Campaign Hat

[jimmyj]

Hi:
What era did the Army adopted the "Smoky The Bear" Hat?
In the Spanish-American War the Army Hat was a "Western" style Hat.
In WWI the "Campaign Hat" was here and used thru WWII.
When the Army Uniform became "Khaki" did the "Campaign Hat" began?
Jimmy

 

[max]

There is a history of the hat on Wikipedia. Looks like it was adopted in 1911 along with some sort of sidearm.

 

[labworm]

In 1966, at Fort Gordon Georgia, that is one hat you just didn't mess with.

 

[RonJ]

I think that was called a Cowboy Cap.

 

[jlrhiner]

Actually, it's called a "Montana Peaked" hat and I got mine when I completed WoodBadge.

 

[Coldshooter]

What is the difference between a Campaign and a Montana Hat? I have seen both referred to in the period prior to WW1

 

[Ronald1]

I collect them!
Ron

 

[Ronald1]

next batch

 

[klondike]

The 1889 Campaign hat was to be worn with a center crease. There was a lot of leeway as evidenced by this photo of the 69th NY in 1898. The Montana peak style was soon adopted by the Army however, the Marine Corp kept the center crease until the First World war.

 

[JeffNW]

What is the difference between a Campaign and a Montana Hat? I have seen both referred to in the period prior to WW1

The Montana peaked service hat was sometimes known as the "campaign hat", according to U.S. Army Uniforms of World War II.

According to the above reference:In 1939 the garrison cap was adopted as a standard item for troops, and the "Montana peak" service hat was confined to mounted units and to departments outside the contiguous United States.

 

[Muley Gil]

Here is my reproduction of an early Marine Corps cover. Marines referred to them as field hats. The Eagle, Globe and Anchor started on the side and then moved to the front. The Montana peak field hat was adopted by the Corps around 1912.

 

[JeffNW]

next batch

Ronald1-do the various colored cords signify branch of service?

 

[jimmyj]

Ronald1-do the various colored cords signify branch of service?

In my Father's era (15th. Cavalry, B troop) yellow cord was Cavalry/ Mounted Troop, Blue Cord was Infantry, Red Cord was Artillary, Multi Colored Cord was Mechanial (spi) and Medical was White color.

 

[Ronald1]

Yes.
The first batch from l-r: Cavalry
Chemical
Engineer
Infantry
Medical

Second batch l-r : Machine gun Infantry
Transportation
Quartermaster
Signal Corp
Company Grade Officer

Ronald1-do the various colored cords signify branch of service?

 

[TACC1]

Seems to me, I might've seen some of those...maybe
in San Diego??
TACC1

 

[Rangerpat]

I also saw them at Parris Island. One of the only times I laughed out loud was when my drill instructor's cover blew off of his head and rolled into a ditch... I did pushups for a long time but it was worth it!

 

[JeffF64]

Ronald1-do the various colored cords signify branch of service?

Yes signifies branch within Army, same for the Stetson that you still see some Armor and Cavalry Soldiers wear. Stetson are tradition for cav so at some functions they will allow wear of them mainly ceremonial or some event at Bn or Sqdn level.

 

[safearm]

My Air Force TACP squadron went to Iraq with the Army's 1st Cavalry Division, 2004-2005. There was an entire CONEX (20 foot container) dedicated to packing everyone's slouch (sometimes Stetson, but also other manufacturers) hats. They were worn at specific ceremonies, even in Iraq. The 1st Cav takes their hats seriously.

 

[Ronald1]

The WW1 campaign is somewhat different than current made campaign hats. WW1 EM hats had 5 rows of stitching, slightly smaller and different wave silk band, shape to peak and weight of material. All minor and not that noticable unless you see and collect different models.
WW1 cords were solid colors. Some branches had cords with interwoven colors, (chemical, engineers, medical and so on).
The only exception was machien gun infantry and machine gun cavalry (which had blue cords with red acorns).
Post WW1 cords had cords of one color and acorns of another. Some more changes but not too important for this thread. Ron

 

[Mule Packer]

Actually, it's called a "Montana Peaked" hat and I got mine when I completed WoodBadge.

Like this one?

As was pointed out, "Montana Peak" is just the name of the crease. There are many, many types of creases, all with their own particular name.