While at the event, I ran across a gent wearing the standard Union issue clothing in one of the tents, he was sweating profusely. You can see that he wanted to take off that heavy wool jacket in the worst way. But doing that would violate the reenactor's code or something. I'd be willing to bet that the troops took off their jackets, when not fighting, or maybe even during. Covering up does help though. Probably kept their long sleeved shirts on.
The wife was commenting on the dresses the women were wearing. Besides noticing that they mostly didn't fit right, which stemmed from learned behavior from her mother who was an accomplished seamstress, she commented that the hooped skirts kept the women cooler due to the material being away from the body, allowing air in. Besides, the material used was light, thin cotton
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