United States Army Headgear 1855-1902 - Libreria Militare Ares

NUMBER 3037half (5/2) part of washblow. It weighs, uncovered, two andthree-fourths (2?4) to three (3) ounces, according to size.Front vertical about three and one-half (3/a) inches high;back five and one-half (5/2) inches long, rises upward andforward in a convex sweep, and meets the crown at a pointone and one-eighth (1^) to one and one-fourth {1J4)inch higher than the point where it meets the upper edgeof the front.The crown is slighly oval, five and one-fourth (5^4)inches in diameter from front to back, four and one-half(4/2) inches across. Ventilator in center of crown. At thefront edge is an opening, bound with a thin strap of enameledmetal, to admit the stem of the pompon, which isalso held in position by a small leather socket sewed to theinside of the cap-front, about one-half {Y2) inch belowthe crown.The body is covered with fine wool-dyed indigo-bluecloth, braided around the upper edge immediately belowthe crown, around the lower edge one-fourth (J4) to fivesixteenths(%6) of an inch above the latter: also straightdown the back, and in a straight slanting line on both sides,equidistant from back and front seam. This braiding isworsted three-sixteenth (%6) of an inch wide, and of thefollowing colors: for infantry, sky-blue; engineers and artillery,scarlet; ordnance, crimson; commissary sergeants, gray;hospital stewards, green. A visor of heavy enameled leather,straight and horizontal, front edge slightly convex, sidesstraight, corners rounded, inner edge following the shapeof the cap on both sides, ending in a point about five (5)inches from front seam.On each side, immediately behind the end of visor, is itsmall regulation brass button for chin-strap.The latter is made of thin enameled leather five-eighths(Ys) of an inch wide, in two parts, eight and one-half (8^2)to nine (9) inches each, and arranged to be lengthened andshortened, as described for helmet chin-strap. Sweat-leather,one and three-fourths (1 ^) to two (2) inches wide ofBelgium leather. In front, immediately below the crown, isa brass eagle, and below the latter the badge of the corpsor arm of services.Sizes same as of helmets.Adopted May 31, 1876.Pompons for Dress-Caps—Of fine worsted, firmly made ona woodblock.Nap well raised and close. To be pear-shaped, three (3)inches long, one and three-fourths (1 %) inch in diameterat bottom, and one (1) inch at top. Under the center of thebottom is a brass half sphere about eleven-sixteenths (^^e)of an inch in diameter, from which protrudes a stem three(3) inches long, made of strong copper wire.Color of pompons for infantry, white; artillery, scarlet;engineers, lower half scarlet, upper half white; ordnance,crimson; commissary sergeants, gray; hospital stewards,green.Adopted May 31, 1876.M. C. MEIGS,Quartermaster General.Bvt. Major General, U.S.A."'A number of examples of the cap have been examined,including six sealed samples (Figures 25,26) and three officers' models (Figure 27) whichcan be included in the same category. Two of theselatter, one made by Horstmann and the other byBent & Bush, carry attached a label reading:1747 Qr Mr Gens Office1874 Received Jun 17 1875The third carries a label in a handwriting verysimilar to General Marcy's:'s Uniform cap for. . . .ents of foot artillery & Infy. recommended bythe Board for revision of ArmyRegulationsR B MarcyI. Genl & Presdt. of BoardThe latter cap carries the maker's label of Warnock& Co. in the crown and definitely must be consideredthe original or one of the original modelssupplied the board.The enlisted models all follow the 1876 specificationswithin allowable tolerances, while the officer'sexamples, the three mentioned above plusseveral others, are closer in detailed measurementsto the one-half scale lithographs. The differencesbetween the two are not great, but they are consistent;height in front for officers, 37/8 inches, forenlisted men, 3i/4; height in rear, for officers, 6i/^inches, for enlisted men 5i/^; diameter of crown,for officers, 6 inches, for enlisted men, 514.The regulations prescribed the insignia for thecap only as "gold trimmings" or "yellow metal, accordingto pattern" for officers and enlisted men,respectively. No clear indication was given as toexactly what badge each branch of the service wasto wear, possibly relying on usage that had beenin effect since 1832. In November 1872 the inspectorgeneral prescribed for hospital stewards, ordnance,and engineer soldiers, respectively, a wreathof brass with the letters "U.S.," "O.D.," and "E.G."inside, but said nothing of the badges for the lineunits. This order also prescribed that the capbraid and pompon for hospital stewards was to beemerald green.'*' As late as mid-December thePhiladelphia Depot quartermaster was seeking informationfrom Washington as to the size andpattern of insignia for both headgear and unilornicoat collars. The query brought from the Secretaryof War the endorsement: "Forage caps, badges, and