The Voi~e of Civil War Reenacting
Volume XXVU - Number 3 Winter 2000 Single Copies - 53.00 The Voice of Civil War Reenacting Winter 2000
PublWlcr. Bill Hol.
CONFEDERATE HATS CAME IN A WIDE VARIETY OF COLORS AND STYLES, AND CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, THEY WERE GENERALLY lN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE
By Fred rick H. Adolphus
Considerable progress has been down slightly in the front and rear. One of the most widespread flat made by reenactors in creating au Sometimes, when a brim began to styles of crOWD was the cylindrical thentic Confederate impressions, acquire an unwanted slouch due to straight pillbox. PiUbox hats were with improvements in uniforms, wear, the owner would roll it up on medium in height. Similar in shape equipment, accouterments and hats. the sides toward the front, somewhat to the pillbox was the pork pie. This, But there is always more that can like a modern cowboy hat. too was a flat cylinder of medium be done to improve our impressions, There were a variety styles of height, but the top was slightly COD so here is some information gleaned crowns as well. There were flat, cave, resembling an English pork from period drawings and photo· round and telescoped variants. Some pie. Some ofthe flat crown tapered graphs on styles of hats worn by were straight, some flared out to· toward the top, like a Hardee hat. Confederate soldiers and how com· ward the top and some tapered in Others belled out towards the top, mon the various styles were. toward the top. and are known as bell crowns. There Most hats at this period were were also older styles such as the made of treated woolen cloth, al high, straight stovepipe; and newer, though some were made of felt, ei· but less widespread, styles with low ther expensive fur or cheap wool felt. flat tops. Together with straw hats made of Round crown hats usually had woven traw or some other either an evenly·rounded dome or a spJaitable grass, these accounted flat top with abruptly rounded sides. for the vast majority of hats resembling a pillbox with rounded worn in the South. edges. This latter crown is These hats were often called a sugarloaf further distin style . The ev nly guished by the size rounded crowns dif· and shape ofthe brim fered little from one an· and the crown. Brims other except for height. are either wide, medium Many, however, were mis or narrow. A medium brim shapen or had the tops pushed in to from the period was about three reduce the height. Another variant inches wide. Crowns axe cia sllied of the round crown was the beehive as either low, medium or high. The or beegum crown. This style had Th· hal ,; huwn
Figure 1. T hese d rawings all show the wide-brim pillbox hat in fa irly good condition. Two of the ha15 shown are from the ~a ern Theater, two are frum the \Vest fUl d two flre frum the Trans-Mis issippi. All fi re black, except for une frnrn the Trans-Mi ·sissipp i. These hals also show hat bands, a nd the brims on all but one fla ir up slightly. 'Jl w pxception has Ii brim thM is nat a t • he edges and 51o pes down sligh tly in the frunt a nd reFi T. Figure 2. Frflnk,B. hi lto l! 's Ililt, H) VirgiIl ia Army r riso ll cr a t Cettysburg (Jenscn, pg. GB, /1 9). lIofilfs TI~lCas 'Brjgl:ltJe. Thi" StrHW hat is b) FOUlld beside a fFill en Ta rh l~e J a t • pou,ylvania (Jpnsen, pg. 7-l. lypic..'! 1(I f must, havlng n wide brim fi nd C Bnd d) Western CUll federare prisoners in Chi(;.ago, 1864 (Military Images. pg. 16, 1 ). a pillbox shEl ped cruwn. The style was e) Pvc Ed win L. Patw n, Co. F, 5th T exas \1ounted Vol., 1861 (Military Images, pg. 10). cummon to a ll areas of the South, but DCuiJentificd soldier from Anderson County, Texfls, 1861 (Cal 'ndnr, cover 1992). despite its cooln ess, it was neve r a~ pupu lou fl. the wool Ililt. (CllnfeJen-II.C MUf'l'u fJ l of RichmonJ)
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, Figure 3. Two hHG wi th medium brim- a nd one with a narruw bri m are shown here. All the brims flair li p slightly flt the edges, o!le shuws viden ce of a band and edging around the brim. All of these hat ~ were worn b: t ruo r ~ in the ~ e::;tern .b p.at.er. T1w r!Hrrow·hrimmed example is black, the other two a re of fI mcilium sh ue. Du t tlte CXH ct color is u n known. n: Rubert B. l lunt, Jr, 5.Sth Tenne.ssee [n . (Jensen, pg. 33). b) Lil r~se,; 1fai rgrove, Co. f~ :1 rJ Texas CHv (Calcmlar, Dec. 1997). c) S,~al() lI l:ull e ll , Pu rrcst'" CHvfl.lry (Ca l'· ndHl', April 1991 ). As the pillbox lost its original shape, the flat top often got pushed up and the brim sagged near the crown and curled upwards at the edges. Figure 4 shows this effect. The commonly-used pork pie hat was similar to the pill box, but the edge of the crown was indented on top, which caused the center of the top to pooch up after some wear. This style also came with straight and Figure 4. B, 'lh of th e~e hat5lUe rtJ i s~h a p (' n ., wi de-urim pi II box,;..; frum the Arm)euf 1\', l rt h ' ~ rn bell crowns, and came in a wide ar Virginia. The one wo rn hy the sold ier is dark in color. T he (JIlC' fru rll Ihe ;\1 1I 1'ell m of the ray of colors. The overwhelming CunfederA cy's collection is n ow gray, but wa~ nriginnlly black and was imported from EJ 19lnnd majority had wide or medium brims, a) P ri ~o Jl f' r ta ken at ell)'shllrg (J(: llsen pg. 68. b~ ) . (see figure 5) . b) Cpl T V, Br(l(l k , :'~ h Fl L :lrd Cu, RichmoTl d He. rilzers {Echo e,~ . pg. ·157}. Other flat crown hats, less com mon than the pillbox and pork pie, include the stovepipe, Hardee and bell crown. The stovepipe, with its high straight crown, was already going out of style by the time of the Civil W8.l:. Still, it had quite a num ber of adherents in the conservative southland and seems to have been especially popular in the Trans Mis i sippi . Hat expert Bill Wickham says that t he Trans-Mis sissippi region and the We st in ge n eral tended to lag behind in the fash ion trends, which may explain why the stovepipe was so prominent in Figure 5, Al l of t.he:;p. purk pie he Il'i a ne frum tlw Wr~~ I ' ~ rn theater. Two a [(~ :;[ra ighl find one this area. In character with this i~ bell c rt> med, Two d e>! rl y ha ve bHlid s a nd (,II'; h 3 ~ t'dgillg nround I h ( ~ brim. 11 fi re in goud fashion's namesake, it was almost s ha pe, with the brim:; fb,"ring slighli l' u p Ht the ,.;jell's. The one wilh the T(!:\.H'; Lone Sun is always found in black, (see figure 6). blnck, one is ~l f a medium color Figure 6. Three eXfl Inples uf the stuvepipe ba t. All a re 111 guod cond ition and a ll Hf'1' bl ack, common to all theaters of the W8.l·. which see ms 1'" be tvpica l fo r thi ' s tyle. Twu uf the w('arers arc frum Weslern com mands Medium height crowns with broad a nd one is from the Tra ll s.Mi s>' issipl'i. Ea;;lerll lhf'Hle r USagf! was lirni lecl , Or medium brims were undoubtedly ,, ) Pvt. George W lsh inglun Bea tty, Co. F. 4 th %s.', Cav (Ca lcnJar. Aug, 1994), the most widespread of this general b) CuI. Julius A, And rew,", 32 nJ Tp.xH~ ' flV (CI-1 1ellda r. ApriI J99"i). type, (see {1:gure 8) . ( ~ ) lIn iJ(!ntif'ied privAI' of d ie I ~ t vr i s ~ . Cav. Bft l!. (Call·neLI !',. Jan J9fl7 ). (continued on page 42) $72 a Plus $5 Shipping Figure 7. TW I> T('xans wore the'r: black bell crowns to \ ir:,. POCKET WATCH CHAINS Something all re-enactors need but can never FIND I!! We manufacture AMERICAN made watch chains in STERLING SlLVER 14 KT. GOLD GOLD FILLED LAYERED GOLD All chains come with quality swivels and button bars for durability in the field and yet high quality for that great look! We also have chains for the woman re-enactor I!!! All chains I:uaranteed ! SEND FOR A FREE CATALOG Figure 8. Th e::ie medium and wi de-brIm round crown,; a re all ;) nllxliu rn shadf' Hnd are w( rn by :;olJiers from ali thcfllers. T hey rCLain dll'ir urif,cl nrd s h ~l[le and the hrilTl s I ; lln' (~ JOHNNIE O'S 1I l'ward . Thi' ~lylc IIf headgear was fai rl y ConlflJU n. PO BOX 25083 . PROVIDENCE, RI 02905 fl) Pvt. AJi. Aucoin. Co. A. 9lh L'luis. fIL E. Billi. (Calenda r. Oct. 19(2). 1-401·781·0725 FAX-1-401-941-7932 b) Mem ber of the 9L1 LMiss. 1111'. . Pellsacul a, Fl a ., IBI) I (JeIl~Cr .l , fig, 24). DIVISION OF PC INDUSTRIES c) Unidentified Ar k:ln ,i; H~ ,;oldier (JoseI'll)" pg, 1.'15), d ) We5LCfII CO l1fcd, ~ ffjI P p n";O[ Ler ill Ch iGa~n, 1864 (Military Imag es. pg. 16, 17). (continued from page 40) The low, round crown hats were of a newer fashion, and while not prevalent were seen to a limited de gree. At the other extreme, tall rounded "hillbilly" hats might be found in some Confederate units. The shorter hats usually sported narrow brims, while the hillbilly hats had wider brims, (see figure 9). The sugarloaf style hat was prob ably the most common style of hat after the pillbox. It had a medium crown and wide or medium bri.m. It was easy to make and therefore Figure 9. The brims un thesn low·crown ha ts fl a re sl ightly upwArd. One is b l a(~ k, the olher popular with hatters of the day. lWO are a medi ll m shude. Two apparently have silk bands. Al l Rre belie e,11O have been When misshapen, its crown pooched worn by :oldiers in the &Istern rheJller. The tall hillbilly halS Hre from bUlh Eastern and up and its apex protruded, giving it Western theaters. The brims a re turned up and a hatband is visibl un the Weslf'nt theater the appearance of a beegum or bee hat. One is light, the other dark in color. hive. It had been thought that this a) Prisoner taken in the Wild >rness or Spo t.sylvania (Jensen, pg. 76). was a distinct style until hatters, L awl c) Unidentified soldiers (J ensen, pg 44, fi nd Calcnuar, Cuver 19( 1). reproducing the sugarloaf, discov d) l nidentifi ed Western soldier (lenser! , pg 66). ered that the beehive hat was, in e) 'old ier of ,he 2 1st Va. InI. , l Ulle 1864 (Jenspn, pg 77). fact, a misshapen sugarlo af pattern, (see figure 10). Once the soldier got his hat, he sometimes embellished it by adding a badge or fancy cord. Not every Southerner did this, but it was popu lar when the embellishments were available. Typical badges included brass company letters, regimental numbers, state devices and other similar articles. Texas troops were especially fond of adorning their hats with Lone Star badges, as relic hunters have found. Cords with tas sels, plumes and buttons were also Figure 10. The first drawi ng is of a Truns·Mississippi ,;uldier wi th a sugarloaf hat in i L~ used on hats, although the propor 'Jriginal state. TIle second drawing shows a We-tern Confeucrale with the same style hut in tion of hats embellished this way a "beehive" sta te., whell the crown has lost its shape. was small. Some examples of these a) gt.. Ju hn Samuel Bryan, Gu. B, 16th Texas Dismounted Cav (Indiana Historical Society) hats can seen in many of the illus b) Western Confederate prisoner in Chi cago, 1864 (Military Images, pg. 16, 17). trations. In addition to adding badges, some Southerner pinned the brim up on one side of thei.r hat or in the fl:ont. The practice of pinning brims up to one side was common at the out break of the war, and had its origin in the style of the U_S . Army or Hardee hat. Wearers probably fe lt the pinned up side gave them a mar tial appearance. There was little practical need for side pinning, and it mostly ceased after the first part of the war, judging from battlefield photos. As for pinning the front ofthe brim up, evidence of this can be found throughout the war, but it was not a widespread practice. When it was done, it probably was for practi cal reasons, to keep a drooping brim out of the face, (see figure 11) . There is a perception that many troops wore old, dilapidated and mis shapen hats, and I believed when I began my research that this would be the most typical Confederate hat. But one of the first things I noticed when looking at battlefield photos wa the relative absenc ofworn out Figure 11. T he suldil'rs with t.h eir brims pinned up (I n d w side are b<>th 1861 vulUnLcer,;. hats with the brims slouching down. T he tWIl utllt' l" a hi! v' ' brim ~ pi lined up ill the frunt. S uch p racticf'" were !lut wid,>,;p read. Of the hundreds of hats I studied a) Lll idt'lltificd TCX: 1S iIlfan tryman. 1Cl6 1 (Calendar. Dt'c. 1(87). that were associated with Confeder b) Ullidenti fied infHlltrymal l, I Cl6 1 (Calendar, X uv. 19(2). ates in the field, only a handful could c) C.w. 1 -1rl.~1 ing', regl1 ncnt unknuwn (Military Images, pg 1;». really be described as dilapidated. J) I n id(~ nlifi0.d CU lifedernl c., p()ssibly il Texan (Ca j"ndnr). Most soldiers wore hats that were in good or at least fair condition. Like wise, th incidence of slouching brims was also low. Even those hats which appeared to be somewhat worn had their brims flared, curled or shoved upward. Wearing a brim that flopped down does not appear to have been common in Confeder ate ranks. However, there are illus trations of soldiers with such head gear, (see figure 12). It is difficult to say what hat you should don for Confederate impres sioll. Black pillboxes were probably the single most popular style in the Confederate Army, but every hat mentioned here, and many that I ne glected to mention, would be per fe ctly authentic on a Reb. The best advice probably is that units should Figure 1:2. Tfwsc Culd HHrbur p ri'f>ncrs display hats that a rc very wo rn. T he cruwns are maintain a good balance of different dented ur misshapen and the brims a re sluuching duwn . Such hats we re the exception, types of headgear that would have hflw f' \,(' r. h" "ther fifty S(lnIC p ri~" n e rs in the sa me phuto hfl d l lf ~ ud g<.:ar in fairly decent been typical for the region and cir- Sh H["~. cumstances portrayed. A limit on the Historically Accurate number of broken-brimmed, slouch ing hats would enhance a group's -.. tamp thesIs ...... Orig inal image. More flat crowns as opposed 3/4 ' Box to round crowns would help, too. Joints Little things, such as not pinning up Made For Correct Ruggod Long Hasp brims on the side and keeping brims Field Use & Hinges flared up, would help overall group authenticity. Finally, some research into the Larga Size: 24"W - 17"H - 16"D Hand Made of Pine 8. Red Oak region that the unit is supposed to Remol/able 3' Deep Tray / 1/2' Rope Handles Use As Bench or Table come from might help, too. For in wi Your Last Name Hand Painted On Top stance, black stovepipe hat~ worn in '130.00 Plua S/H For More Information: a Trans-Mississippi command would Send a 33 cent Stamp For Color Brochure help give that group the proper look. Vlalt Our W.b SII.: Trust http://_w.mcavoy-wood.com I hope this will at lea t encour Toll Fra. Orda, Lin. (888) 1184·7227 Sometimes you wonder uyou are age readers to research the topic of Th. McAvoylWood Working Company getting a good value. Let's face it, it hats on their own. Many thanks to Box 27 • D.pt C ~ Bathal. Ohio 45108 III is bard to trust some products sold Bill Wickham for his patient and on sutler row. That's why generous haring of knowledge on Clearwater Hats offers an ironclad hats of the Civil War era. -\JUilliam ~. ®sbotne 11 guarantee. lfanything bappens to Proprietor your bat or if for any rea on you Picture Credits: don't like it, just return it in tbe first Jen ~ en , Leslie D., Johnny Reb, The Uniform year and we will fix the problem, of the Confede rate Army, 186 1-1865; exchange tbe bat, or refund the Gr enhill Books. London , Slackpole purchase price. Books, Pennsylvania, 1996. Confederate Calenda r Wo rks, P.O . Box Clearwater 2084 , Au tin, Te xas, 78768. Military Images, Volume XIII, No .3, No Civil War GulUl • Pan. Hat Company vember·December 1991. 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