Original U.S. Spanish-American War Navy Officer’s M1895 Forage Cap with Bullion Insignia by Horstmann of Philadelphia - Size 7¼

Original Item: Only One Available. A new forage cap introduced in 1895 was similar to the caps worn by firemen and train conductors, and did not find favor with the troops. A solid brass branch insignia with a screw-post fastener on the reverse replaced the Pattern 1872 branch insignia in 1896. In May 1898, at the start of the Spanish-American War, the Army adopted a khaki cotton field service uniform based on the British pattern. Because of production problems, no khaki uniforms were issued prior to troop deployment during the Spanish-American War and almost all uniform items were still in “Union Blue” wool.

This is a very interesting Size 7⅛ M1895 officer’s forage cap certainly meant for wear by an officer of the U.S. Navy, with two gilt Navy buttons holding in the bullion rope chinstrap. The front of the cap has a gorgeous bullion cap badge consisting of U.S. NAVY over crossed anchors surrounded by laurel leaves. This is a badge we have never seen before, nor could we find any comparable example, making for a good research project.

The interior shows heavy wear, but we could barely make out the logo of Wm. H. Horstmann Company of Philadelphia within the “Bullseye” stitch pattern. There is a size sticker on the sweatband for 7¼. The sweatband is partially torn away from the cap, but is still well-retained overall.

Cap is in overall good condition, and comes ready to display in your Spanish American War collections!