter; it's curved and crooked ones that are more interesting!