corresponding with that on the coat, and of the precise 

 ]3attern of that deposited in the office of the commis- 

 sary-general of purchases. The enUsted men will also 

 wear a cliakos of the same pattern, in lieu of foraging 

 caps, trimmed with worsted braid, like that on their 

 coats. ^'' 



It would be interesting to know the reason for calling 

 this cap a chakos in this strangely worded regulation, 

 since it is so utterly foreign to the accepted "shako" 

 pattern. The word itself is borrowed from the Magyar 

 c'sako, and traditionally designated a tall, formal, 

 peaked military hat.^' 



Eight of these caps have been examined, all basically 

 identical except that the tops of four are of two-piece 

 construction and the others of four-piece (figs. 20-22). 

 All are of dark blue wool. The tops measure 1 1 /a 

 inches in diameter with twenty cords of twisted worsted 

 binding radiating from a button in the center o\'er the 

 sides and terminating in a 2^4 inch headband. The 



headbands, which are backed with burlap and faced 

 inside with cotton ".sweats," are edged top and bottom 

 with J4 irich worsted braid. Three of the sweatbands 

 are of twill weave, five of plain weave. The braid on five 

 is in a herring-bone pattern, that on the others is plain 

 ribbed. The \isors, or "pokes", 2;4 inches wide at the 

 front center and lO/o inches from side to side, are of 

 painted leather and are .sewn directly to the headbands. 

 Each cap has a metal grommet covered with plaited cot- 

 ton, and none has either a chin strap or a flap in back to 

 cover the neck. None carries a maker's label or an 

 inspector's mark. The cloth portions of these caps, like 

 the uniforms of the period, were cut out under the direc- 

 tion of go\ernment inspectors and parcelled out to local 

 seamstresses for piecework assembly, thus no makers" 

 name appears. 1 he visors were furnished and attached 

 on contract by leather goods makers."" The worsted 

 braid on three is white for infantry, on the other five, 

 yellow for artillery'. The twisted worsted binding on all 



Figure 20.— Forage Cap. 1825-1832. 



23 



