Confederate Hat Cords

[bhutton]

My question is did the cords on some confederate hats signify any kind of rank or were they purely for decorative purposes ? I've tried the search functions for this question and come up with a few answers indicating decorative.I bought a slouch hat years ago from Dirty Billys and it came with a black cord,also have similar hat from Tim Bender,was wondering about the authenticity of the cord.

[Secesh]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Personally, I cringe when I see reenactors with hat cords....

[LWhite64]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Well there was some use by officers of the gold cords, but other than that the black, blue, red, etc., were for decoration. There are several original hats with them still on it, but the majority are plain. I dont think a few being worn are out of place, but you dont want everyone in a company with them.

[Rebelkid01]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Interesting topic. I have talked with re-enactors that like hat cords and some that don't. I guess the issue is not if we like them or not but are they authentic? And the answer is yes. Now I agree with the post before me that you would not want an entire company wearing them.
I have a slouch hat that I sometimes wear a hat cord on. I have a copy of an authentic image of two soldiers (both Pvts) with the same style hat and cord as mine. That image is what I used to copy my slouch hat impression. Now some people can act as if they didn't wear them, however, they are documented in several images and some are still on the original hats today.

[sepoy1857]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Personally, I cringe when I see reenactors with hat cords....

I'll second that! Especially for privates.

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Hi,

I would say if you have images of the unit you are portraying, and they are wearing hat cords you should wear them. That being said, I would not recommend wearing them in a generic impression. Just my 2 cents.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Find an image of privates William E. and Bennett Spach, 1st Battalion of North Carolina Sharpshooters. It will make some of you cringe.

[Swag]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

We know these are authentic, and correct to be worn in small amounts, but we must also take note that most living historians forget or neglect to purchase cords of the correct material and construction. At least this is one of the main problems that I have with individuals wearing these.

[bhutton]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Thanks All,
I'll do some more research, I've seen many photographs with cords on hats ,I wanted to make sure they were not used to denote some particular NCO rank like say a sash might , if I decided to use it or not.

[Secesh]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

The image of the Spach brothers does show them with hat cords...HOWEVER ~ That was a specialized unit, most likely wearing headgear pertinent to that particular unit.

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Hi,

Is this the picture you are talking about?

[Secesh]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

That is the photo indeed....Early-War image, identical jackets, identical hats, identical hat cords worn off the back of the hat...It appears to be a specific Early-War uniform for this unit. That being said, and being an early image, it seems hard to justify their usage for mid to late War, anymore than one could justify the use of extensive amounts of hat brass on kepis and forage caps based on the Early-War images of the 1st Texas. Still cringing......

[Rebelkid01]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

There is an image of a dead confederate soldier from Ewells corp. In this image the soldier's hat with hat cord are next to him. May 20, 1864
Gardner Stereo #725

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

Hi,

Here is the image Cliff is talking about.

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Confederate Hat Cords

The image of the Spach brothers does show them with hat cords...HOWEVER ~ That was a specialized unit, most likely wearing headgear pertinent to that particular unit.

It's all pretty typical NC stuff, nothing unit specific at all and its a late war image as well. The boys enlisted four months before the war ended.