Original Item: Genuine U.S. Civil War Cavalry veteran Grand Army of the Republic Chasseur Pattern Kepi. Union Chasseur Pattern Kepi features fabric of dark blue wool broadcloth. The crown stands 3" high at the front, 5.5" at the rear seam and the top is 4 3/8" in diameter, stiffened with a pasteboard. This example has a gilt GAR wreathed hat badge affixed to the front, with a gilt 9 affixed to the chinstrap, likely a post or regiment number. The chinstrap is still affixed to the front by the two GAR buttons.

The flat visor is original to the hat, and composed of black patent leather. It is edged with leather that is stitched in place. There is scattered mothing across the cap, especially at the front. This example is maker marked on the sweatband to Horstmann Bros & Co. in Philadelphia. The sweatband is roughly 50% still stitched to the hat, but it is all still present. There is no size tag, but it’s likely a Size 7.

This is a very good example of a later 19th century Grand Army of the Republic kepi.

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.