The Civil War Hat Catalog

Page Three of Five

The Hardee - Enlisted $ 105  black only

                                                Officers  $ 110

The Hardee Hat as we know it is not really the Hardee Hat. According to United States Army Headgear 1855-1902 by Howell and Kloster. Major William Hardee was the recorder for a committee which recommended to the Secretaryof War Jefferson Davis that a hat be adopted for two cavalry regiments in July of 1855. The hat was similar in many respects to what we know as a Hardee, except that it had a chinstrap.

In 1858, 1st Lt. A.P. Hill was on another committee that recommended the adoption for the entire army of what was known as the 1858 Army Hat. While similar to the Hardee hat, the specifications were slightly different, and it did not have a chin strap. Major

Hardee was not on the committee that made the recommendation and Jefferson Davis was not Secretary of War, yet the hat became known as the Hardee or Jeff Davis hat. The 1858 hat was "not popular among the troops" and, according to the source cited above, "officers wore a wide variety of hats, the non-regulation outnumbering the regulation by a good margin."

Shown here is a photograph of General Grant wearing a regulation Hardee early in the war. Later he would exchange it for another very much like our Gettysburg style. Today, the great looking Hardee hat is as popular as ever, and ours are made on original blocks. Because of this we have limited sizes: from size 7 1/4 to 7 1/2. Our hats do not come decked out with the brass and hat cord but we thought you would like to see how they look.

Photo courtesy of Franklin Hudson Publishing Co.

The Top Hat - $ 175 coffee color shown

For elegance there is no equal to the Top Hat or Bell Crowned Hat. It has been one of the most enduring forms of headwear of our time and, in one form or another, has lasted for over two hundred years. During the Civil War, this hat was the choice of gentlemen and there are many photographs of soldiers wearing them as well.

Above right is a photograph of a Confederate prisoner at Camp Douglas prior to 1863.

In the 1860's a variety of crown heights were worn from the eleven-inch Kite High Dandy to the low crown John Bull. The crowns will vary from 4 1/2 inches to about 5 1/2 inches tall and are available in black and coffee in sizes 7 1/8 to 7 1/2. Other sizes may be available on a custom basis. Please understand that the larger the hat size, the lower the crown.

Shown left is a Confederate officer with Battery A, First Tennessee Light Artillery, Stratham's brigade, Breckinridge's corps. He is wearing a light-colored top hat with a lower crown. The weather has rounded the edges of the crown but the distinctive bell shape is plainly visible.

The image to the right is of a taller top hat.

Coffee color shown.

Harpers Weekly March 1865 Foragers starting out

Courtesy the Clearwater Hat Collection

Harpers Weekly March 1865 Foragers returning to camp

A clergyman remarked to President Lincoln: "I hope the Lord is on our side." The President replied; "I am not at all concerned about that, for I know the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side." Modern Eloquence Copyright© 1900 by the University Society.

All original material copyright©2003 Clearwater Hat Company