| Winston Smith | 02 Mar 2015 2:08 p.m. PST |
I have a few Knuckleduster War of 1812 American militia who are wearing top hats. Would these work in the AWI as back woodsmen ? |
| MajorB | 02 Mar 2015 2:14 p.m. PST |
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| The Gray Ghost | 02 Mar 2015 2:58 p.m. PST |
I've never heard of a top hat being worn in the AWI era |
| Pan Marek | 02 Mar 2015 3:41 p.m. PST |
Cut off the hat, use some green stuff to model knit caps. |
| Sundance | 02 Mar 2015 6:43 p.m. PST |
I wouldn't have even thought it was that early, but if Wikipedia says so… |
| Winston Smith | 02 Mar 2015 7:48 p.m. PST |
Then what were all those French trappers doing going after beaver pelts from ca 1650 on? |
| Druzhina | 02 Mar 2015 8:36 p.m. PST |
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| Sundance | 02 Mar 2015 9:19 p.m. PST |
Top hats weren't the only ones made of beaver. |
| historygamer | 03 Mar 2015 10:31 a.m. PST |
Top hats were generally made of silk, which is what put the fur trade out of business. There was a gentleman's hat in the 1770s that looked like a wider, shorter version of a top hat, but it was civilian dress and not a top hat per se. |
| Major Bloodnok | 03 Mar 2015 11:33 a.m. PST |
Tall crowned hats had come and gone by the 18th century, and then the crowns start to go up in the 1790's, but a true "top hat" is 19th century. They can fur felt (not just beaver), silk, straw. |
| Rudysnelson | 03 Mar 2015 1:14 p.m. PST |
As Major B points out, the top hat during the 1812 war and in the era around it, is most often called the Beaver hat. Very common in the Napoleonic era. Some people, when reading clothing or uniform descriptions think of the coonskin cap with or without a tail when they see the term Beaver hat. The item was very popular for some State raised militia of the ear. |
| Supercilius Maximus | 03 Mar 2015 2:09 p.m. PST |
There is a Rabbie Burns poem/song called "Hey, Johnnie lad, c0ck up your beaver!" Not widely sung nowadays for some reason. link |
| Sundance | 03 Mar 2015 5:45 p.m. PST |
Yes, the beaver trade went well into the 1830s if not later. |
paints brigs for the British fleet.