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IDENTIFIED 1890’s OFFICER’S CAMPAIGN HAT WITH
BULLION OFFICER’S HAT CORD – NAMED TO CIVIL WAR VETERAN
AND COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE NATIONAL
GUARD MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH M. CLOUGH – VERY NICE PIECE:
Having served with gallantry during the Civil War, and
being brevetted to the rank of Brigadier General at the
end of the war, Major General Joseph Messer Clough
continued his military service as a brigade commander in
the New Hampshire National Guard, and this officer’s
campaign hat dates from those years of later service.
Gen. Joseph M. Clough was born in New Hampshire in 1828,
and was raised in New London where he would spend the
majority of his life. He attended Norwich University in
Vermont and returned to New London in 1857, assumed the
role of military instructor at Colby Academy, and
commanded the City Guard at Manchester, and was a member
of the City Guard at Lowell.
On April 26, 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War he
enlisted as a private in the 1ST New
Hampshire Volunteers and was appointed as a lieutenant
in Company H. He re-enlisted in the 4Th New
Hampshire Infantry and was promoted to captain of
Company H. He participated in numerous battles to
include: Pocotaligo, Morris Island, Siege of Forts
Wagner and Sumter, Petersburg, Bermuda Hundred, Drewry’s
Bluff, Weir Bottom Church, Cold Harbor, Hatcher’s Run,
Deep Run, Petersburg Mine, Fort Stedman and the capture
of Petersburg in March of 1865. During his service he
was wounded twice. Wounded in the mine explosion at
Petersburg, July 30, 1864, he was discharged the
following September, but after less than a one month
convalesce, he accepted a commission as a Lt. Colonel of
the 10Th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment. He
was wounded again at Ft. Stedman in March of 1865, but
remained on active duty until he was mustered out of
service on July 29, 1865. Upon mustering out he was
brevetted to the rank of Brigadier General of Volunteers
for brave and meritorious service. He was recommended
for appointment to the rank of 1ST Lieutenant
in the regular army, passed the military examination,
but his health would not allow him to accept the
commission.
Clough returned to New London and for the next 13 years
was employed by the United States Railway Service
running out of Boston to Lancaster and St. Albans, VT.
From 1877 to 1884 he was served as a brigadier general,
commanding the 1ST Brigade of the New
Hampshire National Guard, and in 1909 he was appointed
to the rank of major general by Governor Quinby. He
represented the town of New London in the New Hampshire
State Legislature in 1866 and 1897, and in the 1881-82
session he represented his district in the state
senate. After a lifetime of service to his country and
his home state, Gen. Clough died at home in May of
1919.
This, the
General’s officer’s pattern campaign hat, is very
similar in style to the one worn by Gen. Nelson Miles
and shown on page 131 of Hats Off – Head Dress of the US
Army 1872-1912, by John Langellier. Identified to the
General by his last name, which is fully legible and
written in ink in his own handwriting on the inside of
the front of the leather sweat band. His signature is
confirmed through an autograph card that accompanies the
hat, but was acquired through a separate source, signed
by Clough in 1902, which documents his service:
“Gen. Joseph M. Clough
1 ‘ Brigade
…………..
74 years of age weight
220 lbs
Served in 3 regt 1’ NH
4’ NH and
10’ NH Residence New
London NH”
As indicated
by the gold embossed maker’s mark on the sweat band,
this hat was sold through Allen B. Currier Hat Shop,
which is listed in the 1885 and 1905 Boston,
Massachusetts City Directory as having a hat and cap
shop at 709 Washington Street.
Stitched to the inside of the hat, under the sweat band,
is a complete and legible union maker’s label,
indicating the hat was manufactured by members of the
United Hatters of North America, a union established in
New York in 1896 as the result of the merger of the Hat
Makers Union and the Hat Finishers Union – both
affiliated with the Knights of Labor. The United
Hatters of North America ceased to exist as an
independent union in 1934 when it merged with the Cloth
Hat, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union and
the United Hatters Cap and Millinery Workers
International Union was formed. Using the dates of the
formation of the United Hatters of North America and the
date of Gen. Clough’s passing, this hat can be dated to
have been made between 1896 and 1919.
The hat has survived in
very good condition, though having obvious signs of
being worn. Having a definite pinched creased crown,
and a sloping brim, the hat has retained the shape in
which it was worn and has not been crushed. The wool
felt is in excellent condition with no hard spots, no
cracks or tears and no mothing. There are a few small
spots of soiling, but nothing more than would be
expected in any hat that has seen wear. The leather
sweat band is still completely attached to the body of
the hat, with some wear to the front upper edge of the
band, and some light staining around the bottom of the
band. The union maker’s label and the hat size sticker
are still both present, full form and legible.
Finishing the hat is the original officer’s black and
gold bullion hat cord that is complete with the bullion
slide and both acorn tips. The bullion is aged and adds
a nice appearance to the hat.
Accompanying the hat is the
souvenir autograph card signed by Gen. Clough; copies
of photographs of the general - taken of during the
Civil War and one during his tenure with the New
Hampshire National Guard; New Hampshire State archive
records detailing the history of Clough and his family;
a data sheet on his grave in New Hampshire with a photo
of the headstone; and a photocopy of his death
certificate.
This is a very attractive
officer’s campaign hat that has survived the passage of
time in remarkable condition, with the significant added
value of being identified to a Civil War veteran of some
note. SOLD
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