United States Army Headgear 1855-1902 - Libreria Militare Ares

NUMBER 3063the left side, pass diagonally up across the front of thehelmet and be secured at the back.For all enlisted men of Cavalry and Light Artillery ahelmet of the pattern submitted, ornamented and trimmedthe same as prescribed for mounted officers, except that theeagle shall be as now worn, the chin-strap shall be of leather,the braid and hat-cord of worsted, and the plume ofhorse-hair, to be detachable.For all other enlisted men, a helmet of the pattern submitted,to be ornamented with spike, eagle, and black chinstrap,as per pattern submitted.This change of hats, if approved, will reduce the firstcost of the dress hat five dollars or more, and the weight ofthe hat for mounted troops six ounces.Soon after the appointment of the board andperhaps indicative of the comprehensive scope itintended to pursue. Nelson asked the AdjutantGeneral to circularize the Army for comments regardingimprovements that might be made in the"general equipment" of the troops and at the sametime asked to examine any foreign uniforms andequipment in possession of the government orwhich might be obtained from abroad."'" Headquartersof the Army complied in regard to thecircular and the response was quite heavy."^"Just what actually triggered the board into recommendingthe Prussian-type helmet as a replacementfor the caps other than the current popularityof things Prussian and the poor shaping of themounted helmet is not clear from the record. Atleast one experienced officer wrote the board atsome length as to the unpopularity of the dress capwith many line officers and the great satisfactionthe British infantry was finding in the helmet. Thewriter went on to describe at some length the "admirablemilitary appearance" of a volunteer militiaunit he had seen in San Francisco wearing spikedhelmets with brass trimmings and chain chin straps,stating further that the piece appeared light, snugfitting,and comfortable, "the true and only headgearthat should cover a soldier's head for fulldress."""Whatever the reasoning, the board, then sittingin New York, leaned heavily toward the helmetand had Henry V. Allien, a well-known hatter ofthat city, make up six sample helmets, both summerand winter, and seven watercolor drawings ofeach variation in trimmings, that is, for enlistedmen of foot troops, front and side view, enlistedmen of mounted troops, summer helmet for enlistedmen, helmet for line officers of foot troops, that forall mounted line officers, and summer helmet forall officers. (Figures 43-45)."'' In addition, theboard procured from the Philadelphia Depot fourother sample helmets, with trimmings, made byHorstmann."'"When the board submitted its report, it returnedthe sample helmets and paintings to Washington,commenting on the paintings. "They are completeexcept for the eagle ornament of the officers' helmetswhich is in paper instead of metal .... Thetiger head on the officers' helmets will be modifiedsomewhat when the perfect die is cut."""Whether the trimmings on the helmets recommendedfor adoption were all prepared by Allienor were partially pirated from the Horstmannmodels furnished the board is unknown, but exminationof the paintings for the enlisted patterns(those whose eagles were of metal) reveals that thefront plates were those prescribed for the 1872helmet and originally furnished by Horstmann. Itmay be that they were a mixture of the two, for ina set of detailed notes furnished by Horstmannwith its samples is the comment that two of thefront plates were the "present U.S. Cavy. HelmetEagle[s]" and the side buttons on one were thoseused by the "English Militia," perhaps the same"tiger head" side ornaments mentioned by theboard and shown on the officers' model."*" Theseare the side buttons that later became the subjectof some little controversy at the time of the finaladoption of the helmet. Captain J. P. Sanger, therecorder of the board, in his letter of 6 May toMeigs cited above, called the device a "tiger head."In this he was mistaken, as was Horstmann in relatingthem to "English Militia." Most of the 19thcentury helmets of the British regular cavalry hadtheir chin straps or chains attached with lion headbosses."'"When the board's report was submitted for considerationby the General of the Army, it was forwardedfor comment to the Quartermaster Generaland the Chief of Ordnance. Upon receiving it,Meigs passed it on to the Philadelphia Depot foran estimate of the cost of the proposed changes.""The subject of the helmet seemed to interest Meigs,for while waiting for Rogers' figures, he instructedthe quartermaster in Philadelphia to procure andsend to him four German helmets: One GuardCuirassiers, one dragoon, one artillery, and oneinfantry of the line."** These he discussed with