Original Item: Only one available. This is a fine example of a Indian Wars Federal Issue Model 1872 chasseur-style kepi in good condition. As issued to both enlisted men and officer’s during this period. This example has buttons for the Grand Army of the Republic, or GAR, a Post-Civil War Veterans organization. The kepi was direct-embroidered with a bullion Cavalry insignia on the crown, crossed swords.

This Federal Chasseur Pattern Kepi features fabric of very fine blue wool broadcloth. The crown stands nearly 2 1/4" high at the front, 4 1/2" at the rear seam and the top is 4 1/2" in diameter, stiffened with pasteboard. The body of the cap meets a band of wool seamed only at the rear and stiffened with leather. The cap's interior is lined with brown polished cotton which is still mostly attached to the top seam. The Moroccan leather sweatband is 1 1/8" wide. The flat visor is original to the hat, and composed of tarred leather. The original chinstrap is still affixed to the front by the two GAR buttons. There is scattered mothing across the cap, but nothing serious.

This example has a great maker’s label on the interior crown, reading:

LOUIS E. STILZ & BRO.
155 N. FOURTH ST.
PHILADA.

This example still retains its complete sweatband with the size sticker still intact, reading 7¼. This is one of the most well-preserved examples we have offered. A lovely example, ready for further research and display.

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), Marines and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Springfield, Illinois, and grew to include hundreds of "posts" (local community units) across the nation (predominantly in the North, but also a few in the South and West). It was dissolved in 1956 at the death of its last member, Albert Woolson (1850–1956) of Duluth, Minnesota.

Linking men through their experience of the war, the G.A.R. became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, promoting patriotic education, helping to make Memorial Day a national holiday, lobbying the United States Congress to establish regular veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership, at 410,000, was in 1890, a high point of various Civil War commemorative and monument dedication ceremonies. It was succeeded by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), composed of male descendants of Union Army and Union Navy veterans. The Confederate equivalent of the GAR were the United Confederate Veterans.