Jump to content

Late Civil War Kepi


Recommended Posts

Here is another Civil War Kepi. However this one is not identified. It is in excellent condition and very late in the war. I had it checked out by the late Gary Leister who had one of the best if not the best Civil War hat collection in the country. Gary confirmed that the kepi was real but very late in the war and possibly never worn.

A.jpg

B.jpg

front.jpg

inside.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for sharing! Super cool! Not really seen originals! Out of curiosity . . . since you have it in hand . . . are they lightweight? They always look like they'd not weigh a lot. Kind of an old-fashioned version of a baseball cap!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

huntssurplus
As someone a bit ignorant of Civil War insignia, I understand Co. M but 5th Reg. or perhaps Battalion and the bugle?

I’m fairly certain the Bugle was the branch indicator for Infantry.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Outstanding example! From what I understand these types of kepi were private purchase and usually by officers. Your kepi has general service strap buttons with no “I” for infantry so maybe a private purchase by an enlisted man with some extra cash? Or would an officer’s kepi sometimes not have the lettered buttons?

 

Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

During the Civil War, anyone who could afford it would privately purchase a cap and discard the ugly issued one.  That would be the one the veteran took home with him. Also, it was never called a kepi. It is simply a cap. Similarly, we never wore "tunics" they were coats or jackets.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
scottiques
On 4/22/2021 at 1:53 PM, Maxrobot said:

During the Civil War, anyone who could afford it would privately purchase a cap and discard the ugly issued one.  That would be the one the veteran took home with him. Also, it was never called a kepi. It is simply a cap. Similarly, we never wore "tunics" they were coats or jackets.

 

 

Actually that was a pre- Civil War issue and reaction to the M1851 cap (shako).

 

Dissatisfaction with the M1851 in the field, led to the development of both the M1858 Army hat (Hardee hat) and the M1858 forage cap (bummer/ kepi).

 

Here is a good document from the Smithsonian that addresses US Army headgear:

 

https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/2429/ssht-0030_lo_res.pdf?sequence=2

 

Scott

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have that book and it is terrible by modern standards. They show private purchase caps when the topic is Army headgear.  The issue M1858 forage cap was not as snappy as the private purchase ones.  At the time a fancy made cap was about $2.50 whereas the Federal Govt paid 59¢ each.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

scottiques
3 hours ago, Maxrobot said:

I have that book and it is terrible by modern standards. They show private purchase caps when the topic is Army headgear.  The issue M1858 forage cap was not as snappy as the private purchase ones.  At the time a fancy made cap was about $2.50 whereas the Federal Govt paid 59¢ each.

 

What exactly is wrong with the document?

 

It documents Army headgear (including some popular private purchase items that influenced official headgear) using the Smithsonian Collection as its base.  The document draws from official descriptions, official correspondence, uniform board proceedings and contemporary criticism of the headgear.

 

Was "not as snappy" a contemporary criticism?

 

What is your recommended source for information?

 

Scott

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I prefer forage caps to kepis.  

 

The kepi pictured looks like it may be made of satinette, which is a nice detail to me.  Generally speaking, they are usually private purchase items.  Anyone with the cash could buy one if they chose to do so.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...