Where to get 7th Cav campaign hat?

[Gringo]

Howdy All

Where does one find a copy of the campaign hat Custers boys took to the Little Big Horn with them?

You know the one I mean...The one they shaped into navy hats and had the crease stright down the center for folding

Thanks
Gringo

[Scout]

Gringo,

I don't know who carries them but go to www.dirtybillyshats.com he carries a huge selection of civil war and post civil war hats....has a great campaign hat listed. Has a store in Gettysburg and sells every year at the huge civil war show in Nashville. Drop him a line maybe he can help you. Good luck!

[Gringo]

Howdy Scout

I e-mailed Dirty Bill about his campaign hat.

and was told it's called his Andrews hat. Enlisted model is $150 and officers at $165 + shipping. That seem a little steep to me . Does anyone else have them?

Thanks
Gringo

[One Tin Soldier]

Hi Gringo. Try

www.us7thcavalry.com

Click on Quartermaster and the hats. I don't know if the one you want is there. But it's a great site. And the cost of the 7th U.S. Cavalry hats are about $60. And they look authentic too. While there peruse about a bit. Lots of good things.

[James OLowry]

For Gods sake don't buy those hats from the 7th Cav store. You need and andrews hat to be authentic. Also check with Burgess and company they also sell them.

Jimmy

[danceswithwolves49]

I got my slouch hat from Mercury Supply in Livingston Texas....the Officer type......costs about 54 bucks.

[sgmwhsharrow]

Few places that are decent,

Blockade Runner
River Junction trade Co does union slouch

All these can be found in links on our website

[McIntosh]

These links might help...

www.US7thCavCoF.com/Sutlers.html

www.US7thCavCoF.com/Uniforms.html


McIntosh

[hooty]

For Gods sake don't buy those hats from the 7th Cav store. You need and andrews hat to be authentic.

Read more: lbha.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=indianwars&action=display&thread=1712#ixzz1B3QCLlps

Actually,to be authentic you could use a Straw Hat.They were very common on Campaign during the Hot Summers of the Plains and Andrews Hats were Universally Despised. They were cheaply made, they tended to fall apart when they got wet,and downright ugly.

[Walkaheap]

The Andrews Hat was probably one of the most useless and most despised pieces of military headgear. For enlisted, almost any civilian pattern in grey, brown or black will work. There's also straw but those don't last too long and I think they tend to be overdone for impressions.

Unfortunately, Burgess has been out of business for some time.

[privategump]

In response to Adam's reply:

Yes, many types of private purchase hats were worn but at least some men DID wear the 1872 folding hat (Andrews Hat). At least one was found on the field after the fight. I have a repro 1872 from Dirty Billy and the details are very correct. I'm with Sturgis (Lt. Jack) on that one. It is NOT simply a generic black slouch hat that somebody creased with a hot iron.

I'm also with Adam on the straw hat thing. No, they are not "wrong" but it does seem IMHO that at times they are overrepresented.

Paul Milligan

[Walkaheap]

I don't doubt that some did wear the Andrews hat. :-) I was answering more from a reenactor/what is doable point of view. And while we're at it- hats were pretty much unadorned so forget about all the brass insignia and hat cords that seem to grow like toadstools in the night- that's a bad reenactorism. :-)

Hi Paul! :-)

[privategump]

Hi Adam!

Yeah, it kinda puzzles me sometimes. Guys will complain about the cost of the hobby but they'll just HAVE to have:

hat cords
brass crossed sabers
suspenders when wearing a shirt as an outer garment
gauntlets
extra pistols

All of which are farb (or at least over-represented)

On the hat business: In Ami Frank Mulford's book, Fighting Indians, which is about the 7th Cavalry from Sept 1876 to Dec 1877, he talks about he and his pards purchasing "obsolete hats" from the post trader. I believe these hats were surplus Hardee hats. There well may have been some guys at LBH with them.

[Walkaheap]

And let's face it, cavalry impressions are some of the most abused and farb-prone (which is why I avoided cavalry impressions for many years).

[tootall]

I'm new at this LBH and I would like to know if these two are good sources: Coon Creek Old West & FCSutler