"Most everything men, women and children wore was made from linen. In fact, the ancient Egyptians believed the Gods wore linen."
I'll bet they would have preferred cotton if they had it. Linen can be very durable, but I have read that one of the worst torments the soldiers at Valley Forge had to endure was linen underwear that was horribly abrasive. I don't know of anything that should have made the home made linen garments of Revolutionary times inferior to what the Egyptians made.

"Next to myself, I like Hanes best."