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In the Civil War the M1858 forage cap, based on the French kepi, was the most common headgear worn by union troops even though it was described by one soldier as "Shapeless as a feedbag". [ citation needed ] There were two types of brims: the first, called the McClellan cap was flat; the second, called the McDowell cap, was curved.
Corps badges in the American Civil War were originally worn by soldiers of the Union Army on the top of their army forage cap , left side of the hat, or over their left breast. The idea is attributed to Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny , who ordered the men in his division to sew a two-inch square of red cloth on their hats to avoid confusion on the ...
A cap copying the French Kepi was the prescribed headgear for all three branches of the land service, adorned with the various branch of service colors, but Confederates preferred the slouch hat and surviving photographs show that as many or more men wore some type of slouch hat than wore the prescribed cap, especially as the War progressed.
A plate showing the uniform of a U.S. Army first sergeant, circa 1858, influenced by the French army. The military uniforms of the Union Army in the American Civil War were widely varied and, due to limitations on supply of wool and other materials, based on availability and cost of materials. [1]
The forage cap became the most common form of cap worn by U.S. regulars and volunteers during the American Civil War, though it is most commonly associated with the eastern theater of the war, since western troops generally preferred broad-brimmed felt hats (see photos of Sherman's army parading through Washington D.C. at war's end).
To distinguish the troops of his regiment, Merrill mandated a unique uniform. The front of the tunic featured a "horse-head" panel trimmed in cavalry yellow. The mandated cap was similarly unique: a sky-blue forage cap, with an orange welt (the branch color of pre-war Dragoon regiments) in honor of Merrill's service in the 2nd Dragoons.
During the Civil War most soldiers found the black felt hat to be too hot and heavy and shunned its use, preferring a forage cap or slouch hat. [citation needed] The unadorned, plain and often field-modified Hardee hat was, however, worn by Union troops, especially in the Western theater.
The zouave uniform of the 146th. This regiment at first wore the regular dark blue New York state jacket, light blue trousers, and dark blue forage cap, but when the veterans from 5th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, a famous Zouave unit, were transferred to the 146th New York, the regiment switched over to the colorful Zouave dress on 3 June 1863 at Falmouth, Va.