confederate home-made hats

[Wiedemann/McCalmont]

Hello everyone!
I have another question for the forum.

i have an article from Marion, Alabama that states that a gentleman by the name of Deyampert donated about $1200 to Company E of the 28th Alabama. Include in this donation are, "light colored home made hats" that were given to the company. Deyampert had about 60+ slaves in Perry county Alabama. The main article is dated March 7th 1862.

My main question is.....what would be a "home made" hat?
would it be:
1) a fez of some sort?
2) a quilted hat made of fabric?
3) a straw hat?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
This is for pure research into the 28th Alabama infantry's history. Research is difficult to conduct in Ohio.

Thanks everyone!
Capt. Jake Wiedemann
41st OVI/28th Alabama
regimental uniform researcher

[floridawar]

Re: confederate home-made hats

hello, the book "A Blockaded Family: Life in Southern Alabama During the Civil War" (p. 58-59) gives an answer to your question. According to that account:

"There was variety enough of material to make hats for both men and women, palmetto taking the lead for hats for Sunday wear. the straw of oats or wheat and corn husks were braided and made into hats. Hats which were almost everlasting, we used to think, were made of pine straw. Hats were made of cloth also. I remember one in particular of gray jeans, stitched in small diamonds with black silk thread. it was as perfect a hat as ever moulded by the hatter, but the oddness of that hat consisted in its being stitched on the sewing machine with silk thread. All sewing machines in our settlement were at a standstill during the period of the war, as our home made thread was not suited to machines, and all sewing had to be done by hand..."

cheers,

J. Marshall

[Nathan Dodds]

Re: confederate home-made hats

hello, the book "A Blockaded Family: Life in Southern Alabama During the Civil War" (p. 58-59) gives an answer to your question. According to that account:

"There was variety enough of material to make hats for both men and women, palmetto taking the lead for hats for Sunday wear. the straw of oats or wheat and corn husks were braided and made into hats. Hats which were almost everlasting, we used to think, were made of pine straw. Hats were made of cloth also. I remember one in particular of gray jeans, stitched in small diamonds with black silk thread. it was as perfect a hat as ever moulded by the hatter, but the oddness of that hat consisted in its being stitched on the sewing machine with silk thread. All sewing machines in our settlement were at a standstill during the period of the war, as our home made thread was not suited to machines, and all sewing had to be done by hand..."

cheers,

J. Marshall

The Civil War series by Time Life had a hat on one of its pages made from pine straw. If I can find it, I'll post a page number or pic from my phone. Page 171 of Echoes of Glory (Confederate) also shows a brimmed jean wool hat. These could be useful in giving an idea of what they actually might have looked like.