United States Army Headgear 1855-1902 - Libreria Militare Ares

102 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGYQM, Dept. of Ariz, to Chief QM, Mil. Division of Pacific,31 October 1876; Meigs to Chief QM, Mil. Div. of Mo., 31October 1876; Meigs to Rucker, 7 April 1877; Meigs toChief QM, Mil. Div. of Pacific, 2 June 1877; all OQMG,LS, Clothing, RG 92, NA."' AAG, Dept. of the Platte, to CO Ft. Sanders, Wyo., 5October 1878, Ft. Sanders Document File, RG 393, ContinentalCommands, NA.""U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT, ARQMG, 1879, p. 64. Atotal of 3913 were so altered under contract at $.15 each.See Entry for 14 July 1880 in List of Contracts for the Purchaseor Manufacture of Clothing and Equipage, 1880-1908, RG92, NA.''^ Bingham, Deputy QMG, to Rucker, Phila., 25 September1879; telegram, Meigs to Rucker, 26 February 1881;both OQMG, LS, Clothing, RG 92, NA. Francis Bannerman's1907 catalog offered unaltered 1872 pattern hatsfor sale for $1.50.""'Col. Robert Allen, Act. QMG, to Col. Easton, Phila.,5 November 1872, OQMG, LS, Clothing; Bingham (forMeigs) to Capt. G. C. Smith, AQM, Ft. Union, N.M. Terr.,19 September 1874, OQMG, LS, Clothing, both RG 92,NA; G.O. No. 131 WD, 3 December 1874, RG 94, NA.""'Col. T. P. Andrews to Col. Henry Stanton, AQMG,10 March 1847, OQMG, LR, Clothing, RG 92, NA;HOWELL and KLOSTER, "United States Army Headgear to1854," pp. 54-67.^" See pp. 28—33; United States Army and Navy Journal,9 November 1867, 28 March 1868.""'Capt. J. W. Mason, 5th Cav., Camp Verde, Ariz. Terr.,to AG, 12 March 1875; Col. C. H. Smith, 19th Inf., Ft.Lyon, Col. T., to AG, 10 March 1875; Surg. A. A. Snively,Madisonville, La., to AG, 11 March 1875; Lt. Col. Whistler,CO, Ft. Riley, Kan., to AG, 1 March 1875; Lt. Wm.Wallace, 6th Cav., Ft. Lyon, Col. T., to post AG, Ft. Lyon,5 March 1875; all AG, LR, RG 94, NA. These and manyothers were written in response to G.O. No. 6 WD, 29January 1875, which asked for comments on clothing andequipment, and which were digested in U.S. SURGEON GEN­ERAL, Circular No. 8; also in RG 94 and RG 112, NA."""On the cork helmet and the 1881 dress helmet, seepp. 62-76."""Inspection Report dated 15 March 1882, in OQMG,LS, Clothing, RG 92, NA.'"'Rogers to Depot QM, Phila., 29 April 1882, in CCF(Hats),RG92, NA.'"'Ingalls to Sec. War, 8 July 1882; Ingalls to Holabird,Phila., 17 July 1882; both OQMG, LS, Clothing, RG 92,NA.'"" A number of these reports favoring the drab hat are inCCF (Hats), RG 92, NA. See also Brig. Gen. S. B. Holabird,the QMG (he succeeded Ingalls on 1 July 1882) toCol. M. T. Ludington, Phila., OQMG, LS, Clothing, RG92, NA; U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT, ARQMG, 1883, p. 56;Holabird to Sec. War, 18 October 1883; Holabird to Ludington,Phila., 24 October 1883; both in OQMG, LS, Clothing,RG 92, NA; U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT, ARQMG, 1884,p. 311.'""Ibid., p. 371 and plate 4.'"'Ibid., pp. 336-7, 367; ibid., 1885, p. 282.'"'See QM Specification No. 1145, approved, 23 January1912, RG92, NA.'"'QM Specification No. 251, 8 February 1889, RG 92,NA. This design is a star on all examples known to theauthor and is so called for in QM Specification No. 651, 29January 1904.""'QM Specification Nos. 365, 1 May 1875, and 426, UMarch 1897; both RG 92, NA.'""QMG to Phila., 22 June, 24 July, 12 September, 1899,all Phila. Reg. LR, RG 94, NA; QM Specification No. 480,29 September 1899, RG 92, NA.'""Horstmann & Co. to Phila. Depot, 13 December 1900;QMG to Phila. Depot, 24 December 1900; both Phila. DepotReg. LR; QM Specification No. 533, 27 December1900; all RG 92, NA; U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT, ARQMG,1901.'"'QM Specification No. 651, 29 January 1904, RG 92,NA.'"'See U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT, ARQMG, 1876-1898.'""Decision of the Secretary of War, 25 February 1887,Cir. No. 2, HQ of A, 1887, RG 94, NA. As of 30 June1887 there were 32,855 hat cords on hand. See U.S. WARDEPARTMENT, ARQMG, 1888.""For example, in 1899, 363,121 were purchased and88, 746 were issued. See ibid., 1900.'"QM Specification No. 470, 13 July 1899, RG 92, NA."'QM Specification No. 476, 12 September 1899, RG 92,NA.'"QM Specification No. 589, 17 November 1902, RG 92,NA. U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT, ARQMG, 1899, p. 97.'" Ibid."" Those officers continued to wear the chapeau for dress."" Several British mounted units had adopted a version ofthe helmet as early as 1843, some infantry units in 1876,with general issue to the whole British army authorized byWar Office G.O. No. 40 of May 1878. See Home ServiceHelmet 1878-1914, p. 3.'" S.O. HQ of A, 11 November 1878, RG 94, NA."" The proceedings of the board with many of the backingpapers are in AG, LR, MC 666, rolls 435-443, RG 94, NA.The report of the board with comments thereon by the Chiefof Ordnance, The Quartermaster General, and the Generalof the Army, together with the decisions of the Secretary ofWar was published as G.O. No. 76, HQ of A, 23 July 1879.General of the Army Sherman very definitely thought theboard had overstepped itself in its wide coverage. See page40 of the report, RG 94, NA."'"Col. R. S. Mackensie (for Miles) to AG, 16 December1878; Miles to AG, 17 December 1878; both AG, LR, RG94, NA.""Circular, HQ of A, 28 December 1878, RG 94, NA.Only a portion of the replies seem to have been included inthe board proceedings.'"Capt. Fred Mears, 9th Inf., to Recorder of Board onArmy Equipment, 23 February 1879, AG, LR, RG 94, NA.'" Allien was the manufacturer of the "White India Helmet"authorized for USMA Cadets in 1877 (see G.O. No.121, HQ of A, 22 December 1877) and the somewhat similarexperimental summer helmets issued to elements of the9th Cavalry and the United States Artillery School at Fort