are they a must?

Nope. As far as I know, the were not issued by either army. They were a private purchase item. In our world however, they do help your shoes last a bit longer. And, there's that traction thing.

Quote :

GrumpyDave wrote :  And, there's that traction thing.

I'm old and tend to fall over easily. So, I'm more than happy to get my heels replaced once or twice per season, to avoid the slipping and sliding on hard surfaces.

They are not a must.  I have seen many pics with shoes/boots without.  I have the inset heels and scattered hobnails.  I wasn't too sure of hobnails being correct until I saw a few pics.  Not sure they were common, but I'll be passing Bill's butt up the next mountain   !  

--Last edited by Ken Cornett on 2007-09-17 17:57:48 --

Hey Ken,

You dropped a "T" on the word "butt". The English import shoes, worn by many Confederate soldiers, came with heel plates and hob nails. I own a pair and wear them if I figure there will be no hard surface roads or waxed floors in my future.

From nothing more that what the diggers have found, it obvious that heel plates were quite common during the Civil War. I'm not so sure how common it would have been to have them inset into the heel of the shoes. Pretty complex task for a pair of shoes that were only going to last three months at the best.

Just my two cents. No documentation one way or the other.    

alright, thanks guys.

Quote :

GrumpyDave wrote : Nope. As far as I know, the were not issued by either army. They were a private purchase item. In our world however, they do help your shoes last a bit longer. And, there's that traction thing.

Are they really as slippery on hard surfaces as people say?
I have never owned a pair of brogans with heel plates, but I have been considering getting some......

Jaye,

Quite slippery. It's not so bad when your third point of contact arrives first, but when the back of your skull contacts a hard floor with vigor, well, that's a different story.

Bill,

The next time you are near Falmouth, visit the White Oak Museum and check out DP's collection of heel plates, toe taps, hobs, and other footwear dug relics (including a bunch of shoes from the corduroy road dig) that would make for nice reproductions some day. That is one of my favorite display cases at the museum.

It's funny, when it comes to slipping and sliding, you can't win for losing. I was at an event this weekend and wore my English import shoes. They stuck so well to the dry grass I actually tripped as a moved slightly to the right to make room for the number two man on a right face. (I was rear rank #1) The guys with smooth leather soles were slipping and sliding all over the place on the same dry grass.

We had to park our cars about a mile from camp. I wore my very modern Docksiders for that hike on hard surface roads. I doubt I would have made it with heel plates and hob nails.