JEB Stuart's hat

[Nathanb1]

I'd like to know why Vicksburger thinks it's a fake. Clearly....no. Looks like him. But I'd love to hear why it's not. And maybe our Stuart expert will show up....

 

[rider]

Welcome. Great questions.

Thanks!

 

[rider]

Hi! Welcome aboard. I'm not an expert on Stuart's hats but the one he lost at Verdiersville was a grey one with a plume - think it was ostrich. It was from his friend on the Union side, Samuel Crawford, who lost a bet with Jeb. When it was lost, Stuart told his wife, "I intend to make the Yankees pay for that hat." But before he did, he had to put up with his men sniping at him - "Whar's yer hat?" and wearing a bandanna!

I can't imagine him riding around in a bandana lol. Of all people to have such a thing happen to!

 

[diane]

Never heard the picture was fake! It's actually very interesting. The rules for mourning allowed for a military style - which would be black crepe around the left arm and the sword hilt. Family mourning is the black band with nothing on the sword. There's no crepe on the sword - he's mourning a family loss. That would be his little daughter, who died of typhoid in 1862.

 

[rider]

Never heard the picture was fake! It's actually very interesting. The rules for mourning allowed for a military style - which would be black crepe around the left arm and the sword hilt. Family mourning is the black band with nothing on the sword. There's no crepe on the sword - he's mourning a family loss. That would be his little daughter, who died of typhoid in 1862.

Wow, great info. I never knew that. I love putting the pieces together. Thanks for the help!

 

[marinegrunt]

marinegrunt,
Could you imagine that thing in summer!

He was probably soaking his face in a creek instead of screening Lee at Gettysburg.

 

[K Hale]

Never heard the picture was fake! It's actually very interesting. The rules for mourning allowed for a military style - which would be black crepe around the left arm and the sword hilt. Family mourning is the black band with nothing on the sword. There's no crepe on the sword - he's mourning a family loss. That would be his little daughter, who died of typhoid in 1862.

I have read that this photo may represent mourning of little Flora Stuart or possibly John Pelham. I tend to think it was "La Petite," as he called her, for the reason Diane gives. I have never heard the photo's authenticity questioned. There are only a handful of photos of Stuart.

As for his hats, I can't really call to mind anything in particular that's not already been mentioned, except that he did wear the black Hardee hat at the beginning of the war (he wore it at First Manassas certainly) that went with his U.S. Cavalry uniform.

 

[K Hale]

I can't imagine him riding around in a bandana lol. Of all people to have such a thing happen to!

Gotta keep the sun off your head. Back then it was considered uncivilized to go around without a headcovering. I read an account once of poor children on some frontier (Texas maybe?) who were pitied for going around with no hats on. The context was that it was extremely ignorant to allow your kids to do that.

 

[K Hale]

Oh my.

 

[K Hale]

marinegrunt,
Could you imagine that thing in summer!

Seems to me like these beards would be very hot in the summer, but perhaps it helps by keeping the sun off your face?

 

[diane]

Seems to me like these beards would be very hot in the summer, but perhaps it helps by keeping the sun off your face?

Seems I read someplace that Stuart wrote Flora to warn her he was growing a beard. He was both pleased and surprised it came in so luxuriously - quite lush! But he said his reason for growing it was protection from the Kansas plains wind. I think I understand that - once we drove through Nebraska during a storm and the wind like to took the hide off all of us! Indians couldn't grow beards, at least not enough to protect the face, so they slapped on ten quarts of buffalo grease. Guess he drew the line there!

 

[K Hale]

Seems I read someplace that Stuart wrote Flora to warn her he was growing a beard. He was both pleased and surprised it came in so luxuriously - quite lush! But he said his reason for growing it was protection from the Kansas plains wind. I think I understand that - once we drove through Nebraska during a storm and the wind like to took the hide off all of us! Indians couldn't grow beards, at least not enough to protect the face, so they slapped on ten quarts of buffalo grease. Guess he drew the line there!

Oh, he already had the beard when he met Flora. He started growing it in Texas with the Mounted Rifles. He wrote home, "My beard (which by the way is in a flourishing condition) has so much altered my physique that you could not recognize me. Davant says that I am the only man he ever saw that Beard improved."

John Esten Cooke, Flora's cousin and sometime aide to Stuart, wrote to Flora during the war and claimed Stuart had shaved off his beard. This so horrified Flora that Stuart had to write to her not once but twice assuring her it was just a joke. Stuart really did not like Esten Cooke...

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

Jeb had a very serious underbite, which means that he had a weak chin. He grew the beard to cover that up.

 

[K Hale]

Jeb had a very serious underbite, which means that he had a weak chin. He grew the beard to cover that up.

Yep, it makes me wonder if he had problems with crowding of his teeth or might have had to have some pulled. One of those unknowns.

 

[diane]

A beard covers up a multitude of defects! Forrest had an overly pointy chin which was hidden nicely by a chin beard, and too sensitive a mouth - that was considered 'womanly' in his world. He, too, had a nice thick beard but coarser hair. At least Jeb could say his was soft!

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

Here's a photo of Stuart without the beard, and you can see the underbite and weak chin. There's a reason why his West Point buddies called him "Beauty." Expired Image Removed

 

[diane]

I've got a question although it doesn't have to do with hats. When he and Flora set up housekeeping and had some kids, he borrowed a couple of slaves from his aunt back in Virginia. Think they were Bob and Maria, but not sure. Anyway, Bob was very satisfactory with the horses but there was a problem with the woman. Apparently she hadn't wanted to come out to Kansas, wanted to go back to Virginia. The Stuart kids were afraid of her and Jeb abruptly sold her for some cruel thing she did to the girl. Whatever it was it was bad enough that he wrote his aunt, who was very elderly, that he sold her because he didn't 'want such a person' around his aunt. Does anybody know what happened there?

 

[rider]

A beard covers up a multitude of defects! Forrest had an overly pointy chin which was hidden nicely by a chin beard, and too sensitive a mouth - that was considered 'womanly' in his world. He, too, had a nice thick beard but coarser hair. At least Jeb could say his was soft!

Forrest definitely didn't look "womanly" after that beard haha. The look in his eyes in those photos is seared into my mind.

 

[diane]

Forrest definitely didn't look "womanly" after that beard haha. The look in his eyes in those photos is seared into my mind.

No, I think anyone who suggested that to him might find themselves picking their teeth up off the floor. He rarely started a fight but sure had no problem finishing one! Forrest came from a culture where if you picked a fight, you might be picking up your earthly tab forever.

Speaking of that, Stuart liked to fight, too. He almost got thrown out of West Point about it and often had wrassling matches in his camps during the war. The good thing with him, though, was you could be fairly sure he wasn't going to kill you - just make his point!

 

[John Davison]

I thought I'd see how many photos I could find with a hat....

Now that is interesting. How did you arrive at that thought? I suppose if he wore it he would have to stuff his right hand into his jacket, as was the fashion. BTW. Why did they all model themselves after Napolean in those photos? Any significance or secret military fraternity salute?