Richmond Clothing Bureau Caps of 1861-1863

By Craig Schneider and Conor Timoney

Background

A relatively large number of military caps issued to soldiers serving in Virginia in 1864 and 1865 via the Confederate Quartermaster Department in Richmond survive today. This fact is not surprising, for as Dr. Milstead noted in his study of Richmond Clothing Bureau products, “Like jackets, to veterans preserving their ‘army cap’ or hat was more symbolic of their service than, for example, saving their drawers or socks.”(1) Indeed, it appears that more than a dozen of the over 27,000 pieces of headgear issued to the Army of Northern Virginia in the third and fourth quarters of 1864 and early weeks of 1865—those that would have been brought home by solders at the conclusion of the war—are identified in public and private collections. While the features of these late-war blue-grey satinette or imported British kersey caps are familiar to many that posses an interest in Civil War material culture, less is known about the headgear issued by the Quartermaster Department to soldiers serving in Virginia in 1861, 1862, and 1863. This study will provide a brief overview of military cap production in Richmond in 1861 and highlight the few original examples of military caps issued in Virginia in 1862 and 1863 that have survived.

1861

From roughly May 1861 until January 1862, the Quartermaster Department purchased fatigue caps which were issued to troops serving in Virginia. These were obtained via contract from Ellett & Weisiger and Frank Binford, hat and cap manufacturers located on Main Street in Richmond. Contracts were let for two types of fatigue caps for the Army. The most common type was a grey fatigue cap costing the government 87 ½ cents apiece, plus a small fee for crating and drayage to the Clothing Depot Warehouse about 15 or so blocks down the street. The other was a similar blue fatigue cap costing between $1.25 and $1.50 each, which made up less than 10 percent of total cap production.(2)

Despite having produced many thousands of these fatigue caps, there is no known surviving example with an Ellett & Weisiger or Frank Binford marking. Following the paper trail associated with the issue of government clothing reveals a number of units who were provided with caps manufactured by the firms, which in turn helps to identify Ellett & Weisiger and Frank Binford fatigue caps in photographs of members of those units in 1861 and early 1862. Most notably, the files of the officers of the Texas Brigade show that virtually every man in the brigade was issued these caps in September 1861. In a remarkable stroke of luck for modern researchers, the requisitions and receipts for this large issue of caps were processed by Captain J. B. McClelland, the officer in charge of the same Clothing Depot Warehouse to which Ellett & Weisiger and Frank Binford delivered their contracts. Images from throughout the brigade that winter show men wearing both dark colored (presumably blue) and lighter colored (presumably grey) fatigue caps—almost certainly Ellett & Weisiger or Frank Binford caps.(3)

These “Prussian” style forage caps, as they were often referred to in the period, were of a unique style popular with not only officers of the various German states, but in civic clubs and educational institutions as well. By the time of the American Civil War, the caps (that are known today to many as “McDowell” caps due to their association with the U.S. Army general photographed wearing one) had become popular among U.S. Army officers and would be widely worn by officers and enlistedmen on both sides of the conflict, who purchased them from military clothiers. These caps were typified by a patent leather crescent or “police” style visor that convexed to fit the forehead, a tall body exceeding 4 ½ inches tall, and a large disc that often exceeded 5 ½ inches in diameter. The discs were also notable for the manner in which they sloped forward, often touching the visor itself.

1862

“I am making Caps and presume can meet the demand.” -Major Richard P. Waller, Richmond Clothing Bureau

On January 24, 1862, the Confederate War Department issued General Orders Number 4 clarifying the uniform regulations for the army. The War Department’s initial instruction from General Orders Number 9 of June 6, 1861 noted only that enlistedmen were to wear an unspecified “uniform cap.” The new “forage cap” of the Army Regulations was to be neither the style worn by the U.S. Army, nor the “Prussian” pattern being contracted for by the Quartermaster Department in Richmond, but “Of the form known as the French kepi.” The new kepis were to all have a dark blue band, with the color of the sides and crown indicating the branch of service of the wearer: dark blue for General Officers, officers of the General Staff, and engineers; red for artillery, light blue for infantry, and yellow for cavalry.

Presumably upon receipt of the order, the Quartermaster Department in Richmond ceased its contracts with Ellett & Weisiger and Frank Binford for “Prussian” caps, with the final delivery on their existing contract arriving at the Clothing Depot Warehouse in February. Shortly thereafter, expense reports for the Richmond Clothing Bureau show that “cap visors” and “cap fronts” were being purchased under contract rather than completed caps; upwards of 6,000 per month. While it is unclear if any of the visors and “fronts” (possibly chinstraps) were purchased from Ellett & Weisiger, Frank Binford did accept at least one contract to produce visors, as well as to complete caps made from government-supplied materials. It is apparent that the Richmond Clothing Bureau was purchasing the more complex cap components it could not produce itself to be joined with cloth or cloth pieces cut in house for distribution to their seamstresses and local cap manufacturers.(4)

One kepi from the Richmond Clothing Bureau’s early in-house production survives. It can be identified through the similarities it shares with the known examples from the facility’s 1864 and 1865 kepis: an identical pattern for the body of the cap, one of two different sizes of die cut pasteboard visor covered with enameled cloth with enameled cloth binding sewn into place with a heavy-duty sewing machine, an enameled cloth chinstrap, an enameled cloth sweatband, and identical construction techniques. With a high quality blue wool broadcloth band and red wool broadcloth body, the color scheme matches the 1862 War Department specifications. The only notable differences between this cap and the later versions are the use of a brown Holland linen lining as opposed to plain cotton osnaburg, and the addition of both a brow welt and green paint under the visor—minor fine details that later wartime production would understandably eliminate later. The buttons are cuff size U.S. Army staff officer buttons, likely from existing stocks of buttons readily available in Virginia in the earlier part of the war.


On November 7, Major Richard P. Waller, the officer in charge of the Richmond Clothing Bureau, reported shortages of wool cloth to the Assistant Quartermaster-General. He further noted that only a small amount of the English woolens they had contracted for had arrived through the blockade by that point.(5) While caps were but a small portion of his overall operation, these shortages would certainly have an impact on the caps issued to the armies in Virginia in the coming year and beyond.

1863

In January 1863, Major Waller detailed the costs of the Clothing Depot operation which were incurred on a monthly basis. About a half million dollars’ worth of goods were purchased in a month, with just over an additional $60,000 spent mostly on labor expenses. Of that, about $1,800 was utilized for uniform cap manufacturing. His primary focus was on the acquisition of woolen yard goods, which necessitated a large portion of his efforts be put into securing raw wool to supply the mills he contracted with. Major Waller’s largest contracts for yard goods early in 1863 were with the Eagle Factory in Columbus, Georgia, mostly for woolen cloth woven on a cotton warp; Crenshaw & Co. in Richmond, mostly for wool and wool on cotton warp cloth; and the Scottsville Manufacturing Company in Scottsville, Virginia, mostly for wool on cotton warp cloth.(6) Most of the mills he contracted with were provided with logwood dye and copperas mordant by the government, which would produce a grey cloth. Most also produced small quantities of undyed or “drab” cloth, which varied in color based upon the color of the sheep from which the wool came. In addition to logwood Kelley, Tackett, & Ford of Manchester, Virginia received madder red dye, and delivered some red and sky blue cloth to the Confederate Quartermaster in Richmond.(7)

Several extant examples of Richmond-made kepis reflect a shift away from the likely short-lived regulation color scheme kepi. These caps exhibit the use of the more readily available grey cloths the Quartermaster Department was contracting for in large quantities for jacket and pants production, and more limited use of branch of service-colored cloth. While of an identical pattern to both the 1862 artillery kepi and the known 1864 and 1865 kepis, certain features clearly differentiate these caps from the later versions. While green enameled cloth was no longer used on the underside of the machine sewn visors, the visor welt was still present. The cloth is coarse and appears to be mostly of domestic manufacture as opposed to the English goods used in most later caps. The cap linings vary, and reflect what the Quartermaster Department could acquire locally at the lowest cost (and likely couldn’t use for other garments) instead of the government-made osnaburg seen in later caps.

The first of two artillery kepis that depart from the regulation pattern was made from vegetable (likely logwood) dyed plain woven wool that has since faded from grey to brown, with the band, visor welt, and crown made from a rather low quality red wool broadcloth. The lining is a printed cotton calico fabric, and the buttons are cuff size U.S. Army enlisted buttons; both materials being available from existing stocks and less useful on other items of clothing.

The second artillery kepi was an even further departure from the previous standard. Made of a dark grey wool on white cotton satinette fabric, the red wool branch of service trim was limited to only the band of the cap. Despite the reduced use of red cloth, the red wool visor welt was still present. The lining was made from a tightly woven undyed linen or Holland, and like the former cap, used U.S. Army enlisted buttons on the chinstrap.

The only blue infantry-trimmed Richmond Clothing Bureau kepi known to survive is similar to the preceding artillery kepi. The bright sky blue wool broadcloth trim was limited to the band. A scrap of blue wool twill that did not match the band in weave or color was utilized for the visor welt, reflective of the wartime economy of cloth. The body of the cap was made from a vegetable dyed plain woven wool similar to the artillery kepi it matches in trim pattern, likewise faded from its original darker grey. Brown cotton silesia lines the body of the cap while a piece of enameled cloth lined the crown. The chinstrap buttons were from old stocks of brass civilian buttons.

Two other surviving Richmond Clothing Bureau caps omit the branch of service trim entirely. The first was made from a fine vegetable dyed wool on white cotton jeans fabric that has faded from a darker grey to brown. A printed cotton calico was utilized to line the body of the cap, and enameled cloth lined the crown. The chinstrap buttons are U.S. Army enlisted buttons.

The second surviving example was made from a dark grey wool on white cotton jeans fabric with a visor welt made from mismatched vegetable dyed jeans that has faded from grey to brown. The body of the cap was lined in cotton osnaburg while the crown was lined in enameled cloth. The chinstrap buttons are antebellum brass civilian buttons.

1864-1865

As the later caps produced by the Richmond Clothing Bureau are quite numerous and have been detailed in several other works, each example will not be discussed here. The examples here are shown only to illustrate the transition from the earlier styles to the later well-known type. This transition largely mimics those seen in other garments manufactured by the Richmond Clothing Bureau: the reduced availability of domestic woolen goods and the increased reliance on imported British wool. These British woolens were typically of a blue-grey or dark cadet color and were coupled with osnaburg linings. The visor welt was omitted, and buttons were of a large variety ranging from bone, glass, and tin utility buttons to imported brass military buttons. Artillery caps usually were produced with either a red broadcloth band and crown or a red broadcloth body with the band and crown instead made of blue-grey woolen fabric. While many plain blue-grey kepis survive, no late-war infantry or cavalry branch of service trimmed kepis are known to exist and it is possible that they were not being produced at all.

Footnotes

1. Milstead, Richard M. “Richmond Depot Clothing – Volume II, Characteristics and Anomalies: More Jackets, Pants, Drawers, and Shirts.” www.libertyrifles.org. 2021.

2. Business file, Ellett & Weisiger and Citizen file, Frank Binford; Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, Record Group 109: National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

3. Compiled service record, John C. G. Key, Captain, and others; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, Record Group 109, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

4. Compiled service record, Richard P. Waller, Major; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, Record Group 109, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Business file, Kelley, Tackett, & Ford, Crewnshaw & Co, and others; Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, Record Group 109: National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.