While enlistedmen were issued their uniforms, weapons, and gear, officers had to purchase their own. Purchasing some standard items at cost from the quartermaster was possible, but most relied on commercial suppliers, from individual tailors to large military goods operations like Schuyler, Hartley and Graham. This is a nice example of a commercial, privately purchased forage cap typical of those that might be worn by an officer in the field or even by an NCO or private who wanted something a little nicer than the government issue.

This follows the standard army forage cap in having a top that has a reeded edge rather than being inset in the style of a kepi. The visor is flat, thicker than an issue cap and has a bound edge. The chinstrap is in place, secured by two small general service eagle buttons and is two-piece, with a fixed friction buckle on one end and a standing loop on the other, a form seen on some contract issue caps, and common on private purchase ones like this. The sweatband and lining are in place inside. In contrast to issue caps, the lining is quilted on the underside of the top.

The cap shows wear and use, but is solid and has good color. The fabric on the top is not tight, an indication the cap has been worn in the elements, where rain might soften the pasteboard stiffener for a time. There are scattered pencil-point moth nips overall, some loss of the nap from moth tracking, and some small spots that have been filled in with a matching piece cloth for display. The lower front shows some loss to the surface lower down, but no large holes. The right front shows some tracking and some small holes that were closed up. The wearer’s left side shows the same forward, but less toward the back. The rear shows some light tracking and one or two small, closed holes. The top shows some scattered pencil point nips, light wear to the nap and one spot on the lower front where a small hole was closed up. The seams are good and even where there is wear to the nap, the underlying fabric still has good blue color. The visor shows a slight gap with the body that would be over the wearer’s left eye. The sweatband shows some minor sweat stains and wear with some short tears on the bottom edge, but is all there and in place, as is the lining.

The cap bears a red cloth five-pointed star loosely sewn in place. The age of cloth badges and when they were applied is particularly hard to judge, but this one has a good look in any case, with some crude stitching at the bottom and what seem to be a few tinier stitches in different thread at top to keep it in place. As most collectors will know, corps badges began to appear in early 1863, with the shape indicating the corps and the color the division. In this case the red star indicates the first division of the twelfth corps in the Army of the Potomac and the same division of the twentieth corps after the twelfth and eleventh moved west in Fall 1863 and were amalgamated as the twentieth, which continued to see very active service.

This has some visual appeal, shows some age and real field use, and would add to a uniform display.  [sr][ph:m]

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