First Hawai'ian Cavalry, 1855

[AndyHall]

A colleague returned recently from a trip Hawai'i, and brought me a copy of Neil Bernard Dukas' A Military History of Sovereign Hawai'i. This was a neat image, although not very strictly CW:

Major Henry Neilson (l.) and Lieutenant Paul Manini (r.), First Hawai'an Cavalry, c. 1855. The First Hawai'ian Cavalry was organized in response to a riot by thousands of sailors off the whaling ships at Honolulu.

The book says the uniforms were purchased from France, and were essentially off-the-shelf, including French Imperial Eagle emblems. The colors are not recorded, but a few years later, after having been disbanded and then re-organized, they wore a "Garibaldi costume" with a red shirt and blue pants. Image source: Queen's Hospital Museum.

 

[major bill]

Very interesting. Does anyone have thoughts on these uniforms?

 

[major bill]

I am not certain without research that the jackets really look like French officer uniforms of 1855. We must have people on the forum with more knowledge on 1855 era French officer uniforms.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Back when I thought Michenor wrote History, ( Nate cured me of that in big hurry ) read ' Hawaii '. A lot on the old missionary families, wish the cavalry had been brought up. What a great image, thank you!

Rats, Andy, really? Something else to go poke around in. Behind those uniforms is a great story, ' What happened in Hawaii in 1855 '.

 

[Burning Billy]

Was their uniform similar in color to that of the Hawaiian Royal Guard?

Royal Guards at the Iolani Barracks, 1890

The Royal Guard of the Hawaii National Guard in the dress uniforms mimicking those of the 19th Century

The Royal Guard of the Hawaii National Guard is an Air National Guard ceremonial unit which re-enacts the royal bodyguards of the Kingdom of Hawaii in the 19th Century and disbanded when the monarch fell at the end of the 19th Century. The original 50 men unit was reestablished by King Kalakaua to guard the King; previously the guards had been disbanded by Lunalilo after the barrack mutiny of 1873.

The current Royal Guards were created in 1962, a unit is made up of Hawaiian resident Hawaii Air National Guardsmen, who are either full Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian ancestry. The current unit is ceremonial unit only and serves the Governor for official State functions and other public functions.

Royal Guards of Hawaii

They also wear red:

 

[Larryh86GT]

Nice ornate hats in the photo.

 

[JOHN42768]

The plume has got to go

 

[CW Watch & Sword Guy]

A colleague returned recently from a trip Hawai'i, and brought me a copy of Neil Bernard Dukas' A Military History of Sovereign Hawai'i. This was a neat image, although not very strictly CW:

View attachment 176397
Major Henry Neilson (l.) and Lieutenant Paul Manini (r.), First Hawai'an Cavalry, c. 1855. The First Hawai'ian Cavalry was organized in response to a riot by thousands of sailors off the whaling ships at Honolulu.

The book says the uniforms were purchased from France, and were essentially off-the-shelf, including French Imperial Eagle emblems. The colors are not recorded, but a few years later, after having been disbanded and then re-organized, they wore a "Garibaldi costume" with a red shirt and blue pants. Image source: Queen's Hospital Museum.

They look like they have jellyfish stuck to their helmets on skewers. Well, there's an ad on TV that claims something in jellyfish is good for your brain. Why not?

 

[major bill]

How many people who you talked to who are wearing jellyfishs on their heads were not highly intelligent? I have not met one person wearing a jellyfish on their head who was not bright.

 

[mofederal]

They do look like Second Empire uniforms I have seen. I have seen a few, but not many. I can't find a good image of the uniforms.

 

[James N.]

... The book says the uniforms were purchased from France, and were essentially off-the-shelf, including French Imperial Eagle emblems...

I am not certain without research that the jackets really look like French officer uniforms of 1855. We must have people on the forum with more knowledge on 1855 era French officer uniforms.

Nice ornate hats in the photo.

They do look like Second Empire uniforms I have seen. I have seen a few, but not many. I can't find a good image of the uniforms.

Although apparently French-inspired, I seriously doubt these are actually from France. The metal helmet looks almost exactly (aside from the plume) like one I've seen attributed to South Carolina milita, Charleston Dragoons I believe. The swords are exactly like those carried throughout the states by militia officers; the eagle head pommel is more an American motif than a French one in this period. The over-the-shoulder strap is for a dress cartridge box of exactly the same kind offered by U.S. Military Outfitters like New York's firm Schuyler, Hartley, and Graham in their 1864 catalog. Although these resemble French Second Empire lancer uniforms they look too much like many U. S. militia uniforms worn by well-heeled units before the war both North and South.

 

[Copperhead-mi]

They look like they have jellyfish stuck to their helmets on skewers. Well, there's an ad on TV that claims something in jellyfish is good for your brain. Why not?

That's exactly what I thought when the picture started opening from the top. Jellyfish!

 

[NBDukas]

A revised edition of A Military History of Sovereign Hawai'i was released on August 1, 2020. The caption for the photograph that is the subject of this thread was updated to read:

"Daguerreotype of Major Henry Neilson (left) and Lieutenant Paul Manini (right), First Hawaiian Cavalry, circa 1855. The First Hawaiian Cavalry was organized in response to a riot by thousands of sailors off the whaling ships in harbor at Honolulu. The troop received royal sanction December 17, 1853. The uniform is typical of that worn by city militia cavalry in the eastern United States. The elaborate plumes atop the helmets, however, are a hand-painted fiction. Light dragoon helmets, such as these, had either a simple horsehair "mane" streaming from the back of the crest or a woolen "comb." A tragic side note to this photograph is that in 1859, Henry Augustus Neilson, a member of Kamehameha IV's staff, was shot by the king in a pique of anger and mortally wounded.
— Hawai'i State Archives, PP-53-2, #17,844"

 

[CW Watch & Sword Guy]

How many people who you talked to who are wearing jellyfishs on their heads were not highly intelligent? I have not met one person wearing a jellyfish on their head who was not bright.

Of course, the first time you actually meet a person wearing a jellyfish on thier head, you will no longer be able to say that.

 

[John Hartwell]

This comes from Records of members of the Grand army of the republic, with a complete account of the twentieth national encampment (1886) by William H. Ward (p.551). The book contains brief sketches of hundreds of G.A.R. members who attended the National Encampment held in San Francisco that year.

This sounds like the 1st Hawaiian Cavalry actually offered their service, as a unit, to the Union.

I wonder how many members made their was to the U.S. and, like Lt. Dimond, volunteered as individuals.

 

[EHParks]

A revised edition of A Military History of Sovereign Hawai'i was released on August 1, 2020. The caption for the photograph that is the subject of this thread was updated to read:

"Daguerreotype of Major Henry Neilson (left) and Lieutenant Paul Manini (right), First Hawaiian Cavalry, circa 1855. The First Hawaiian Cavalry was organized in response to a riot by thousands of sailors off the whaling ships in harbor at Honolulu. The troop received royal sanction December 17, 1853. The uniform is typical of that worn by city militia cavalry in the eastern United States. The elaborate plumes atop the helmets, however, are a hand-painted fiction. Light dragoon helmets, such as these, had either a simple horsehair "mane" streaming from the back of the crest or a woolen "comb." A tragic side note to this photograph is that in 1859, Henry Augustus Neilson, a member of Kamehameha IV's staff, was shot by the king in a pique of anger and mortally wounded.
— Hawai'i State Archives, PP-53-2, #17,844"

Hmm, the King commiting manslaughter and geting away with it was never mentioned in my Hawaiian history classes...

 

[EHParks]

This comes from Records of members of the Grand army of the republic, with a complete account of the twentieth national encampment (1886) by William H. Ward (p.551). The book contains brief sketches of hundreds of G.A.R. members who attended the National Encampment held in San Francisco that year.

View attachment 466627​

This sounds like the 1st Hawaiian Cavalry actually offered their service, as a unit, to the Union.

I wonder how many members made their was to the U.S. and, like Lt. Dimond, volunteered as individuals. Oahu College was the precurser to Punahou the private school Barack Obama attended

The Kingdom of Hawai'i was officially neutral and no troops were ever raised or offered other than a few individual missionary kids who volunteered. The unit mentiond was known as the "Honolulu Rifles" and was converterd into infantry and was raised well before the US Civil War..

There is a lot of spurious history associated with the Kingdom that came from later generation exagerating their family connections to the Royal family after the fact.