A FORAGE CAP THAT "WHISTLES DIXIE"

$12,500.00

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 1268-554

Shipping: Determined by Method & Location of buyer

To Order:
Call 717-334-0347,
Fax 717-334-5016, or E-mail

This coffee-colored wool forage cap was discovered in Morristown, Tennessee in 1964 by a Mr. Robert Walter. Based on the pre-war model 1858 cap it certainly is a wool and cotton blend and measures 3 7/8 inches high in the front and it rises to as much as 9 inches in the back. There is a 2 inch long by about 1-inch-wide triangular shaped loss of material at the rear left top of the cap that has been professionally filled in (This is discussed in Polly Willman's restoration report). The disc on top is 5 inches in diameter. A reed stiffener runs up the back. The top disc has a welt around it of gold metallic braid. The top disc is internally made of pasteboard.

The interior of the cap is lined with a mustard-colored cotton or fine linen. The sweat band is made of brown glazed leather and is about 70% intact. It shows deterioration but has been professionally stabilized. All the original sewing thread holding the sweat band had deteriorated and the band has been hand-tacked (re-attached) in place. The visor is made of cotton and is glazed black. About 40% of this glaze remains. There is a black glazed cloth binding around the visor. This visor is 1 1/2 inches deep. Underneath it is lined with a glazed mid-tan colored cloth. The working chinstrap is made of black patent leather and is 1/2 an inch wide. There are loops on either end while the impression remains of a now missing decorative buckle. Two bone side buttons are resewn into place.

A letter of observation dated May 28, 2001, by Les Jensen concluded the following: "Based on over thirty years of study of original examples, this item is, in my opinion, a fine example of an original Civil War period kepi, probably Confederate, and very likely cavalry, from Tennessee. Congratulations on a fine acquisition.". The cap soon was sold to Mr. Ray Richey owner of the renowned Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth. In 2018/19 the cap was sent for treatment and restoration to Polly Willman of Gaithersburg, MD. Both the Jensen and Willman reports pass to the buyer with the cap. Our conclusion is that the cap is certainly Confederate and possibly an officers, with the ubiquitous metallic braid around the crown. It is not to this compiler's mind a certainty that it is cavalry, but it is a museum piece with a fantastic impact.  [pe][ph:L]

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