Zesty Drill: a History of the Campaign Hat

all right now listen up you lead bottom time wasters you are going to learn about hat or I will make you drop down and give me 50 hello and welcome to another episode of the Hat historian in this video I'll be talking about a hat that has become an iconic part of some uniforms particularly in North America a campaign hat [Music] the campaign hat is characterized by its round flat brim and distinctive four dimpled pointed top called a Montana Peak which sometimes earns it the nickname lemon squeezer due to its resemblance to the EM it is most famously worn as the uniform hat of US military drill sergeants or instructors US Park Rangers some American state police forces and the dress hat for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police amongst others so how did it evolve the campaign hat emerged in the 19th century in America and was originally simply one of the many types of slouch hat worn by the settlers making their way across the American West who wanted good sturdy headwear to protect them from the elements in these Wide Open Spaces as I mentioned in my video on the cowboy hat the only particular feature of what would eventually become the campaign hat that differentiated from others was the four dimpled Montana Peak which was made by pinching the top of the crown on four sides to make it into a point it is said to have been inspired by the sombreros of Mexican vakos who tended to shape their hats this way and whom the pioneers and settlers would have encountered on their travels especially in the southwest this type of crease was popular as it was effective at keeping off rainwater which due to the shape was unable to pull and soak through the Hat it also created a tall Crown which could with the help of small ventilation holes draw heat away from the head in warm weather the practicality of the slouch hat led to it being widely adopted by many men traversing the wide expanses of the American West starting in the 1840s and with this movement of people there were many soldiers sent by the US government to protect the settlers and pacify the region which was generally a polite way of saying to kick out the natives these soldiers would often adopt a slouch hat in replacement of the shakos or Forge caps of their official uniforms as these latter were less suited to protecting from the harsh elements out west and being further away from the capital meant that they were given some more leeway about form regulations though there existed many different ways of shaping the crown with some going with a pinched Cavalry style so seen on the modern Cavalry ston While others wore the Montana Peak giving the Army its first campaign hats one group that became particularly fond of them were the Buffalo Soldiers black regiments of the US Army that were often sent to patrol the frontier after being used by both sides during the Civil War the slouch hat finally was given some official recognition in 1872 as a fatigue hat in the new Army regulations which which also finally gave it the name campaign hat though it differed from the modern version in that it was made of blackf it was then also made in a drab color in 1883 originally it was officially to be creased in a four and half style which was vaguely reminiscent of modern calan style cowboy hats though many men still gave it the Montana crease in order as I said earlier to keep the water off it better around this time in the late 19th century officers of the British Empire began to notice the Practical nature of this hat for use in some of the colonies particularly those with harsh sunny weather in Canada Africa or Australia and New Zealand one man who popularized them in Africa was Frederick Russell Burnham an American Scout in the service of the British South Africa company as Chief Scouts who wore his Stetson hat from the famous John B Stetson Company in the Montana style he picked up in his timeout West this quickly caught on around him particularly during the first and second matab Wars in 1893 and 1896 during this latter conflict he encountered a British officer named Robert baten Powell who was quite admirative of his style and quickly adopted a similar hat for his own troops and it became an iconic part of his personal style which he revived later as we shall shortly see the campaign had was also widely adopted by the Canadian troops that were under his command who had first encountered it in the planes through contact with Americans and were then encouraged to keep wearing it by him the campaign had continued to be used by British troops throughout the Bor wars in the turn of the 20th century but was also widely adopted elsewhere Baden Powell being very fond of this style first extended it to the South African constabulary when he was appointed its head but more famously in 1908 he started what would become the worldwide scouting movement and in his early concepts for the Boy Scouts he sketched uniforms of the kind he wore in his army days including campaign hats which became one of the most distinctive headgear options for them I mentioned the Canadians a moment ago and so should cover one of the most famous group groups to wear the campaign hat as part of their uniform the officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police mounties wear as part of their red surge uniform the Stetson a tan colored campaign hat with a brown leather band the RCMP is descended from the Northwest Mounted Police a force established to maintain Law and Order in the vast Canadian Center and North they were outfitted with British style military uniforms which included a red tunic and their official headgear was a white Foreign Service style pth helmet of the same kind worn in many British colonies however the officers soon found that this hat was Ill suited to the changeable weather of the Canadian prairies as while it protected some from the heat of the Summer sun it did not cover much of the face and neck and was of little use in the rain or snow therefore outside parade grounds where the official uniform was worn the men tended to substitute a large brimmed hat similar to that worn by their counterparts in the United States to the South which they often creased in the Montana Peak style these were usually private acquisitions and many God dares from the John B Stetson Company leading to them being referred to as Stetson similar hats as I mentioned previously were worn by Canadian units fighting in Africa during the B Wars which included many men who had served in the Northwest Mounted Police the Stetson campaign had remained an unofficial piece of equipment until 1904 when after pressure from the men and even the commissioner of the force alsworth Perry it was made the official headgear of the Mounted Police an interesting aspect is that it differs from the American version as when viewed from above the dimple forms an X while the American version they form a plus the campaign had continued an American military service through the Spanish American war where it proved useful under the hot cuban Sun though the creases were still desperate and the Montana style was only on some of them as can be seen on some of the famous Rough Riders the Montana Peak campaign had became official with its adoption as the service hat on September 8th 1911 finally defining it and separating it from the slouch hats of old of which it had always been almost a subset it became an iconic part of the look of the Dough Boys American soldiers sent to fight in World War I however with the realities of trench warfare it was soon replaced in the field with steel helmets and reserved to rest wear behind the lines while up front a garrison cap was worn when the helmet was not needed around the time of World War I a version with a smaller brim was also adopted by the New Zealand Army often with a colored pger or band of cloth around the crown didn't noing service Branch after World War I it continued to be used by the US Army with officers adding service cords to it and sometimes branch of service colors or in the case of the Marine Corps the eagle globe and anchor Insignia the brim of these hats while generally flat was still relatively soft drooping slightly at the front and back it is only in the 1930s that it started to be pressed flat and stiffened giving the brim the dis shape that it is associated with today it was also during the years between the wars that the campaign had became associated with us Park Rangers the men guarding the parks in the early days were often former military particularly Cavalry members with many Buffalo Soldiers joining the ranks out west in Y national park and they brought with them military style uniforms including the four dimpled hat it was described as part of the park service uniform in the 20s though not actually officially described with its distinctive hatband until 1930 at this point it became part of the pike Ranger look cemented with the appearance of the famous anti-fire mascot Smokey the Bear in 1944 were seen sporting the famous hat in the Army by the 1940s it began to be replaced for sun protection by the cheaper pressed fiber helmet a form of the pth helmet before being discontinued altogether in 1942 that didn't stop it from being worn especially in the Pacific by many older veterans with some making at their trademark such as general Stillwell another group that widely adopted the campaign hat was American law enforcement this was particularly true of State Police and Highway Patrol forces police uniforms have always been strongly inspired by military Styles and these forces as opposed to the city police departments were traditionally more out in the countryside and in the outdoors and thus adopted a hat that would better protect them from the Sun they therefore adopted the campaign hat so popular amongst Rangers frontiersmen and the Cavalry usually having a fil version for the winter and a straw one for the summer some Canadian Provincial Police forces did the same after World War II it was absent for a time from the Armed Forces however as new training systems were put in place they sought a distinctive item for instructors to allow them to be easily recognized by new recruits the campaign had which had been withdrawn from General use seemed perfectly suited for the role being traditional yet distinctive and martial the Marines were the first to adopted for their drill instructors in 1956 followed by the Army in 1964 and the Air Force in 1967 since then the campaign had has instilled respect and fear in new recruits and drill sergeants and instructors have worn it with pride knowing the instantly recognizable appearance it gives him will make a new Soldier snap to attention at a glance the campaign hat is still widely worn as uniform headgear to this day as I just said drill instructors and drill sergeants treasure their Brown rounds slanting it far forward so that the recruits can never quite see where their eyes are looking and pressing the brim tightly so that it is flat and rigid as a board these hats usually include a strap that goes behind the head to help it keep it on while it is only worn by male instructors in the Army and Air Force female marine di also wear the campaign it is also still widely warned this day by various police forces both in the for those who choose and want a slightly distinctive looking style from a simple practical hat design inspired by Mexican vakos to help keep the Sun and Rain off its wearer in the great Open Spaces of America to a sharp and distinctive uniform element and symbol of authority in the outdoors the campaign hat has firmly established itself in the public Consciousness and will no doubt remain part of uniforms for a while to come I hope once again you found this video interesting and we'll join me again soon for another hat until then I tip my hat to you

Channel: HatHistorian

Views: 30,949

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Id: nwRIzYp7yOU

Length: 12min 2sec (722 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 01 2024