M1881 Infantry Dress Helmet

[GIl Sanow]

Hmmmmmm -- this appears to be an officer's helmet, but the cords shown would be for a mounted helmet. An additional bullion cord would have gone from the left side of the helmet down to the shoulder area, looping under the shoulder loops and across the chest, though these were sometimes made in two pieces so the helmet cold be detached. A mounted helmet should have a plume holder and plume instead of a spike. There should also be a chinstrap with brass links sewn to a black leather backing.

 

I suspect someone has assembled this one from parts. Note that the spike and base do not match the patina of the front plate.

 

I suspect the missing cork in the back could be made less noticible with a proper fitting styrofoam head..

 

G

[Jeff TX]

Gil

I appreciate your quick reply and agree the patina of the spike and base don't match the front plate.

Cheers!

Jeff

[Redlegwolf]

I agree with Gil on this one being a parts helmet; however, I think the hardest parts to find are those original suspension pieces, so in that you scored a win!

 

v/r

Wolf

[Jeff TX]

Thanks Wolf. I took the helmet to the Ohio Valley Militaria Show and met Gil, as well as several other experts he recommended. I learned a lot.

 

I am totally jazzed about this forum, the moderators, and it's members who make it an irreplaceable storehouse of knowledge!

 

THANK YOU!!!!!!

[atb]

Over time I have come to the conclusion that 98% of all US Army M1881 dress helmets are put-togethers or, to be polite, "restored" from old parts and to varying degrees of accuracy. This goes for those in museums and in private collections.

[Redlegwolf]

As a follow up tab--I can tell you that there are more compete original officer's helmets by far than enlisted helmets--Officers privately purchased their gear and took it home. Enlisted were issued and did not; almost counterintuitive since there were so many more enlisted than officer.

[KurtA]

As a follow up tab--I can tell you that there are more compete original officer's helmets by far than enlisted helmets--Officers privately purchased their gear and took it home. Enlisted were issued and did not; almost counterintuitive since there were so many more enlisted than officer.

 

Agree. And bottom line - a complete Federal helmet that was actually used (officer or enlisted) is very tough to find.

[LanceG]

When were these New York National Guard helmets used?

[Ranger-1972]

There is an interesting helmet for sale on e-Bay.  It is an early M1881 body style but with the M1872 eagle plate & plume socket, as well as the chain-link rosette side buttons for the chin chain (all with heavy white-gold gilt).  Heavy gold braided cords on the helmet.  It has 2 stars affixed to the front of the eagle plate, and the name Nelson A. Miles embossed in gold on the inside of the helmet.  It has a white feather plume in the M1872 plume holder, rather than the authorized yak tail plume. Regular cloth lining found in officer's helmets of the period.

 

This could be dismissed out of hand, as the 1881 uniform regulations said that the new model helmet was for wear by all personnel except general officers and general staff officers -- but for a couple of tantalizing details. 

 

The first is that then-Colonel Nelson A. Miles headed up the 1878-79 Army Equipment Board that recommended what became the M1881 helmet, and he remained engaged in the process of approving that helmet over the next several years.

 

The second is that the first samples of the "new" helmet (made both by Henry V. Allien and and Horstman) used the M1872 helmet plate and plume holder for the officer's model -- and the QM Depot cut down / repurposed existing M1872 version helmets to correspond to the new regulation.

 

The third is that at least one of the initial photographs of the "new" helmet showed the chain-link rosette buttons and the M1872 plume / spike holder on top.

 

Is it possible that Colonel Miles kept an early model and had it modified when he became a general officer (BG in Dec 1880 and MG in Apr 1890)?

 

As mentioned above, Brevet MG Judson Kilpatrick (USMA '61) had one of the summer white helmets made up with two stars and rooster feathers for wear with his diplomatic uniform when he served as Minister (Ambassador) to Chile from May-December 1881.  Generals were (and still are) given leeway in their own uniforms. 

 

I've seen photos of MG Miles wearing the regulation chapeau with his full-dress uniform and MG Miles wearing the M1895 full-dress visor cap with the full-dress uniform.  Wonder if he kept/modified an early model of the helmet.  If this helmet is authentic, then it is unique in every sense of that word. 

[Ranger-1972]

Noticed that MG Miles is wearing his old colonel's overcoat in both photos (with 5 rows of braid on the sleeve) and a non-regulation sword belt / slings.  He also has a distinctive collar trim on the second photo.  You cannot see the cuff braid in that photo.

 

In the painting below of LTG Miles, he has clearly designed his own cuff and collar braid, and his own shoulder knots.

 

In the second photo, LTG Miles is wearing a unique white M1902 visor cap (with just two stars above the eagle, even though he was a 3-star at that point) with his full-dress blue uniform.

 

In the third photo, LTG Miles is wearing a unique blue M1902 visor cap (with three stars above the eagle).

 

He clearly didn't have any objection to designing his own unique uniform items.

[KurtA]

A good view of the motto at the top of the helmet plate could end any debate.  If a restrike, then the entire helmet is indeed crap.  

Why would Nelson see the need to have his name embossed inside?   It's not like any other officer at the O-Club would mistakenly take the wrong lid off the hat rack.

[daniel griffin]

This was sold at Morphy auction November 2018, part of the Bentley collection. It was cataloged (by me) as a fake - which is is. The collection had hundreds, yes hundreds, of hats, helmets, binoculars and briefcases with spurious names added, Eisenhower, Bradly, Patton - lots of them, CMOH winners etc. He bought this junk over a number of years and was told by many knowledgeable dealers and collectors that the material had problems.  Here is a link to the listing:

https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/INDIAN_WARS_PERIOD_NON_REGULATION_OFFICER_S_DRESS_-LOT452938.aspx

[Ranger-1972]

Thanks -- great information.

[cannon jockey]

On 8/7/2020 at 10:19 PM, daniel griffin said:

This was sold at Morphy auction November 2018, part of the Bentley collection. It was cataloged (by me) as a fake - which is is. The collection had hundreds, yes hundreds, of hats, helmets, binoculars and briefcases with spurious names added, Eisenhower, Bradly, Patton - lots of them, CMOH winners etc. He bought this junk over a number of years and was told by many knowledgeable dealers and collectors that the material had problems.  Here is a link to the listing:

https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/INDIAN_WARS_PERIOD_NON_REGULATION_OFFICER_S_DRESS_-LOT452938.aspx

  I just joined--initially because I found this thread while doing some internet searches on the model 1881 helmets only because I won a nice one in a recent online auction. 

 

However, a completely different auction house sent me a flier in the mail about an upcoming online auction to be held in early December.   I was on their mailing list since I had bid on a couple of items back in the the summer but didn't win anything.   In that flier for the upcoming auction was a picture of the very same "fake"  Nelson Miles helmet.   I didn't pay any attention to it at the time, but once I saw your post I went to their website and looked up the item.   It is the same helmet and was presented by Heritage Auctions as an authentic piece.  It sold on Dec 6th for $5600 including the buyers premium.  Heritage Auctions is based out of Dallas, Tx and they handle all sorts of merchandise.

 

Here's a link to the sold listing.   

 

Heritage Auctions--Nelson Miles helmet

 

I wonder if someone should contact them about this?  Of course that assumes that the unlucky winner of the auction hasn't found out that he bought a fake yet.

 

Cheers

[3ARTYFO]

On 6/28/2007 at 8:32 PM, ken1967 said:

Not to give away any collecting secrets.....but I found it on eBay of all places. Some really cool things show up if you watch long enough.

Amen to that Ken1967

[NFReg74]

Did NYSNG helmets have cords too? Or they were only for RA? 

[cannon jockey]

Since this thread has resurfaced, I should note that if one clicks on the Heritage Auction link I provided for the sale of the alleged Nelson Miles helmet in post #64, the listing no longer has a final bid price but instead has now been changed to "not sold".   I would speculate that it was subsequently exposed as a fraudulent item and thus the listing was quietly changed at some point by the auction house to avoid embarrassment.

 

Cheers 

[KurtA]

13 hours ago, NFReg74 said:

Did NYSNG helmets have cords too? Or they were only for RA? 

The NY cavalry version (front plate has crossed sabers) had a yellow plume and cords. 
I’m skeptical of this one, but with a state helmet, a lot of things were  possible. (Some state officer could probably have worn whatever he wanted)

This helmet was probably made by Ridabock.   Large numbers of these helmet bodies were sold as surplus.   They are frequently found with all sorts of enhancements (often with US Army brass, plumes, etc). So whenever I see one with anything other than the standard NY front plate and top spike, I am skeptical.

[Ranger-1972]

A couple of things about this helmet seem off.  The white yak tail plume indicates this would have been a helmet worn by a field-grade infantry officer (or adjutant), as do the side buttons with the hooks to hold the chin chain.  Presume those side buttons have crossed rifles.

 

But officers (regardless of their branch of service) wore gold braid cords on their helmet -- not white braid.  I have a helmet for a NG heavy artillery officer (spike rather than yak tail plume) with the original weathered gold cord stitched lightly to the front & back of the helmet so it wouldn't blow around or get tangled on the spike.

 

Definitely a militia / NG M1881 helmet, with the multiple seams (the RA helmets were pressed out of a single piece of felt).

 

What sort of lining is on the inside?  Should be silk or satin inside the helmet.  If it was worn by a field-grade officer, it would probably be pretty fancy on the inside. If it was some NG captain serving as an adjutant, it could be more plain.

[Pointedcuffs]

Looks like white horse hair plume as worn by infantry musician enlisted men. The plume holder is correct for enlisted as well. I will try and check some period catalogs and pictures tomorrow after work and see if there are any NY examples. This has the look of a put together.

[Ranger-1972]

Can you tell whether it has a horse hair plume or a yak hair plume?  Enlisted men wore horse hair (which is generally stiffer), whereas officers wore yak hair plumes (which were fuller and a bit softer).

 

You might be able to find some close-up photos of the two types of plumes.  If this is a helmet with a horse hair plume and white cord, then it could indeed be a helmet worn by a NY Infantry regiment's band.  Prior to the creation of the National Guard at the beginning of the 20th century, bands -- especially in militia units -- wore whatever the colonel of the regiment was willing to pay for.  (That was true within the Regular Army as well, but those tended to be variations on the standard Army uniform, whereas state militias had a much broader range of acceptable uniforms.)  These are illustrations are from a book published in 1913 showing a variety of state militia uniforms.

[Pointedcuffs]

This is an Infantry officers plume. 

 

 

 

 

[grahamaham]

Ranger-1972 post from Aug 2022 looks a lot like the Kilpatrick helmet found in United States Army Headgear 1855-1902 by Edgard M. Powell. The Kilpatrick helmet is found on page 72 but seems to be the opposite of the "Miles Helmet." Color plume etc, same rank different side buttons. According to this book:

 

-"It formerly belonged to Bvt. Maj. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, a 1861 graduate of West Point. Kilpatrick resigned from the service in 1865 and served as minister to Chile 1866-1870 and from May 1881 until his death there in December of the same year.'"' The helmet, which must have been purchased prior to his departure for South America in May 1881, was apparently intended to serve as part of a Quasi diplomatic uniform.'^ In addition to the lion head side buttons and rear chin chain hook with chain, it carries a regulation 1881 staff front plate (which was not authorized for wear on the summer helmet) with two silver stars affixed to the shield and the 1881 oak leaf plume or spike base to which is fixed a four inch hexagon metal piece surmounted by a flowing plume of black cock feather." pg 70 

 

-"There were two similar but distinct patterns of the "tiger head," one on the specimens in the quartermaster photographs and the other on the Kilpatrick summer helmet (Figure 51).

 

-" There is an extant photograph of Kilpatrick's bier in Valpariso surmounted by what appears to be a U.S. Army general officer's coat with elaborate nonregulation cuff and collar embroidery and this helmet. The matter of dress for diplomats was vague in this period, to say the least. Generally American diplomats wore what they wished, no matter what the Department of State said. An 1853 State Dept. circular stated that "simple citizen's dress" was preferred, but allowed discretion in individual cases to conform to the customs of the foreign nation concerned. The Act of 28 July 1866 (14 Stat 332) permitted a Civil War Union veteran to wear the uniform prescribed during the war, and a resolution of Congress in 1867 prohibited diplomats from wearing uniforms or official dress not previously authorized by Congress. Information from Department of State (Historical Dept.)."

 

Thoughts? Was the Miles helmet a fabrication and opposite of the Kilpatrick model or just another oddity?