Company Letters on Hats

[jakebook]

This is a question I've had for a while. You see photographs with their company number on their hats etc. Was this something only done for photos or was it prevalent in the field.

You can see some letters here on these fellows. The one standing in the back to the left has an H on his cap it looks like. Just was looking for some opinions on this subject.

[Jeremy Bevard]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

A company designation would be a letter and a number for the regiment. When to wear hat brass for an impression will change with the impression. Its important to consider the time and place when looking at whether to wear it or not. Like so much else looking at period photos, primary accounts and records are where the best answer will be found. A quick summary is letters and numbers were worn in the field and not. They were used to identify the soldier to his unit and could become part of his pride in that unit. If issued and lost it could also cost him money out of his pocket. So, no it was not just for photos but when looking at photos consider whether it is a field shot or studio if researching for a specific impression. Hopefully that points you down the road you are looking for to continue looking into the topic and I am sure there is more info on the forum if you dig into the search feature. When I use it I often find other bits of info that are even better then what I started looking for.

[Cumpston1862]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

Hat brass is a touchy subject. And the reason is because it is a big unknown. Simply put did they wear hat brass? Yes. How much and when is where the water becomes murky. I don't think many would disagree that the eastern boys wore more than their counterparts in the west. The commonality of hat brass is a hard thing to nail down because sometimes it was issued and other items were privately purchased. And some guys made stuff in the field.

In the living history aspect as Jeremy mentioned above research should be your guide. If you can document that a unit you are portraying wore hat brass "go to it" but if not best to leave it alone. Everyone pretty much here has seen a bunch of guys at an event with more brass than they should have on and it just looks "off". Much like the picture you shared Jake just in this small group of soldiers there is a variety of brass being worn and in a variety of ways.

A guide that I personally like to keep tabs on but is not a complete indicator is what the guys metal detecting are finding in the ground at different sites. This can give some idea of what kind of buttons, hat brass and guns were being used as long as the site is narrowed to a certain time.

Overall concerning hat brass...less is more. Not to mention punching holes in a $ 100 plus hat can hurt too.

[Kyle O'Brien]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

This question has been a big question for me as well. My main impression is the 20th Maine in 1863. I currently only rock a corps badge on my cap but I have been considering adding a company letter for a while. Im lucky that I have a photograph of company G which is the company I portray. Sadly the photo is of really poor quality so I cant point out really specifics. Excluding Tom Chamberlain in the front the disks on the caps arent facing forward so I cant clearly distinguish whats on it except corps badges.

[Michael Comer]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

Jake,

If you haven't done so yet, try the search engine. This topic has come up from time to time and those discussions can be found by doing a simple search up top. You might some more good info and photos that will help you out.

[jakebook]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

Thanks everyone. Yes, it does seem to be something you see the easterners doing more so than the westerners from the photos I've seen. I'll try doing some searches. I was sure this has come up before. Thanks again everyone.

[Silas]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

An old article, but a good one about hat brass : http://www.westernfederalblues.org/html/insignia.html

[Kyle O'Brien]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

One practice I have seen in some photos is wearing brass on the front of forage caps between the disk and the visor. I portray the 20th Maine and I have seen studio portraits of a few people from the 20th wearing company letters in that manner and even wearing the brass bugle there. What are your guys thoughts? To me it seems like it would be accurate since there is photographic evidence but I would like your guys opinions.I will dig for the photos.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

Hallo!

This is tied in with the longer discussion of the differences between what the Federal (and Confederate) regulations had to say about the "brass" which one might would expect for say Regulars on a formal basis. Versus what state troops or for the larger part state volunteers in particular decided when it came to how strict or lax say their commanding colonel or brigadier might want to see. And that play out some times down to the company level, and then on down to individual men's choices to go with the flow or stand apart and be different.

A good example is the early War Texas Brigade where some of the companies went a bit 'crazy' with what they spelled out in brass on their forage caps while others were less "lavish.

Gold is where you find it. Meaning, if one goes searching for "hat brass" one will find it to various extents and in forms in Period images due to the variety. IMHO, it is better to match the company or regiment being portrayed rather than transferring in what can be found among other units with or without it.

Others' mileage will vary...

Curt

[Don Dixon]

Re: Company Letters on Hats

One of my ancestors was an artificier with the 15th New York Engineers. According to the documentation prepared when he was mustered out, theArmy billed him for his "letters." I would infer that this was probably his cap brass, which he had either lost or which he wanted to wear home.

Regards,
Don Dixon