American Historical Ephemera and Photography

15 x 12 3/4 x 6 1/4 in. Black wool felt hat with vegetable tanned leather sweat band and painted cardboard label to the interior crown reading "U.S. ARMY/{Eagle atop a cannon and panoply of arms}/EXTRA/MANUFACTURE/7/No. 3." Hat features a double stitched brim, and a black ribbon. (Unissued condition. Item is without mounting holes for insignia or any other accoutrements. There is a small hole to the crown approximately 4 in. above the brim, and a crease to the brim. Interior label remains crisp and clearly legible. Stitching to the sweat band has broken down, with few stitches remaining intact through the band. Leather remains supple with some wastage at the edges, some stains and scratches. Signs of adhesive residue).

The Pattern of 1858 hat, better known as the "Hardee Hat", is named for General William J. Hardee, a career officer in the US Army who later fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Hardee was best known for his widely utilized drill manual entitled Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics for the Exercize and Manoeuvres of Troops When Acting as Light Infantry or Riflemen, which was studied and utilized by both sides during the Civil War. First worn by elements of the 1st and 2nd Cavalry regiments in 1855, the Hardee Hat is most iconically associated with the "Iron Brigade", which fought from the Northern Virginia Campaign all the way to the Battle Appomattox Courthouse. The condition of this hat suggests it never found its way onto the head of a Union soldier, and remained awaiting an owner and an insignia.