The Famous Hardee Hat

I just picked up a Hardee hat and I look forward to wearing it. But I've noticed that in most original photos, the soldiers have dressed their hats in part (bugles, eagles, etc) or in full (everything including ostrich plume) but many reenactors wear their Hardees with no brass or anything. Is the hat supposed to be undecorated in the field?

Look at more original pics.
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I just picked up a Hardee hat and I look forward to wearing it. But I've noticed that in most original photos, the soldiers have dressed their hats in part (bugles, eagles, etc) or in full (everything including ostrich plume) but many reenactors wear their Hardees with no brass or anything. Is the hat supposed to be undecorated in the field?

In my opinion, it depends on unit, time and place. Here is one of the most historical surviving examples.

Worn by Philander B. Wright, Color Bearer, 1st Sergeant, Company C, 2nd Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, Iron Brigade, at Battle of Gettysburg. Upper crown of hat was punctured through by a bullet while the Regiment pursued Confederates across Willoughby Run. Wright was wounded in the leg during the charge.

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2nd Wisconsin Color Guard.

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How would one telescope a Hardee hat?
Dampen or steam the top portion of the crown. While wet and warm gently push the crown down by rolling down the sides. It will look something like a dish or ashtray on the top. Form the sides so they are even and pinch them at the top to hold the shape. Once complete, press the top upward by reaching from the inside to push up.push only in the center and it will crown. I've attached a pic of one of our unit's Hardee hats. I hope that helps.
 

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I've seen a lot on this thread about the Hardee hat in Western Union regiments.

What about the East?

I understand that the forage cap was the widely preferred headgear for the discerning Union soldier in the Eastern Theater, but I also know that some soldiers swapped it out for something else.

Would this be a Hardee hat, telescoped or not? Adorned or not? Or a regular slouch hat such as would be seen in the Confederate ranks?

To clarify, I am asking about Union soldiers in the Eastern Theater OTHER THAN the Iron Brigade.
 
Here is a photo of the US Engineers, Co. A which we reenact. They are US Regulars and served throughout the war in the Eastern Theater. Issued Hardees, then "forage caps" and you can see there is still a very wide variety of headgear that is neither of the issued forms visible in this photo. Pinning down one particular form of headgear will be pretty tough especially as the war ground on- east or west as the variety is just unbelievable.
 

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I've seen a lot on this thread about the Hardee hat in Western Union regiments.

What about the East?

I understand that the forage cap was the widely preferred headgear for the discerning Union soldier in the Eastern Theater, but I also know that some soldiers swapped it out for something else.

Would this be a Hardee hat, telescoped or not? Adorned or not? Or a regular slouch hat such as would be seen in the Confederate ranks?

To clarify, I am asking about Union soldiers in the Eastern Theater OTHER THAN the Iron Brigade.
They wore a mix of modified Hardee hats, civilian slouch hats and privately purchased campaign style hats. It might have varied by unit, some might've been less uniform than others, but I think brimmed hats were more prevalent in the East than people think.

Here are some other photos of the U.S. Engineers at Petersburg in 1864. Most appear to be civilian slouch hats rather than Hardees though.

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In General, brass on Confederate headgear should be slim to none. very few extent caps and hats that I have seen are adorned with any kind of insignia or device, let alone cords, none have feathers (cept JEB's) and NONE have the coon tails, fox tails, or coon reproductive bones that some Rebs like attaching to thier hats
Well, one should also consider the regulation Hardee hats for the 1st SC Rifles, which, originally, had both a palmetto brass and ostrich feather.
 
The famous Billy the Kid (William Bonney) photo, attached, has been gone over ad infinitum, except for his hat. I think it may be a slouched Hardee. I think all the historical descriptions have Bonney wearing a sombrero, and yet the one bonafied photo, that is not a sombrero, but looks somewhat like a Hardee. I tried to compare the brim in the photo to the prominently-pictured sideplate on the Winchester 73 he has, as maybe a way to relatively determine it (or maybe there's some other way). The left sideplate is 3-1/4 inches, as is the hat brim, but trying to compare the photo, it kinda matches and kinda doesn't. The photo was taken in the 1870s. I recall reading that Civil War clothing was often used for Indian Wars campaigns into the 1870s, but I'm not completely sure if that included old Hardees, or how popular the Hardee may have been with cowboys of the period. While I live at Fort Stanton, NM, in Lincoln County where the Lincoln County War occurred, I haven't been able to find anyone who owns a 73, that I could compare with my Hardee Hat reproduction, which is from Dirty Billy, and was hoping that someone in this forum might be able to do that comparison, or have ideas on the yea or nay as to what kind of hat it is. How might Bonney have come into possession of a Hardee? He was around soldiers much of his short life. At 16, in 1875 he lived in Silver City, near Fort Bayard (1866-1899), and drifted into Lincoln County in 1877 with nearby Fort Stanton (1855-1896).

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Hardee hats were stiff because they were shellacked for waterproofing. Replica hats are not and so are softer. the Army regulations called for the Cavaly hats to be looped up on the right side so at carry Arms, the sabre would not knock the hat off. In 1858 when the Infantry began getting the, the Army was using Scott's tactics, which called for the musket to be carried on the left side at Shoulder Arms. thus, the infantry hats regulations called for the left side to be looped up. fter Hardee's Tactics was adopted and shoulder arms was now on the right but the hat regulations did not change.
 
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