Among the many treasures found at the American Merchant Marine Museum located at the United States Merchant Marine Academy is the chapeau of the first Superintendent of the Academy, Captain James Harvey Tomb (U.S.N., Retired). Often, naval officers had their funeral viewings in full regalia, with their dress hats laid on their chests; it is possible this hat was on Captain Tomb’s body while he laid in state at the Academy prior to his burial. The hat’s accession number suggests its donation to the Academy around the time of Captain Tomb’s funeral service in 1946. The hat was later transferred to the Museum at its institution at has been in storage ever since. I had the privileged opportunity to examine it.
The chapeau – also known as a “bicorne,” “cocked hat,” or “fore and aft hat” – was once worn by commissioned officers in the United States Navy. Captain Tomb’s hat, model (M1886), was authorized for full dress and special dress in 1886. In less than a century, full dress ceremonial uniforms – along with the chapeau – were suspended per a directive on October 12, 1940. The hat was written out of U.S. Navy uniform regulations in 1947, and the once undress cap (the familiar naval officer combination visor cap) became headwear for all official and ceremonial functions, with the garrison hat, in turn, taking its place in the naval officer’s wardrobe.
Captain Harvey S. Tomb’s chapeau is constructed of silky, black beaver fur with a gold tassel at the aft end of the hat. Of note: chapeaux have a set of two tassels and this hat is missing one. The brim of the hat is bound by a strip of black silk lace; this lace is present on both sides of the brim. By contrast, a flag officer would have gold braid stitched along the brim. Over the fan is a loop formed by two parts of an inch and three quarters-wide bullion braid – a width accorded to officers below flag ranks. The braid covers the remnants of a black silk cockade and is secured to the hat body with a pre-May 1941 gilt dome-button. The fans are secured together with two ribbons tied together in bows just above the tassels; a variation found with other hats have the fans held fast with a bolt of black thread. Since the hat was conserved with tissue paper, I did not remove the paper to inspect the inside to determine the manufacturer. Overall, the chapeau is well-worn and a bit frayed; but it remains a stunning object from a uniform tradition of a time long past.
N.B.: Often, chapeaux are stored with dress epaulets and sword belts in steel or tin carrying cases; this hat was stored apart.
The image below should be titled “Parts of Captain Tomb’s Chapeau M1886.”
Here is a visual aid to the parts of Captain Tomb’s chapeau with commentary; the cockade – a ruffled circular notion – would be centered and located underneath D. with its edges barely visible. Why Captain Tomb’s cockade is missing has been lost to history, as has the second tassel. The braid should not have a gap in the middle of the loop, rather relatively flush with a hint of the cockade between the two. In terms of wear, D. would have the leading edge point forward. The side of the hat not shown is free from any ornamentation excepting lace along the edge of the fan. As for the lace, black lace 1-inch in width would be worn by ensigns to lieutenant commanders; commanders and captains would have 1.5-inch lace; admirals would have gold lace all around the edges instead of the black silk.
Collection item: Hat, Chapeau, United States Navy, Commissioned Officer (non-flag)