Original U.S. Spanish-American War Battle of Santiago de Cuba M1883 Campaign Hat Inscribed 'SANTIAGO DE CUBA' with Serrated Edge

Item DescriptionOriginal Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a very worn but 'been-there' example of an M1883 Campaign Hat, inscribed along the top'SANTIAGO DE CUBA'denoting that this was certainly worn during and after the Battle of Santiago.The hat has a double-row of stitching along the edge, and has been serrated along the edge as was a popular practice among soldiers in Cuba during the war. The small thin hat band is retained, and there is a remnant of a small patriotic pin to the front, but the hat has very heavy damage and holes across its exterior.There is some wear in the serration and holes to the front and back. The Model 1883/89 hat has air vents punched in the crown that somewhat resemble a snowflake. The two snowflake vents are visible but heavily worn and obfuscated now. These felt hats became symbolic of the Army on the western frontier and today is one of the most highly prized pieces of military headgear.An outstanding example with some damage, but one that was certainly there! Ready for display.The Campaign HatThe origins of the hat can be traced to the 1840s when U.S. Army mounted troops posted to the far-west sometimes wore wide-brimmed civilian hats, which were more practical than the regulation shakos and forage caps then issued. The crease was influenced by the designs of the sombreros worn by the Mexican Vaqueros. The name started to be used after the 1872–1876 regulations, which introduced a black felt hat—which could be drab after 1883—for fatigue use derived from the types popularized during the American Civil War. Some were worn with campaign cords, mainly as a form of decoration.At least as early as 1893, hats of the Stetson Boss of the Plains type were being creased into pointed tops by British South Africa Company (BSAC) scouts in Africa. When designing the iconic uniform for Boy Scouts, Baden-Powell drew on the hat worn by Frederick Russell Burnham, the celebrated American scout, during his service as Chief of Scouts in the BSAC and the British Army in the 1890s. The 1,200 Canadian troops serving under Baden-Powell were the first to wear the campaign hat as a part of their official uniform, and this very likely influenced Baden-Powell's decision to order 10,000 of the hats for the British troops.A version of the hat, with a crease along the top of the crown, was worn by some US Army troops during the Spanish–American War. The army officially adopted the 'Montana peaked' design as a service hat on 8 September 1911.Through the World War I era, the campaign hat worn by American soldiers was fairly soft. Those worn by the United States Army's general officers had a golden cord around it, whereas other commissioned officers had a golden-and-black campaign cord around their hat. Field clerks, as well as their post-war successors the warrant officers, had a silver-and-black cord, while other ranks had cords in their branch-of-service colors. The United States Marine Corps had the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor badge in black at the front of their campaign hats; its officers had an additional golden-and-scarlet cord around their hat, whereas its other ranks had none.By the 1930s the felt was made very stiff with a permanently flat brim. Due to the frequent wearing of helmets in France in World War I, most troops received a copy of the French bonnet de police that became known as the overseas cap. From 1940 onwards, the campaign hat was replaced by the much cheaper American fiber helmet. In 1942 the campaign hat ceased to be issued generally, but it was still commonly found in the Pacific theatre for much of the war, and was the trademark of General Joseph Stilwell.Shipping RestrictionsThis product is available for international shipping.Payment OptionsEligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle