N.B. The West Point cadet full-dress uniform (gray wool with black piping and gold buttons/rank stripes) was set before the very fortunate but coincidental black, gray, and gold gunpowder symbolism was realized. Black, gray, and gold are West Point's school colors, representing the component...
British uniform's red coat Redshank A Highlander Roller Neck cloth Ruffler A beggar Rumbo Rum, sugar and water Saddle Sick Dislike of riding horses Saloop Tea, milk and sugar Sheepskin Fiddler A drummer Shifting Ballast Naval term for soldiers transported by sea ...
For Aarons, wearing civvies instead of military uniform was not just a matter of personal preference; doing so gave him the sort of entrée denied to most enlisted men. “Changed dress, he found, opened the way into ‘officer country,’ where liquor flowed and life was easier,”...