Buzz
Nineteenth-century grooming trends were nothing short of impressive, especially when it came to facial hair. The Civil War period brought the dignified 'sideburns' into vogue, though they were originally termed 'burnsides' after Major General Ambrose Burnside. His iconic look featured thick side whiskers framing his face, resembling a cat's tail, with a clean-shaven chin.
Facial hair was undeniably a hallmark of the era. Inspired by this, a dedicated researcher recently set out to determine which side—Union or Confederacy—mastered the art of beards more impressively.
A piece in the journal Proceeding of the Natural Institute of Science (abbreviated as PNIS), authored by editor-in-chief Matt J. Michel, delves into which faction boasted the most bearded commanders. While the subject may seem lighthearted (and the journal lacks peer review), the creators emphasize that the data featured in their humorously named subjournal, PNIS-HARD, is meticulously accurate.
Ambrose Burnside, the trailblazer of sideburns. Image Credit: Matthew Brady via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
Michel relied on a National Park Service compilation of pivotal Civil War battles, which included details about commanders, casualties, and more. He gathered data on each general's beard density using online photos from Wikipedia and Civil War resources. If a commander appeared with varying facial hair styles in different images, he selected the more heavily bearded version.
Next, he calculated the beard-to-face ratio for each officer. As illustrated in the image above, this ratio was determined by adding B1 and B2, then dividing the total by F1. A score of 0 indicates a clean-shaven face, while a value exceeding 1 signifies a beard larger than the face itself.
A visual representation of Civil War commanders' facial hair styles:
Over 90% of the commanders analyzed had some form of facial hair, with the majority opting for either long or short beards. Muttonchops and goatees were rare choices. Notably, there were distinct differences between the North and South. More Confederate leaders were clean-shaven (14 compared to 5 Union commanders), while Union soldiers favored shorter beards (29 versus 12 Confederate leaders). Only two battles in the dataset featured clean-shaven commanders on both sides: the Battle of Wauhatchie and the Battle of Mobile Bay, both Union victories.
In general, the Union boasted more facial hair. Although PNIS hasn't provided data to confirm our theory, we believe this might have influenced the eventual outcome of the conflict.
All visuals courtesy of Matt J. Michel, PNIS-HARD (2015)
