Civil War Pattern 1858 Chapeau

Chapeau de Bras ID’d to Charles R. Bernett, West Point Class of 1868

After being dropped as a regulation item in 1851, the officers’ chapeau prescribed in the 1847 regulations was reinstated for dress in 1858 “for all general and field officers at their option.” The rules were modified in 1859 to include the option of a “light French chapeau” with a lower, more rounded profile. This chapeau is consistent with the 1858 pattern. The chapeau is constructed of faux beaver fir and lined with black silk. A gold embroidered riband with staff officer’s button and eagle cockade pin secure a black grosgrain cockade in place. Ornate bullion tassels adorn each end of the hat, with an ostrich plume running around the crown. An old handwritten note found inside the brim identifies the hat to Colonel Charles R. Bernett, a West Point graduate of the 1868 class with a long career in the Army.

CHARLES R. BARNETT:

Born Sep. 4, 1844, Warrensburg, MO.

Cadet at the Military Academy, Sep. 1, 1864, to June 15, 1868, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to Second Lieut., 5th Artillery, June 15, 1868.

Served: in garrison at Ft. Macon, N. C., Oct. 1, 1868, to Feb. 5, 1869, — Ft. Adams, R. I., Feb. 9, 1869, to Mar. 10, 1870, — Ft. Trumbull, Ct., Mar. 10 to Oct. 1, 1870, — Ft. Adams, R. I., Oct. 1, 1870, to Oct. 1, 1872, — Ft. Sullivan, Me., Dec. 1, 1872, to Apr. 17, 1873, — Ft. Monroe, Va. (Artillery School for Practice), May 1, 1873, to May 1, 1874, — Ft. Adams, R. I., June 3, 1874, to May 1, 1875, — Madison Barracks, N. Y.,

(First Lieut., 5th Artillery, May 1, 1875)

May 12 to Nov. 26, 1875, — and St. Augustine, Fla., Dec. 2-20, 1875; as Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Pennsylvania Military Academy, Chester, Pa., Jan. 1, 1876, to July 1, 1881; awaiting orders, to

(Captain, Staff — Asst. Quartermaster, Feb. 18, 1881)

Oct. 8, 1881; on leave of absence, to Oct. 8, 1882; as Asst. Quartermaster, Omaha Depot, Neb., Jan. 1 to May 17, 1883, — Post Quartermaster, Ft. McKinney, Wy., to Jan., 1884, — Depot and Disbursing Quartermaster, Portland, Or., to Nov. 13, 1887, — Asst. Quartermaster, Department of Arizona, Nov. 22, 1887, to Apr. 13, 1888, — Depot Quartermaster, Baltimore, Md., Apr. 19 to Dec. 20, 1888, — and Asst. to New York Depot Quartermaster, to Oct. 1, 1889; and on leave of absence, to –––––.

Served: As assistant to Chief Quartermaster, Department of the East, Governor's Island, N. Y., from Aug. 2, 1890 to Nov. 16, 1894.

(Major, Staff — Quartermaster, Feb. 11, 1894)

Depot Quartermaster, Washington, D. C., Nov., 1894 to Sept. 3, 1895. — Constructing Quartermaster at Cheyenne, Wyo., Fort D. A. Russell, Wyo., and Fort Sill, Okla., from Oct. 1, 1896 to April 27, 1897. — Jeffersonville Depot, Ind., of the Quartermaster's Department, from April 30, 1897 to –––––

(Lieut.-Colonel and Chief Quartermaster, U. S. Volunteers,

July 16, 1898)

(Lieut.-Colonel, Staff — Depot Quartermaster-General, Nov. 3, 1898)

(Honorably discharged from Volunteer Service, Dec. 15, 1898)

Jeffersonville Depot, Ind., of the Quartermaster's Department, from April 30, 1897 to Oct. 3, 1898 and in charge of same depot to Sept. 30, 1901. — Depot Quartermaster at St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 1, 1901 to Mar. 4, 1902. — On leave March 2 to May 3, 1902. — On sick leave from May 4 to July 5, 1902.

Died July 5, 1902, at Battle Creek, Mich.: Aged 58.

See Annual Association of Graduates, U. S. M. A., 1903, for an obituary notice.

Buried, West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY.

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Inventory Number: UNI 104