In fact, the uniform colors weren't uniform for the first two or more years of the war, and "The Iowa Grays" were fired on by their own side in one battle, for instance. Units had their own uniforms, ranging from Turkish-looking (Zouaves) to even gaudier.

They tell of one man, a cloth-dyer, whose factory was overrun by first the Union, whence he was required to dye a whole batch of cloth to Federal blue, then by the rebels, whence he had to dye the same cloth to grey, and then again by the Union, with the orders to dye it blue again. In disgust, he joined the army, giving rise to the saying, "Old dyers never fade, they just soldier away."

Bob