United States Army Headgear 1855-1902 - Libreria Militare Ares

NUMBER 30 61hat. In June 1899 the Philadelphia Depot was directedto procure 1000 hats with corrugated wireside ventilators similar to those abandoned in1889, and corrugated insertions under the sweatbands, 500 of leather and 600 papier mache, to besent to Cuba for trial. Specifications for these wereissued as an addition to, not as a substitute for,those for the standard then in use. An unspecifiedportion of the trial hats were to have the edge ofthe brim turned under and secured with three rowsof stitching, the remainder merely to have the edgeof the brim stitched like the standard model.""^Then in December 1900, Horstmann & Co. submittedto the Philadelphia Depot a sample hat witha corrugated sweat band insert made of aluminum.As the leather and papier mache inserts had notproved to retain their stiffness, the QuartermasterGeneral authorized the procurement of 2000 trialhats, 1000 to have inserts of aluminum and 1000 insertsof celluloid. These were to be secured by nonrustablewire; as in the 1899 trial models they wereto have wire side ventilators and the edges of thebrims were to be turned over and stitched or merelystitched. All were to be sent to Manila and Cubafor trial. During the fiscal year 1900, more than350,000 of these models with the sweat band insertswere purchased."" Both the wire side ventilatorsand the corrugated sweat band inserts were droppedin the 1904 specifications.'"'Of the examples examined, none conformed tothe 1883 specifications, that is, having the wiregauze side ventilators and two rows of stitching on^Z/"' //////MA,/..*., /'/////' '/FIGURE 42.—^Drab campaign hat, model 1889.