At the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, we have the wool undershirt worn by East Greenwich-native Sergeant George Byron Bennett (of the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry) in the last year of the American Civil War. It’s in amazing condition, and wear and staining reveals a lot about the soldier, his habits, and his day-to-day life.
Visible on the shirt are sweat, dirt, and urine stains. You can see that the shirt was worn tucked in (and that he wiped his hands on his stomach…). The urine stains appear at the bottom-center where it would be tucked in over his crotch.
Bennett’s wool undershirt 
Button on Bennett’s wool undershirt 
Closeup of Bennett’s wool undershirt 
George Byron Bennett
