Kepi decorations

[jekct1212]

Would a feather be appropriate for a confederate riflemans kepi? Was there any type of decoration like this other than the Bucktail Brigade?

 

[Frederick14Va]

It would be my suggestion to leave the cap plain... One normally doesn't see much evidence of soldiers doing this kinda thing.... Pennsylvania Bucktails.... and Federal Dress Hardee Hats with their Ostrich feather.. was more of an exception than a given rule of habits during that era...

Confederates were typically rare to see hats/caps decorated much... and majority of those that were are noted to be militia or early war period.... It is more of a reenactorism habit to adorn hats/caps with cords, service branch devices, regimental and company identifier brass, fraternal badges, state insignias, spent friction primer wires, and dead animal parts... many times all of the above on the same piece of headgear.... because some think it looks so cool... but in reality to most it looks a bit goofy and rather unauthentic... As the old saying go's... "Less is More"...

 

[Package4]

When in doubt, I would use Echoes of Glory and see what original pieces looked like, like Frederick14VA says less is more.......

You can find EOG at the local library or on Ebay and Amazon. Headgear was meant to be functional and the more c--p put on it meant more to deal with. Frankly I would go with a black slouch hat with optional right side fastened to your state designated or Confederate Rifleman's button and leave it at that. You should also look at Frederick Adolphus' great treatise on Confederate uniforms at Fort Mahone:

http://adolphusconfederateuniforms.com/the-confederate-soldier-of-fort-mahone.html

 

[jekct1212]

All thats on it is a wing feather from a teal (hen) so its not very conspicuous and where can you get the rifleman button?

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

Do you portray Eastern or Western Confederate??.....I read somewhere (I forgot which book) that Eastern Rebs were more likely to have a Company Letter to adorn their hat than a Western soldier. Eaters soldiers more often than their Western Counterpart wore Kepis; whereas the Western soldier was more likely to have a slouch hat.
My advice: leave the decoration off of the hat/kepi....In a good wind or after taking a "hit", your feather will eventually fall off anyway, I am sorry to say......
Also, depending on the state you are in, it could be against the law to possess feathers of migratory fowl, songbirds, etc.....

 

[jekct1212]

Eastern in the south

 

[Package4]

Most of the various sutlers will have them and you can always order them online from Regimental Q'master or S&S. I came close to purchasing an "original" slouch with said button, the button was sewn to the bottom right side of the hat brim and a loop of stranded and twisted thread came off the right body of the hat. The loop was then placed over the brim and button bringing the right side of the hat up similar to the Hardee. I passed on the hat as the sweatband was made of haversack/knapsack material, but many black slouch hats were imported from Great Britain and the brims turned up on the side for firing and let back down for sun cover.