United States Army Headgear 1855-1902 - Libreria Militare Ares

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SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGYsoldiers and/or Army surgeons, was more specific:The hat is objectionable from its size and its great weightand want of ventilation, evils that grow in importance withthe lowness of the latitude, until finally the head is oppressedby a constant, close vapor bath. In point of practiceat nearly every post south of Washington the hat and capgive place in warm weather to a lighter substitute, generallyof straw. On the northern frontier it does not adequatelyprotect the ears in winter.The suggestions for relief all point to the necessity forincreased lightness and ventilation in warm climates and togreater protection in cold regions.Âs a substitute, the report recommended whatamounted to a tropical helmet for hot stations anda light-colored, brimmed hat similar to the Andrewsmodel for more general wear.*Â silent, but a most reliable witness, in regard tothe popularity and utility of the hat is the photographicevidence of the period. Taking Miller'sPhotographic History of the Civil War^ as a reasonablestandard, the forage cap easily outnumbersthe hat by a hundred or more to one as wornby enlisted men in the many hundreds of picturesin this work. In this connection, however, it mustbe remembered that although the hat was originallyadopted for both fatigue and dress—as thefrock coat had been in 1851—the subsequent adoptionof the forage cap (and sack coat or fatiguejacket) in November of 1858"' before the hat wentinto general issue, for all intents and purposes relegatedit to a near dress-wear status. Of the grouppictures checked of men wearing the hat, betterthan 80 percent were of troop units serving in thearmies in the warmer south-central and southeasternStates as opposed to the Army of the Potomac.The question as to which side of the hat was tobe looped up and by whom is somewhat confusing.The 1855 hat was to be looped up on the right byboth officers and enlisted men."" The 1858 modelas originally authorized was to be looped up onthe right side by all personnel except officers andenlisted men of the Infanty and Artillery." GeneralOrder 4, War Department, of 26 February 1861,stated that infantry and artillery officers were toloop up the brim on the right, while GeneralOrder 6, War Department of 13 March 1861, statedthat the brim was to be looped up on the right bymounted men and on the left by foot soldiers."And finally, in the official Quartermaster uniformphotographs taken in 1865 or 1866, all hats onmounted and dismounted personnel alike arelooped up on the left." As far as officers are concerned,photographic evidence tells us that few everlooped up their brims on either side.More than 20 enlisted models of the hat havebeen examined (Figure 3) and there is remarkablylittle variance with the specifications. Twohave crowns as low as 51/4 inches instead of thespecified 614, and one has a brim as narrow as 234inches instead of 314. The crowns are flat andstiff, lined with black oil cloth glued to the surfaceto add rigidity, with the maker's labels printedthereon. With two exceptions these labels are similar:"U.S. Army" above a panoply of flags andarms with "Extra/Manufacture" below and the hatsize again below. Of the two exceptions, one has amaker's name and address "Swift, Dickinson &: Co./Manufacturers/65 Broadway/New York" below the"U.S. Army" and the panoply. The felt includesboth hare and coney hair. The cords are ofworsted, terminating in 2-inch tassels as opposedto the acorns on the 1855 model, and within anallowable tolerance of the prescribed 4-foot 6-inchlength. The ostrich feathers average the set 10inches." Although the order authorizing the hatdoes not specify that the cords were to be the colorof the facings of the branch of service, there arenumerous instances in the record of issues of hatstrimmed for infantry, artillery, etc., and all modelsexamined carry colored cords.^ The 1861 regulationsspecify the cords to be "of the same color asthat of the facing of the corps."°°As is well known, the officers of the period, especiallyduring the Civil War years, wore a widevariety of hats, the non-regulation outnumberingthe regulation by a good margin. There is in theNational Collections an excellent example of aregulation officer's hat carrying the insignia of the2d Cavalry or 2d Dragoons, that is, with the regimentalnumeral in the upper angle of the crossedsabers " (Figure 4). This specimen conforms closelyto specifications and is very similar to that illustratedas number 57 in Schuyler, Hartley, andGraham's 1864 catalog."* The flat crown is stiffenedwith glued pasteboard covered with red silk carryingthe printed maker's label in gold: "Wm. H.Wilson/successor to/J. H. Wilson/Fine/Military/and/Naval/Outfits/Philadelphia." The cord is oftwisted strands of black silk and gold braid coveredcotton, two each. Its original ownership isunknown. The popular low-crowned "Burnside"
NUMBER 30FIGURE 3.—1858 Army hat.
Page 1: • ^ - :lP-'L^ry\'^ îT
Page 4 and 5: ABSTRACTHowell, Edgar M. United Sta
Page 7 and 8: ContentsPagePrefaceiiiThe 1855 Cava
Page 9 and 10: United States Army Headgear 1855-19
Page 11 and 12: NUMBER 30report, stated: "The hat p
Page 13 and 14: NUMBER 30acorns %g inches long and
Page 15: NUMBER 30the pattern." The rate of
Page 19 and 20: NUMBER 3011model, number 60 in the
Page 21 and 22: NUMBER 30 13"the desired modificati
Page 23 and 24: NUMBER 30 15the sun in the top. The
Page 25 and 26: NUMBER 30 17FIGURE 8.—1858 forage
Page 27 and 28: NUMBER 30 19Hardtack and Coffee, ca
Page 29 and 30: NUMBER 3021FIGURE 11.—a, Brigadie
Page 31 and 32: NUMBER 30 23short "shell" jacket "f
Page 33 and 34: NUMBER 30 26broad, securely soldere
Page 35 and 36: NUMBER 30 27worn in the picture wer
Page 37 and 38: NUMBER 30 29This communication elic
Page 39 and 40: NUMBER 30 31FIGURE 17.—"The [Scot
Page 41 and 42: NUMBER 30 33time for issue in the c
Page 43 and 44: NUMBER 30 35be at too great a dista
Page 45 and 46: NUMBER 3037half (5/2) part of washb
Page 47 and 48: NUMBER 30 39trimmings for all enlis
Page 49 and 50: NUMBER 30 41ing the upper space for
Page 51 and 52: NUMBER 30rear one to a correspondin
Page 53 and 54: NUMBER 30 46FIGURE 29.—1872 enlis
Page 55 and 56: NUMBER 3047FIGURE 32.—^The Bent &
Page 57 and 58: NUMBER 3049of strong split-leather
Page 59 and 60: NUMBER 30 51''""MttfenFIGURE 35.—
Page 61 and 62: NUMBER 30 53(which he thought might
Page 63 and 64: NUMBER 30 55FIGURE 38.—Captain Be
Page 65 and 66: NUMBER 30 57campaign hat for the Ar
Page 67 and 68:
NUMBER 30 59salvage something from
Page 69 and 70:
NUMBER 30 61hat. In June 1899 the P
Page 71 and 72:
NUMBER 3063the left side, pass diag
Page 73 and 74:
NUMBER 30 65.LJU^.."*^..FIGURE 44.
Page 75 and 76:
NUMBER 30 67to be sent to Washingto
Page 77 and 78:
NUMBER 30 69with brass sliding-buck
Page 79 and 80:
NUMBER 30 71FIGURE 48.—Officers'
Page 81 and 82:
NUMBER 3073The adoption of the whit
Page 83 and 84:
NUMBER 3075i >•^\Wiii I ifiiiniim
Page 85 and 86:
NUMBER 30this last model made no pr
Page 87 and 88:
NUMBER 30 79WAR DEPARTMENT,QUARTERM
Page 89 and 90:
NUMBER 3081FIGURE 58.—1864 chapea
Page 91 and 92:
NUMBER 30geon 1880 and Surgeon Gene
Page 93 and 94:
NUMBER 3085FIGURE 63.—1895 forage
Page 95 and 96:
NUMBER 30 87of not less than 9.24 g
Page 97 and 98:
AppendixMAKERS OF HEADGEARThe chron
Page 99 and 100:
List of AbbreviationsAAGAAQMAGAGOAQ
Page 101 and 102:
NUMBER 3093all OQMG, LS, Clothing,
Page 103 and 104:
NUMBER 30 95"Jesup to Thomas, 8 Dec
Page 105 and 106:
NUMBER 3097OQMG, Reg. LR, Clothing,
Page 107 and 108:
NUMBER 30 99October of 1870. See Me
Page 109 and 110:
NUMBER 30 101'"* See above, pp. 35-
Page 111 and 112:
NUMBER 30 103Monroe, Va., in 1878.
Page 113 and 114:
NUMBER 30 105""Endorsement, 24 May
Page 115 and 116:
ReferencesThe bulk of the source ma
Page 117:
M MBIiR 30 10910, No. 355-10, 19 Se
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United States Army Headgear 1855-1902 - Libreria Militare Ares

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