Original Item: Only One Available. This is a wonderful example of the famed “Daisy Mae” denim work hat. There is no tag present but as these were produced towards the end of the war in brown, this dates between 1917 and 1918. There are faithful signs of service wear without any extensive damage. This is truly a wonderful offering!

The earliest mention of any type of fatigue or work hat is just a specification number without any other details. Based only on that the “Hat, Blue Denim”, specification No. 1009, adopted on January 21, 1909 was the first U.S Army issued fatigue hat. Because it was designed and issued to be worn in conjunction with the 1908 Blue Denim Fatigue uniform it was obviously intended to be used exclusively only by enlisted men of the Coastal Artillery Corps.

There was a specification change made to the Blue Denim Hat in 1910, but that remains unknown. However, other evidence suggests that perhaps the hat bearing the specification No. 1102, adopted on December 23, 1910 was identical to the 1909 pattern hat except the specification change allowed it to be manufactured in olive drab instead of blue denim fabric so it could be worn by branches of the Army other than the Coastal Artillery.

The Fatigue Hats were initially known as: “Hats, Blue Denim” from 1909 to around 1913. By 1915, the name had changed to, “Hats, Denim”, which was used up to and possibly after 1917. The name was changed sometime between 1911 and 1913 to indicate that the hats were no longer being made from just blue denim. The word “blue” was dropped to signify that the hats were now being made in more than one color, for example, blue (1909 to 1919), olive drab (1910 to 1917), brown (1917 to 1918).

This example is in very good condition, with some dirt stains and light wear. It may have been laundered, as there is some fabric deterioration on the other side of the seams.

Comes more than ready for display!