Original Item: Only One Available. This is an outstanding original U.S. Civil War Union infantry officer’s slouch hat retaining its period officer’s hat cord and an especially attractive hand-sewn gold bullion 14th Infantry hunting-horn badge. Constructed from fine black fur felt with a narrow silk hat band, the hat survives in remarkably complete condition with its leather sweatband, original-size marking, and much of its delicate trim intact.

The hat is a typical 1860s manufactured hat, made of black fur felt with a very short silk hat band. The hat features an original Civil War officer’s bullion hat cord, which appears to have been placed on the hat for a very long time. The hat shows signs of wear from honest campaign use during the war, with the brim edge now curled upward. Hand-sewn on the front of the hat is a beautiful example of a Hunting Horn infantry badge with a felt black backing and a bullion 14 attached at the center. The silk hat band is still tied off at the end with the ends still intact, rare to see.

The hunting horn was the established infantry branch emblem during the Civil War and is frequently encountered on privately purchased officer headgear with a regimental number placed within the loop of the horn. Comparable surviving Civil War officer insignia are constructed in heavy gold bullion on black felt or velvet with separately applied regimental numerals.

The 14 identifies an infantry regiment bearing that number, but it does not by itself establish a particular state or federal organization. The U.S. Regular Army’s 14th Infantry was one of the additional Regular regiments constituted in May 1861, and official Army lineage records credit it with extensive Civil War service including the Peninsula, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg campaigns.

At the same time, many Union states fielded their own 14th Infantry volunteer regiments. Because officer insignia could consist simply of the infantry horn and regimental number, there is presently no physical evidence on this hat that allows the numeral to be assigned conclusively to the Regular Army 14th Infantry rather than one of those state organizations. Further provenance or identification of the original wearer would be required for a more specific attribution.

The leather sweatband is complete with the small bow at the back, rare to see for a hat of this age. The stitching is still mostly intact though there are areas of loss. The body under the sweatband bears a size tag, reading 7 ¼.

The overall condition is quite nice and there are a few areas of material loss and tearing. Finding honest examples such as this one is rare these days and you do not want to pass up on the chance for this one.

Civil War officers obtained much of their uniform clothing and headgear through private purchase, resulting in considerable variation in materials, shape, quality, and ornamentation. Broad-brimmed black slouch hats were especially popular because they offered greater protection from sun and rain than the regulation forage cap while also providing ample space for branch insignia, regimental numbers, hat cords, feathers, and other privately selected trim.

This hat is especially significant for the survival of so many fragile original components together: the black fur-felt body, silk hat band with tied ends, officer’s bullion cord, hand-sewn gold bullion infantry hunting horn with numeral 14, complete leather sweatband with rear bow, and size 7¼ marking. While the regiment cannot yet be narrowed beyond an infantry organization numbered 14, the quality of the bullion insignia and officer trim strongly identify the hat as an officer-level Civil War headgear ensemble.