1st New Jersey Regiment - "Jersey Blues"

"Jersey Blues"

Although the unit had existed long beforehand, it was not until the mid-eighteenth century that the term "Jersey Blues" came into popular usage. The term "Jersey Blues" derives from the uniform adopted by the New Jersey provincial legislature for its troops, which were assigned to service under the British Crown Provincial Forces. The coats of these Jersey units were blue with red lapels and cuffs. The men also wore blue breeches or leggings and red waistcoats. (In some cases, sturdier buckskin or leather breeches were authorized.) The term "Jersey Blues" continued to be used well into the early nineteenth century in reference to the state's military units. The regiments of the Jersey Line during the American Revolution and those of the New Jersey Volunteers, raised for Federal service during the Civil War, adopted the term. It was actually even used by New Jersey's National Guard units into the late twentieth century.