Charlotte High-end Civil War business owes success to knack for details Pair's reproductions of Confederate and Union uniforms are sold worldwide

By Rachel Greco Lansing State Journal CHARLOTTE, Mich. (AP) - Dan Wambaugh and Brian White's careers were built on historical authenticity. From their second-floor work shop above a paint store in Charlotte, they spend hours bent over fabric crafted to match the wool and cotton cuts used for uniforms in the Civil War era, according to the Lansing State Journal. Bright office lights illuminate the sparse space. Large spools of cloth hang on one wall. More are stacked against another and in the center of the 1,600-square-foot space sit three long wooden tables built for cutting patterns. A couch and two chairs, one with a pin cushion wrapped around an arm, face windows and a television. This is where the duo hand sews reproductions of Confederate and Union jackets, trousers, shirts and coats that come painstakingly close to the garments worn by soldiers 150 years ago. Welcome to the modest home of Wambaugh, White & Co. The finished pieces retail for anywhere between $200 and $450 and, even if you aren't a history buff or Civil War re-enactor, there's a chance you've seen Wambaugh and White's work. Their uniforms are on display at United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They're worn during historical demonstrations at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Three dozen of their Civil War uniforms were used in the 2013 film "Beautiful Creatures." On any given day Wambaugh, 33, and White, 34, are chipping away at a four-month waiting list for orders that, once filled, are shipped to buyers all over the world. It's a niche business, rooted in the duo's shared love of history. It has succeeded thanks to their knack for small details. Dan Wambaugh has loved the Civil War since childhood. "When I was maybe 8 or 9, I saw the movie 'Glory,' and it just kind of clicked for me," he said. "Some summers, my family would get to go to Gettysburg and that would always be a fleeting thing. We were maybe there for a few hours and, of course, my brothers hated it, but for me that was wonderful." He sat down at a sewing machine for the first time at age 17. He was already a Civil War re-enactor, introduced to the hobby by a friend's family a few years earlier. But he needed to perfect his look and had no pocket money for new outfits. "I couldn't afford the good stuff," said Wambaugh. So he improvised, ripping the button holes out of coats he already had and stitching them again by hand. "Before I ever made my first garment I spent a year fixing up all my stuff," he said. By then, he'd given himself a self-taught crash course in how to make clothes in the style of the 1860s. His first piece was a Confederate jacket. "If anything it was over engineered to the point where it wasn't all that authentic," Wambaugh said. But it was a crucial starting point. He used the $1,000 he received at his high school graduation open house to start the business, a part-time venture. He sold to friends and fellow reenactors while enrolled at University of Michigan-Flint and sustained the small operation after a transfer to Michigan State University. From his dorm room, Wambaugh set up his sewing machine on a wobbly, pull-out mattress. He established his own website, did a lot of research about the garb of mid-19th century and filled orders while pursuing a degree in merchandising management. "It was a full-time job while I was going to school full-time," he said. "I would come home and put in 30, almost 40 hours a week while going to school sewing Civil War clothing." Wambaugh focused on the details. He ordered fabric that fit the time period, created patterns that closely matched original pieces he had studied and honed his craft. "Most re-enactors want to look as authentic as they can," Wambaugh said. "That's really what they're there for, is to portray those soldiers." Wambaugh graduated from MSU, got married to his wife, Shannon, and they settled in a small two-bedroom apartment on the west side of Lansing. He sent out dozens of resumes but received only one call back, for a minimum wage job at a local department store. He spent three hours on the job before realizing it wasn't for him. "That really was kind of a defining moment," he said. "I loved the Civil War work that I was doing, and I thought, 'It's worth redoubling my efforts on it.'" Within six months, Wambaugh developed his first Civil War garment "kit," a detailed how-to that outlined steps for making one piece, a sack coat, and included the fabric, buttons and thread needed to complete it. Customers had to know how to sew, but everything else came in the box. They caught on, and the business became a career. White was living in Ohio when he met Wambaugh at a Civil War event. A few years later, he discovered Wambaugh's work and began buying it. "The materials were outstanding," White said. "He was one of the few people I knew producing very well-made clothing. The patterning, right out of the gate he could hand-sew very well. He came by it naturally. Everything about the clothing looked a lot like original clothing I'd already seen. That really stuck with me." White was creating period-accurate clothing, too, but it was a hobby until the late 1990s when he began working with Wambaugh. "I can't cut corners, and it really appealed to that side of me," White said. "I started making things for him when I had time, off and on, here and there." The two communicated via email. Then White moved to Michigan in 2003 and eventually joined the business full time. Their niche is small, but Wambaugh said serious Civil War enthusiasts care about historical details and are willing to pay for detailed work. "The total number of Civil War reenactors is however many people," he said. "The hard core is maybe 10 percent of that. So we're servicing a niche within a niche." Most of the garments he and White create are meticulous. Anything visible on the outside of the piece is hand sewn. Machine sewing is used only on the inside seams. The patterns they use are created from original Civil War garments. Wambaugh and White make trips all over the country to visit private and museum collections. They lay pieces down on an outlined inch-board, photograph every detail and take extensive notes. Up until about three years ago, Wambaugh, White & Co. operated out of a few rooms in Wambaugh's Charlotte home. They settled into the space in downtown Charlotte two years ago. There's a small sign by the door. Inside, it's part work shop, part research nook. A bookcase in the corner of the room is filled with all ten volumes of "The Photographic History of the Civil War" and "Thoughts on Men's Shirts in America, 1750-1900" and similarly sartorial titles. They spend 50 to 60 hours a week there, cutting fabric and piecing together historically-accurate garments. They rarely have time to dress up as reenactors themselves anymore but say the beauty of their business lies in the precision, the meticulousness of their recreations. "We will never be millionaires doing this job," Wambaugh said. "But at least we can do the work the way we want it to be done." Published: Tue, Oct 27, 2015