This original pair of standard issue Jefferson Booties, often called “Brogans”, come to us in a virtually pristine condition relative to their age and materials of composition.

Showing no signs of outright damage, they do feature some very minor age-related wear – which is expected of leather goods that are more than 160 years old.  All stitching is tight and complete, and the leather is supple and free of cracking and drying.  Some light crazing has compromised the black dye in areas, but the actual leather is uncompromised.  Wooden pegs join the soles to the body of each shoe and all are present. All associate pegs and nails that secure each heel are present, while there is no steel heel plate affixed.  This, paired with the lovely condition, suggests these bootees were never issued and certainly did not see much, if any, hard marching or campaign service.

There are no discernable stampings on the soles as is sometimes seen, but judging by the dimensions of each matching shoe, these would most closely correspond to a modern men’s shoe size of 8.  The body of each is stitched around border with a tight machine stitch and three tiers of lace holes/eyelets remain untorn and unstretched.  No laces are present.

The interior of each is in a likewise excellent condition with no inserts – which were often made of a heavy canvas or layered leather design.

This pair closely matches several examples used by North and South during the Civil War, but are unmistakably a US, standard-issue item.  Brogans such as these could be found on the feet of millions of servicemen and were replaced quite often due to the rigors of hard marching and fighting.

The brogan shoe is believed to have originated in Scotland and Ireland in the 16th century and comes from the Old Irish word “bróc” which means shoe. A brogan is an ankle-length, lace-up shoe/boot hybrid; it is too tall to be a shoe and too short to be considered a boot.
The brogan shoe was the most common type of shoe worn by soldiers of the American Civil War. The standard model of brogan used was the Model1851 Jefferson (named after Thomas Jefferson). They were a square toed model with three or four eyelets (depending on manufacture) and leather laces. These shoes were made from rough out leather that was blackened and finished.

There are many accounts during the Gettysburg Campaign of men in the ranks needing shoes. General Oliver O. Howard would write General George G. Meade “My men are suffering for the want of shoes.” Howard would inform General Rufus Ingalls “One half of the effective strength of the corps cannot march for want of shoes and stockings.” Shoes were important to a Civil War soldier. Without them an army would grind to a halt.  [cm] [ph:cm]

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