by Craig L Barry
The piece of material culture is often called the “Jeff Davis” or "Hardee hat." This is a factually incorrect name for the 1858 Army hat, and it is still being widely misused today. The US Secretary of War Jefferson Davis---later President of the Confederate States of America---was involved not only in the upgrade and standardization of US military arms in the mid-1850s, but also in the creation and equipping of two regiments of Cavalry. In 1854 it was recommended to him that the Cavalry branch have a new and distinctive hat. Dating back to the Mexican War, most officers wore privately purchased wide brimmed slouch hats “…of every color and description.” A committee was formed of which Major William Hardee was included as secretary or recorder for the recommended change. The new design most favored by the committee was based on a model in use in Belgium called the Chasseur a Pied. "It is a hat with a medium sized brim, turned up on the left side, worn with a cover in undress, and without the cover, and with a cockade, and small black feather in full dress. I think it is well adapted to our service, and looks remarkably well, either singly, or in large bodies.” In General Order 13 dated August 15, 1855 the new Cavalry hat is described as follows:
“…prescribing the arms and accouterments of the two cavalry regiments, the hat is as follows:
For Field officers—Black, trimmed with gold cord, and according to pattern in the Quartermaster's Department; to be looped up on the right side, and fastened with an eagle, the eagle being attached to the site of the hat; three black feathers on left side; the number of the regiment to be in front. The hat will be worn instead of the cap now used by the other troops. For all other Officers—same as for field Officers except that there will be but two black feathers. For enlisted men—same as for officers, except there will be but one black feather, a worsted, instead of a gold cord, and the letter of the company substituted for the number of the regiment.”
The official name for it was not “Hardee” or “Jeff Davis” but rather simply the 1855 Cavalry hat. How that particular hat became the design inspiration for an item of issuance for all branches of the Army three years later is more easily discerned. By 1857 other branches of the service requested issuance of the US 1855 Cavalry hats for their infantry and artillery units. By 1858 Colonel E.B. Alexander, 10th Infantry, proposed that a new committee be formed “…to devise and submit a new hat for foot troops for full dress and for fatigue.” Overall commander General Winfield Scott approved of the idea as did current US Secretary of War John B. Floyd.
Based on the recommendations of the second committee, the resulting head wear was officially named the 1858 Army hat. The new design was approved for use by the entire Army by General Orders # 3, on March 24, 1858, along with four pages of other uniform changes. The rate of issuance for the hat was one per man per year in the Army and seven in five years for the Cavalry. The initial contract with John G Snyder of Philadelphia was for 16,500 hats at $2.75 each, a princely figure at which Congress initially balked. There are subtle differences that can be easily noted when the two hats are placed side by side. The earlier (1855) design approved by Davis is shorter in height with a slightly different taper to the crown and featured a chin strap so it didn’t blow off the Cavalryman’s head.
Besides appearance, the 1855 and the 1858 hats were different in terms of cost, construction and materials. Correspondence with a government contractor in 1859 stated “…the cost of the Cavalry hat pattern of 1855 is $1.46 and the cost of the new Army hat, pattern of 1858 will be $3.37.” The newer 1858 design was soon preferred by other branches of service. A Cavalry officer requested in 1859 that his own uniform requisition be filled “…with the new pattern of 1858 hat rather than from existing stores of the original pattern 1855.” He may not have needed to worry as it is likely there were not have been any of the original pattern Cavalry hats still around by that time. According to research by Edgar M. Howell in United States Army Headgear 1855-1902, it is believed that only 5,500 of the older 1855 Cavalry hats were made and issued.
The model 1858 Army hat is also sometimes referred to as the Infantry Dress hat. Actually, it was intended for both dress and fatigue duty. The “Dress hat” distinction is likely because the so-called 1858 forage cap was issued “for fatigue purposes” at the same time as the fatigue blouse (sack coat) and hence if forage caps were intended for fatigue duty the wide brimmed felt hat must be for dress or parade. Perhaps this was intentional on some level, who knows? Whatever the case the 1858 Army hat was never officially designated as only a “Dress hat.” However, it is difficult to imagine a stiff, wide brimmed hat pinned up one side with a feather in it being worn by men with shovels digging the sinks.
In terms of actual field usage, the feathers and trim of the 1858 Army hat as issued would not make it for long on campaign and unlike the kepi or slouch hat it was difficult to carry unless it was worn on your head. Yet, despite the protective wide, flat brim of the 1858 Army hat it was panned by the men who were initially issued it during the Civil War. The Cavalry did not like the lack of a chin strap to hold it on while riding, which was a feature of the previous 1855 model. The Infantry found the 1858 Army hat lacking ventilation, “heavy, hot, stiff and ill-looking.” One soldier summarized his feelings about the hat in a letter home:
“My new hat looks near to the pictures you see of the Pilgrim Fathers landing at Plymouth. It is tall, stiff and turned up on side with a feather in it…I won’t wear it.”
One anecdote has it that Confederate soldiers at Gettysburg, saw the 1858 Army hats worn by the Iron Brigade coming towards them at a distance and exclaimed, “…there are those damned black-hatted fellows again.” However, one struggles to find any period reference to the 1858 Army hat as a “Hardee hat.” The nickname is most likely a modern distinction of unknown origin without any Civil War provenance. Historical Researcher Edgar Howell noted in his study of US Military Hats for the Smithsonian Institute, “…Just when and by whom this hat (1858 Army hat) was first called the ‘Jeff Davis’ or ‘Hardee’ is not known.”
The piece of material culture is often called the “Jeff Davis” or "Hardee hat." This is a factually incorrect name for the 1858 Army hat, and it is still being widely misused today. The US Secretary of War Jefferson Davis---later President of the Confederate States of America---was involved not only in the upgrade and standardization of US military arms in the mid-1850s, but also in the creation and equipping of two regiments of Cavalry. In 1854 it was recommended to him that the Cavalry branch have a new and distinctive hat. Dating back to the Mexican War, most officers wore privately purchased wide brimmed slouch hats “…of every color and description.” A committee was formed of which Major William Hardee was included as secretary or recorder for the recommended change. The new design most favored by the committee was based on a model in use in Belgium called the Chasseur a Pied. "It is a hat with a medium sized brim, turned up on the left side, worn with a cover in undress, and without the cover, and with a cockade, and small black feather in full dress. I think it is well adapted to our service, and looks remarkably well, either singly, or in large bodies.” In General Order 13 dated August 15, 1855 the new Cavalry hat is described as follows:
“…prescribing the arms and accouterments of the two cavalry regiments, the hat is as follows:
For Field officers—Black, trimmed with gold cord, and according to pattern in the Quartermaster's Department; to be looped up on the right side, and fastened with an eagle, the eagle being attached to the site of the hat; three black feathers on left side; the number of the regiment to be in front. The hat will be worn instead of the cap now used by the other troops. For all other Officers—same as for field Officers except that there will be but two black feathers. For enlisted men—same as for officers, except there will be but one black feather, a worsted, instead of a gold cord, and the letter of the company substituted for the number of the regiment.”
The official name for it was not “Hardee” or “Jeff Davis” but rather simply the 1855 Cavalry hat. How that particular hat became the design inspiration for an item of issuance for all branches of the Army three years later is more easily discerned. By 1857 other branches of the service requested issuance of the US 1855 Cavalry hats for their infantry and artillery units. By 1858 Colonel E.B. Alexander, 10th Infantry, proposed that a new committee be formed “…to devise and submit a new hat for foot troops for full dress and for fatigue.” Overall commander General Winfield Scott approved of the idea as did current US Secretary of War John B. Floyd.
Based on the recommendations of the second committee, the resulting head wear was officially named the 1858 Army hat. The new design was approved for use by the entire Army by General Orders # 3, on March 24, 1858, along with four pages of other uniform changes. The rate of issuance for the hat was one per man per year in the Army and seven in five years for the Cavalry. The initial contract with John G Snyder of Philadelphia was for 16,500 hats at $2.75 each, a princely figure at which Congress initially balked. There are subtle differences that can be easily noted when the two hats are placed side by side. The earlier (1855) design approved by Davis is shorter in height with a slightly different taper to the crown and featured a chin strap so it didn’t blow off the Cavalryman’s head.
Besides appearance, the 1855 and the 1858 hats were different in terms of cost, construction and materials. Correspondence with a government contractor in 1859 stated “…the cost of the Cavalry hat pattern of 1855 is $1.46 and the cost of the new Army hat, pattern of 1858 will be $3.37.” The newer 1858 design was soon preferred by other branches of service. A Cavalry officer requested in 1859 that his own uniform requisition be filled “…with the new pattern of 1858 hat rather than from existing stores of the original pattern 1855.” He may not have needed to worry as it is likely there were not have been any of the original pattern Cavalry hats still around by that time. According to research by Edgar M. Howell in United States Army Headgear 1855-1902, it is believed that only 5,500 of the older 1855 Cavalry hats were made and issued.
The model 1858 Army hat is also sometimes referred to as the Infantry Dress hat. Actually, it was intended for both dress and fatigue duty. The “Dress hat” distinction is likely because the so-called 1858 forage cap was issued “for fatigue purposes” at the same time as the fatigue blouse (sack coat) and hence if forage caps were intended for fatigue duty the wide brimmed felt hat must be for dress or parade. Perhaps this was intentional on some level, who knows? Whatever the case the 1858 Army hat was never officially designated as only a “Dress hat.” However, it is difficult to imagine a stiff, wide brimmed hat pinned up one side with a feather in it being worn by men with shovels digging the sinks.
In terms of actual field usage, the feathers and trim of the 1858 Army hat as issued would not make it for long on campaign and unlike the kepi or slouch hat it was difficult to carry unless it was worn on your head. Yet, despite the protective wide, flat brim of the 1858 Army hat it was panned by the men who were initially issued it during the Civil War. The Cavalry did not like the lack of a chin strap to hold it on while riding, which was a feature of the previous 1855 model. The Infantry found the 1858 Army hat lacking ventilation, “heavy, hot, stiff and ill-looking.” One soldier summarized his feelings about the hat in a letter home:
“My new hat looks near to the pictures you see of the Pilgrim Fathers landing at Plymouth. It is tall, stiff and turned up on side with a feather in it…I won’t wear it.”
One anecdote has it that Confederate soldiers at Gettysburg, saw the 1858 Army hats worn by the Iron Brigade coming towards them at a distance and exclaimed, “…there are those damned black-hatted fellows again.” However, one struggles to find any period reference to the 1858 Army hat as a “Hardee hat.” The nickname is most likely a modern distinction of unknown origin without any Civil War provenance. Historical Researcher Edgar Howell noted in his study of US Military Hats for the Smithsonian Institute, “…Just when and by whom this hat (1858 Army hat) was first called the ‘Jeff Davis’ or ‘Hardee’ is not known.”