Army and Navy Uniforms and Insignia: How to Know Rank, Corps and Service in the Military and Naval Forces of the United States and Foreign Countries — John Shaqi
Army and Navy Uniforms and Insignia: How to Know Rank, Corps and Service in the Military and Naval Forces of the United States and Foreign CountriesWilliams, Dion
History
Army and Navy Uniforms and Insignia: How to Know Rank, Corps and Service in the Military and Naval Forces of the United States and Foreign Countries
Williams, Dion
Armies -- Insignia; Military uniforms; Navies -- Insignia; United States. Army -- Insignia; United States. Navy -- Insignia
When the Great Rebellion in England resulted in the establishment of
the Commonwealth under Cromwell as Protector in 1653, the New Model
army was established as a national force and, while this force was
clothed in the style of the day, distinctive colors were ordered so
that the whole force was uniform in appearance. The hat of the period
was the high crowned, wide brimmed felt “slouch” hat, and in its
various shapes this head dress has been retained down to the present.
First its brim was pinned up on one side by a rosette of the colors of
the government of the date, then to add to its jauntiness it was pinned
up in three places resulting in the three-cornered “cocked hat” of the
American Revolutionary period, and to-day we see it again almost in its
original form in the modern “field hat” of the United States Army and
Marine Corps, a head dress which is also worn by the British Colonial
troops from Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The wide brimmed hat was not suitable for wear at sea as it “carried
too much sail in a gale,” and the naval officers fastened it up against
the crown on both sides and crushed the crown together in a “fore and
aft” line. In this form the erstwhile “slouch hat” now appears as the
chapeau or cocked hat worn with dress uniforms by the officers of all
modern navies and by the general officers of the United States Army
with full dress uniform.
Cords of various colors were worn around the base of the crown of the
“slouch hat” when it was first adopted, and for ornamentation these
cords had tassels at the ends, while the different colors of the hat
cords indicated the regiment, corps or service of the wearer. These
cords in various colors, depending upon the service or corps of the
wearer, are now worn on the field hats of officers and men in the
United States Army and Marine Corps, as described later in this book,
and the tradition of the hat cord tassels is still kept in the cocked
hat of the naval officer by the gold bullion tassels at the front and
rear peaks. Likewise the influence of the original loop strap and
button for fastening up the brim of the original “slouch hat” is seen
in the United States naval officer’s cocked hat in the shape of the
gold lace strap and gilt button on the side of the crown.
When the Restoration in England brought Charles II to the throne in
1660 a royal army was organized in England, this action being due to
the fact that the success of the revolutionists under Cromwell had
proved the unreliability of the previous system. The standard colors
chosen by the king for his soldiers were red and blue, the colors
of the royal livery, and these colors survive to-day in the British
infantry full dress uniforms of red with blue facings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account