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A.E. F. ‘Trench’ & Overseas Caps


world war I nerd
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As a complete neophyte with WW1-era gear, please allow me to add my profuse thanks for this incredibly exhaustive yet easily understood overview! Several of us in our living history group are working on putting together impressions to represent the 351st Aero Squadron (from the 4th Aerial Artillery Observation School at Camp De Meucon) at the upcoming Biplanes and Triplanes show here in Virginia Beach and this information is incredibly helpful to us. (Why the 351st? The grandfather of one of our guys was a mechanic on the Caudron G.3s of the unit. Plus, it's an opportunity to showcase the vital importance of aerial reconnaissance during WWI.)

Thanks once again for sharing your amazing depth of knowledge with us!

 

Lynn

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world war I nerd

Lynn ... you're welcome. I glad that you found this extremely long post useful.

 

Lawdog, thanks for adding your pics of Doughboy overseas caps ... the more the merrier.

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Chuck, thanks as always for sharing your WW I Air Service expertise with the rest of us no nothings. Of all the U.S. Army, branches of service mobilized during WW I, the Air Service is probably the one in which I am least knowledgeable. It's nice to have someone around who knows a thing or two about that particular branch of the Army ... Thanks again.

 

Brian (and all), it's my pleasure.

 

'No nothings'? Ha! I've learned more from you guys on multiple occasions... than the one or two times I've chimed in ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...
world war I nerd

This pair of Great War YMCA volunteers, cropped from the same photo, are both wearing overseas caps that appear to be piped ... photos courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

 

Does anyone know what color of piping might have been used by the YMCA?

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  • 5 weeks later...
world war I nerd

Because photos of the overseas cap worn with the shawl turned down are not all that common, I thought I'd post this image of 91st Division Doughboys after 12 days of fighting in the Argonne Forest, a few of whom have turned down the cap's shawl to warm their ears.

 

Photo courtesy of the LA Times

PS, does it look as if something is around the crown of the helmet worn by the left hand Doughboy?

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  • 2 months later...

This is a great thread and thanks for all the hard work behind it. I have a French tailor made piped overseas cap that I will post up next week when I have proper Internet again. I'm in the middle of a move and everything is packed away at the moment. I'll also go through my photo collection and see if I have anything interesting to add from there as well.

 

Thanks and have a Happy New Year.

 

-Mike

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using Tapatalk

 

 

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Brian, Thanks for putting together an inclusive review of AEF caps! Very much appreciated!

I'll add a couple of mine.

First, a "French style" cap for a 5th Artillery regimental soldier. This wool cap is a private purchase as it is made of very fine wool and has a leather sweatband.

Kim

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Here is a U.S. style cap for a 322nd Field Artillery soldier. There is a US collar disk in the same place on the other side of the cap. The original owner has his initials on the inside of the cap. I have the roster for this regiment and company so this one is researchable.

Kim

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Sorry for coming late to this great thread but here are a few pictures I found in the Quartermaster Museum's files --- they show the French women contracted by the Quartermaster Corps to make overseas hats----in the first photo the ladies are cutting the cloth into the right shape and in the second they are sewing them together---all of this work was done in Paris at a contract facility on the Rue Alexandre-Dumas...with 2 million Doughboys in France, you need a lot of hats....

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  • 2 months later...

These Quartermaster photos probably don't add too much to our knowledge base:

 

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US Army Overseas cap made by Sigmund Eisner Company, Red Bank, New Jersey.

Photographed Sept. 5, 1918

 

 

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US Army Overseas cap made by the Gauss-Langenberg Company, St. Louis, Missouri.

Photographed July 16, 1918

 

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Winter Army Cap

Made of weather-proof shelter tent duck. Underside of pull-down band lined with Army cloth.

Manufactured by Gauss-Langenberg Hat Co., St. Louis, Mo.

 

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John

 

great pictures---was there anything that Sigmund Eisner did not make for the Army?

 

even the M1911 Campaign hats we recently recovered here in Virginia, for the most part, were Eisner products--here's the markings from inside one of the hats and the case it came in....

 

I apologize for veering off the topic of this thread but I'm getting fascinated by these manufacturers and here we have a major uniform producer as well as a maker of o/s hats and campaign hats---heck, did they make rifles and airplanes on the side?

Al

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Here is a U.S. style cap for a 322nd Field Artillery soldier. There is a US collar disk in the same place on the other side of the cap. The original owner has his initials on the inside of the cap. I have the roster for this regiment and company so this one is researchable.

Kim

 

I have one of this style I picked up years ago, but without the disks. I was confused at the time because it had a British broad arrow mark inside. I wasn't sure what I had...US? British? I think it was someone on this site who gave me a little background info on it.

 

I guess if all the hats were made form a uniform design by known makers, this topic would be much shorter, but not nearly as fascinating.

 

Mikie

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world war I nerd

John & Al, great additions to the visual content of this topic. It's really nice to see the QM official photos, as well as the pristine packaging used to protect the Campaign Hats during shipping.

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  • 10 months later...
world war I nerd

Another Overseas Cap bearing a miniature division shoulder patch for the 87th Infantry Division.

 

Photos courtesy of the Fritz collection

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world war I nerd

I recently came across this description of the early, improvised "Trench Caps" as worn by the 1st Division in the autumn of 1917.

 

In late October of 1917, when the 1st Division moved from its training area in Gondrecourt, France into the line for the very first time, the broad-brimmed campaign hat had been banned by GHQ as it was not considered to be a practical form of headgear in the front line trenches.

 

The campaign hat would eventually be replaced by the Overseas Cap, which had not yet been devised. In lieu of this fact, the commanding officer of the 1st Division, Major General William L. Sibert, took it upon himself to have several different foldable cloth cap "models" made from olive drab material in the nearby city of Nancy in France. These makeshift caps were apparently, the very first Overseas Caps donned by American Doughboys. Unfortunately, no description of the approved "model" cap was mentioned.

 

The following excerpt, written by General George C. Marshall, then a captain serving on the 1st Division's, general staff, was found in the book "Memoirs of My Service in the World War 1917-1918," which was penned by General Marshall. In it, he also described the efforts made by the men of the 1st Division to improvise trench cap designs of their own (see highlighted text):

 

Training was now conducted with increased zeal, if that was possible, and we exerted every effort to obtain the full complement of horses, trucks, rolling kitchens, etc. that we then lacked.

 

The overseas cap had not yet been adopted, and our men were alternating between a campaign hat and a steel helmet. This was not a practical combination for the trenches since neither one could be folded up, so General Sibert had some model kepis* made of olive drab material and from these selected one which our Division Quartermaster had manufactured near Nancy. This was the first appearance of the overseas cap in the American Army, and while not exactly of the type finally adopted, it was sufficiently like to be worn.

 

The infantry battalions selected for the initial entry into the line embussed in the Gondrecourt area on October 20th and were transported straight through to the sector … The enthusiasm of the infantry men reached its highest point when the automobile buses moved off at the final commencement of the final stage of their long journey from America to the front. The men presented a curious spectacle.

 

The overseas cap had not yet been received and the stiff brimmed campaign hat was out of the question; consequently each soldier had met the situation as best suited his fancy, many had purchased olive drab kepis of the Belgian type, with a gold tassel hanging. Others had cut off the brim of the campaign hat and wore the close fitting skull piece; a few had fashioned headgear from bath towels; and some wore the dark blue Alpine caps, evidently procured from their Chasseur friends.

 

Aware of the disarray, we were all much amused, but the staff officers from GHQ were scandalized and registered a very poor opinion of the Division.

 

* Instead of the correct French term for a foldable cloth cap, which was “Bonet de Police,” it is likely that Marshall erroneously used the word “Kepi.” A kepi n the French Army of 1917, was a flat topped, stiff sided, circular shaped cap with a visor.

 

Some of the caps mentioned in Marshall's memior included, from left to right, the Belgian Bonnet de Police, similar to this example minus the tassel, a brim-trimmed campaign hat, and the dark blue beret as worn by the “Blue Devils” of the Chasseurs Alpins who tutored the troops of the 1st Division, after their arrival in France, in trench warfare. Sorry, but I could not locate any photos of a Doughboy wearing a cap made from a bath towel!

Right hand photo courtesy of Bay State Militaria.com

Center photo courtesy of the Chuck Thomas collection

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I never realized that there wasn't any organization to the development of the OS hat. I guess I always assumed some Army board somewhere met and came up with a design. Very interesting research Brian. Thanks.

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world war I nerd

As soon as it was determined that a foldable cloth cap was required to replace the campaign hat, because the War Department had no idea of what was needed, a sample cap of what the AEF had in mind was forwarded to Washington. According to "America's Munitions," the sample cap sent from France was not highly regarded by the top brass. Thus the matter of devising a better cap was immediately turned over to the Quartermaster Corps. This resulted in the adoption of the first pattern overseas cap as shown early on this post.

 

What I wonder is if the sample cap sent to DC was the same "model kepi" that General Sibert had selected for use by the 1st Division as mentioned above?

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  • 1 year later...
Hello,
Here is an Overseas cap different from the model already presented.
It is cut in the same fabric used for Overcoats (like Rought cut tunics)
There is a small size label sewn on the Sweetband (in serge).

 

Has anyone ever seen this model?
I found it in the North of France
Perhaps an early model made in the emergency late 1917 (inspired by the French model) ??

 

Friendly

Aurelien

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world war I nerd

Aurelien, the deep fire and aft fold in the center of crown of the cap is very similar to the overseas caps that were made for the AEF by French clothing manufacturers.

 

I think your cap is a variation of a French made U.S. style cap.

 

Thanks for posting, by the way.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Can you please share with me the origan of the poster at the top of this thread? That's Coast Artillery Corp patch on his sleeve and I have never seen this poster.

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  • 2 months later...

Recent find(direct estate purchase) and part of a group from a 38th Division veteran.

 

Cap appears French made.

 

The piping is two color of a blue and off red.

 

There are two patched uniforms.One has a very nice bullion 38th Division Patch.When discussing the cap with a friend he pointed out the cap piping was very much like the colors of the patch.I would agree.I have never seen a unit piped cap before.Any other thoughts?

 

Thanks.

 

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