Hardee hat

He is also said to have designed the so-called Hardee hat about this time.

The Hardee hat was also worn by Confederate soldiers.

The Hardee hat was inspired by the headgear of the Danish Army.

Western units like the Iron Brigade preferred the Hardee hat as its wide brim provided protection from the sun and rain.

Gibbon quickly set about drilling his troops and improving their appearance, ordering them to wear white leggings and distinctive black 1858 regular army Hardee hats.

Trousers with a fly front replaced the older-style flap-front design and kepis and Hardee hats replaced the M1839 Wheel Cap.

All were noted for their hard fighting and dashing appearance, being among the only troops in the Army of the Potomac to wear Hardee hats and long frock coats.

Confederate Cavalry troops often wore Hardee hats, much like the Union Cavalry which was a representative of the additional "flair" associated with the Cavalry troops.

In the Union Army, the most prominent wearers of the Hardee hat during the war were the soldiers of the "Iron Brigade", also known as the Black-Hats.

They were known early in the war as the 'Black Hats' because of the black Hardee hats worn by the soldiers, rather than the blue kepis worn in most other units.

The Hardee hat, also known as the Model 1858 Dress Hat and sometimes nicknamed the "Jeff Davis", was the regulation dress hat for enlisted men in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

In the early days of the Old West it was the bowler hat rather than the slouch hat, centercrease (derived from the army regulation Hardee hat), or sombrero that was the most popular among cowboys as it was less likely to blow out off in the wind.