recreating a world that never was?

I frequently run across descriptions of people in the 18th century which make me scratch my head and suspect very few of us are doing our re-enacting right. We strive for the lean, mean, efficient and well equipped Hollywood version far too often, I'm afraid. These two examples of what I mean don't sound like any group of re-enactors I've ever seen, either in dress or arms.

The first is from From The History of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, 1735-1914: With Genealogical Records of the Principle Families, by Charles Henry Chandler, Sarah Fiske Lee. It describes men marching from New Ipswich, NH, toward Stillwater, NY, and the battle known as Bemis Heights. It tells of Capt. Stephen Parker's company leaving for Stillwater in 1777, as related by a citizen of the town who remembered the event.

"To a man, they wore small clothes, coming down and fastening just below the knee, and long stockings with cowhide shoes ornamented by large  buckles, while not a pair of boots graced the company. The coats and waist-coats were loose and of huge dimensions, with colors as various as the barks of oak, sumach and other trees of our hills and swamps, could make them and their shirts were all made of flax, and like every other part of their dress, were homespun. On their heads was worn a large round top and broad brimmed hat. Their arms were as various as their costume; here an old soldier carried a heavy Queen's arm, which had done service at the Conquest of Canada twenty years previous, while by his side walked a stripling boy with a Spanish fusee not half its weight or calibre, which his grandfather may have taken at the Havana, while not a few had old French pieces, that dated back to the reduction of Louisburg. Instead of a cartridge box, a large powder horn was slung under the arm, and occasionally a bayonet might be seen bristling in the ranks. Some of the swords of the officers had been made by our Province blacksmiths, perhaps from some farming utensil; they looked serviceable, but heavy and uncouth. Such was the appearance of the Continentals to whom a well appointed army was soon to lay down their arms. After a little exercising on the old Common, and performing the then popular exploit of ‘whipping the snake’ they briskly filed off up the road, by the foot of the Kidder Mountain, and through the Spafford Gap, towards Peterboro, to the tune of ‘Over the hills and far away’”

The second is from Christopher Hibbert's Redcoats and Rebels, a
comment by British Lt. William Digby, describing of the rebel troops at the Saratoga surrender:

"They stood like soldiers, erect with a military bearing, so still that we were greatly amazed...Not one of them was properly uniformed but each man had on the clothes in which he goes to the field, the church or to the tavern... The officers wore very few uniforms and those they did wear were of their own invention. All colors of cloth are usable, e.g. browncoats with sea green facings, white lining, and silver sword knots; also gray coats with straw facings and yellow buttons were frequently seen...(Some of them) had snow-white wigs with mighty long bushy hair at the sides and thick lambs'-tails behind! There were glistening black abbots' wigs which especially set off red or copper coloured faces! There were white or gray English pastors' wigs whose horse or goat hair was done up in dangerously huge roll standing up in the air. You think such a man has a whole sheep under his hat and hanging down the back of his neck. The respected wearers of these various wigs are in part between their fiftieth and sixtieth year and have at this age followed the drum for the first time."

Spence