Pair of wooden-soled shoes with leather uppers and iron toe plates. "Horseshoe" toe and heel cleat plates attached to bottom of sole with large nails. Overall length approx. 10 in. with 1 in. heel.

[With:] Civil War-era salesman sample of southern manufactured shoes with wooden soles and leather uppers. Toe cleat plates but no heel cleat plates present on either shoe. Overall length approx. 6 1/2 in. with 1/2 in. heel.

Next to the food shortage, the shortage of shoes was one of the most pressing problems for the Confederate Army. Southern manufacturers utilized wooden soles and iron heel and toe plates to keep their armies shod, though individual brigades and divisions also made their own shoes resulting in a variety of styles of Confederate footwear. Of the 266 known patents issued by the CSA government, 7 were for wooden-soled shoes.