Best Revolutionary War Soldier Costumes

Need a Revolutionary War soldier costume for a class project, presentation or Halloween party? Check out the costumes listed in this article.

To get a historically accurate and authentic-looking costume, you should base your costume on the various types of Revolutionary War uniforms that soldiers wore.

Continental Army uniforms prior to 1779 varied greatly but starting in 1779 the uniforms were standardized and consisted of blue coats, white vests and facings of varying colors.

New England regiments had white facings, New York and New Jersey regiments had buff facings, middle state regiments had red facings and southern regiments had light blue facings.

Soldiers also wore white or off-white waistcoats, breeches, long-sleeved linen hunting shirts and black tricorne hats, white stockings and black or dark shoes with buckles.

The following Revolutionary War soldier costumes best match these descriptions:

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Continental Soldier Costumes for Kids:

This child American Patriot Costume by California Costumes includes a blue coat with red facings, an attached beige waistcoat, a white cross belt, a white cravat and two boot toppers. The hat, wig, sword and shoes and shirt are not include.

The costume matches the uniform of the middle states regiments almost perfectly except for the fact that the blue on the jacket is a lighter shade than it should be but other than that it is quite close.

The costumes is made out of polyester and is available in sizes medium, large and xlarge.

This child Patriot costume by Franco American Novelty Company includes a blue coat with gold-colored facings, an attached gold-colored vest with gold metal buttons, gold epaulettes and a blue sash. It comes with brown pants, separate boot tops and a hat.

The costume is similar to the uniform worn by Continental Army commanders, which included a blue coat with gold lace epaulettes on each shoulder and a light blue sash over the right shoulder. The only difference being that the facings would have instead been either white, red or light blue.

The costume is made out of 100% polyester and is available in sizes small, medium and large.

I also recommend this costume for girls or women who want to wear a Deborah Sampson soldier costume. Sampson was a woman from Plymouth, Mass who disguised herself as a man and joined the Revolutionary War as a soldier around the year 1781.

Since Sampson served in a New England regiment, she wore a uniform with a blue coat with white facings but, as there aren’t any costumes like that for sale, this is the next best thing.

Continental Soldier Costumes for Adults:

This adult Revolutionary War soldier costume by International Costumes includes a blue coat with red facings, a white waistcoat with attached dickey, white breeches, a lace jabot and lace cuffs. The black powder horn, white colonial stockings, sword, tricorn hat and rifle are not included.

The costume matches the uniform worn by the regiments in the middle states perfectly. The costume is made out of a poly-cotton wool blend, is available in sizes medium, large, xlarge and xxlarge and has good reviews on Amazon.

This adult Revolutionary War soldier costume by Tabi’s Characters includes a blue coat with red facings, a white waistcoat and white breeches. The hat, shoes and stockings are not included.

The costume matches the uniform worn by the regiments in the middle states pretty well except perhaps the blue is a lighter shade than it should be. Other than that it is spot on.

The listing doesn’t say what fabric the costume is made out of but it is probably a poly-cotton blend. The costume is only available in sizes large and xlarge.

The costume is made in the U.S.A. by Tabi’s Characters which is a garment company based in Los Angeles, Ca.

This adult Revolutionary War soldier costume by Tabi’s Characters includes a blue coat with biege facings, a biege waistcoat and matching breeches. The hat, stockings and shoes are not included.

The costume matches the uniforms worn by the New York and New Jersey regiments almost perfectly, although the facings should be buff, not beige, but it is pretty much the same.

The listing doesn’t say what fabric the costume is made out of but it is probably a poly-cotton blend. The costume is available in sizes medium, large and xlarge.

The costume is made in the U.S.A. by Tabi’s Characters which is a garment company based in Los Angeles, Ca.

This adult Patriot costume by Costume Culture includes a blue coat with yellow facings and gold epaulets, an attached yellow waistcoat, a blue sash, brown breeches, black boot tops and a black hat. The sword and gloves are not included.

The costume is similar the uniform worn by Continental Army commanders, which consisted of a blue coat with gold lace epaulettes on each shoulder and a light blue sash over the right shoulder, except that the facings wouldn’t have been yellow and would have instead been either white, red or light blue. Other than that it is quite close.

The costume is made out of 100% polyester and is only available in one standard size.

Minuteman Costumes for Kids:

This child Colonial costume by RG Costumes includes brown breeches, a brown vest with attached white shirt sleeves and a white cravat. The prop pistol, wig, shoes, hat and socks are not included.

The costume is pretty similar to the type of clothing Minutemen wore. As citizen soldiers, Minutemen didn’t wear official uniforms and instead wore their regular, everyday clothing which consisted of breeches, linen hunting shirts, stockings, a waistcoat, a cravat (a piece of fabric worn at the neck that was tucked into the shirt at the neckline) and either a dark tricorne hat or a coonskin cap.

The costume is made out of polyester and is available in sizes small, medium and large.

Minuteman Costumes for Adults:

This adult Colonial costume by RG Costumes includes a brown waistcoat, brown breeches, a black belt and a black tricorne hat. The colonial stockings and shoes are not included.

The costume is pretty close to what Minutemen actually wore. Minutemen didn’t have official uniforms and instead wore regular clothing, which at the time consisted of breeches, linen hunting shirts, stockings, a waistcoat, a cravat and either a dark tricorne hat or a coonskin cap.

The costume is made out of 100% polyester and is available in one standard size.

For related costume ideas, check out the following articles about British Redcoat Costumes  and Paul Revere costumes.

Sources:
“Welcome to Tabi’s Characters.” Tabi’s Characters, tabischaracters.com
Staples, Kathleen. A. and Madely C. Shaw. Clothing Through American History: The British Colonial Era. Greenwood Press, 2013
Neimeyer , Charles Patrick. The Revolutionary War. Greenwood Press, 2007.
Holme, Richard. Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket. W.W. Norton & Company, 2001.
“Just the Essentials: Clothing and Equipment of Revolutionary War Soldiers.” National Park Service, www.nps.gov/mima/learn/education/upload/essentials.pdf
“American Revolution Soldier Revolutionary War Uniform.” Heritage Costumes, www.heritagecostumes.com/Kids-Costumes/Revolutionary-War-Uniforms/American-Revolution-Soldier-Revolutionary-War-Uniform-p24.html