American Light Infantry headgearI'm curious what type of headgear is portrayed in these photos -- INA5a and INA6a:
http://www.essexminiatures.co.uk/gal_ina1.html
My light infantry, though not Essex, is equipped with similar hats/caps/helmets. They look like shakos, but that seems wildly unlikely.
They appear to have mis-sculpted the Continental light infantry cap and ended up with a slightly lower version of the British Waterloo shako. The crown should be rounded, as per the cap on the light dragoon below, and the false front less square.
More like this:-
http://www.frontrank.com/big_pictures.asp?prod=1415&pn=1
The drummer has a view of the crown.
http://www.5thpa.org/gallery.html
Similar to these, above? This is what I thought light infantry helmets looked like (well, except for mister shiny, metal helmet back there) -- essentially leather baseball caps with a false front.
The headgear on the miniatures made me wonder if there wasn't some style that I'd missed, particularly after I'd found a second range (Essex) that portrayed this sketchy light infantry "shako." While seeking some explanation, I had even found this monstrosity on on Alexander Hamilton's head in Alonzo Chappel's 19th Century painting. Hamilton is depicted in this image as an artillery captain, but his chapeau still confused me. The front half looks about right for the light infantry style cap, but the aft of the cap looks peculiar with its rearward false plate and visor ... sort of like what would happen if a light infantry cap and a deerstalker had a baby. Yeah, yeah, don't depend on 19th Century material as authoritative -- I hear ya. Still, it confuses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Provincial_Company_of_Artillery
Cornet,
The first pic is difficult to interpret, since the bulk of the group are clearly 2nd Dragoons - this may just be a depiction of the post-1779 legionary version of that unit.
The Hamilton painting is interesting - the logn gaiters clearly don't look right, but the style of cap is one known to have been worn by the light company of the 69th Foot during the AWI (sometimes referred to as a "butterfly" hat), so it is contemporary. I have seen wargames figures listed as "Continental Light Infantry" wearing this kind of cap. If Capt. Hamilton's gunners were attached to the light infantry, they could have adopted a similar headgear.
Colonel Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was the commander of an artillery company, aide-de-camp to Washington, and led the assault against Redoubt Number 10 at Yorktown which was conducted by the Continental Corps of Light Infantry. He is pictured supposedly in the trenches at Yorktown in the picture, hence the field piece and the light infantry cap.
Sincerely,
G
Re: Colonel Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was the commander of an artillery company, aide-de-camp to Washington, and led the assault against Redoubt Number 10 at Yorktown which was conducted by the Continental Corps of Light Infantry. He is pictured supposedly in the trenches at Yorktown in the picture, hence the field piece and the light infantry cap.
Sincerely,
G
You may be absolutely correct. That explanation fits perfectly; however, the actual title of Alonzo Chappel's painting is "Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) in the Uniform of the New York Artillery." I wonder if Chappel named the painting himself, or if some dilettante named it later.
iirc, Hamilton took a turn as a Light Infantry officer sometime after his artillery captaincy. The painter may have conflated the two situations. Or, you may be correct that the Hamilton's NY Provincial Artillery Company may have been affiliated with some light infantry regiment. Dunno.
Do you think these butterfly hats may be the shako-like headgear on my light infantry? The front and back peaks are more subdued on my little brutes. I suspect the sculptor was aiming for this butterfly model but cheated the shape toward something that wouldn't cause trouble for the mold. Then again, the visor is near flat, so maybe I'm totally off base. Do you know which continental light infantry may have used the butterflies? The lace tape on the lower sleeves of my fellows is suggesting Massechusetts Line to me.