What is a Tricorne/Cocked Hat?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2018
- The cocked hat (popularly called the tricorne) is, quite possibly, the most iconic and immediately recognizable symbols of the 18th century and colonial American history. But while we're all familiar with the symbol...what actually is a cocked hat? How are they held in shape, and why were they always worn sideways by soldiers but normally by civilians? All this and more, in an unnecessarily long discussion about cocked hats!
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I say we should bring these back into fashion.
Carrie Ames lol In that case, my life would be complete.
There is absolutely nothing, apart from your own fear of people's reaction, that prevents you from wearing one every day. :)
These are The kind of hats we wear for our high-school marching band.
Agreed
as a different option, and going off of advice from Lindybeige, you could also buy a cheaper felt sun hat and then cock it as you desire. amzn.to/2C9q4Sz Of course, I expect that it will be a softer felt but I feel like softer felt is going to be more comfortable for everyday wear.
There may come a day when I'll get all of my points across quickly and efficiently without repeating myself.
But it is not this day.
Where can I get that hat?
But it's not this day! This day we fight!
May that day never come!
Victor Aguilar check out "The Townsends" reenactment youtube channel. They have an online store for 18th century reenactors.
Hope springs eternally.
Is a tricorn hat three times more awesome than a unicorn hat?
Four times.
I don't know but it's a third more awesome than a bicorne.
yes
Damien Paroski 3x *as* . 2x *more* .
Unicorns don't wear hats. The horn makes holes in it.
From what I understand the cockade was used generally to designate the country you were fighting for. (Especially important if your troops didn't have the luxury of proper uniforms.) That was certainly true with the French army of the Napoleonic wars. The Napoleonic cockade was made of 3 concentric circles of red, white and blue. Under the monarchy I believe they were only white. As a side, the French army under Napoleon also wore a 'pom pom' on the front at the top of their shakos which was color coordinated to the company within the fusilier battalion to which the soldier was assigned. Green for the first company, blue for the second, Orange for the third and purple for the fourth. I'm not familiar with other armies of the period so I can't speak to their use of the cockade.
It mightn’t be improbable to see a militia man wear a cocked hat like a civilian, especially if they had not yet/just have been sent to war. Militia were, after all, notoriously ill disciplined. I read an account of a North Carolinian militia officer in the French and Indian War who complained that, although it was required by law that all militia men own a musket or rifle and bring it to musters, most of his men were armed with pointy sticks.
mightn't
Did it say what part of North Carolina he was from?
Militia get a bad rap. Everyone was in the militia in every colony. They trained every month using the same drill as the regular army.
Pointy sticks can be very useful at close quarters.
Pointy sticks? They survived training with the fruit? Survived the tiger and the 16-ton weight? Incredible! That would be something completely different!
th-cam.com/video/4JgbOkLdRaE/w-d-xo.html
The Prussian army used cockades as well. However every regiment had different designs in terms of hat decoration.
Privates had no cockades. Instead, they had a single brass button where the cockade would be.
The buttons had no regimental numbers on it. Instead, every regiment had different colored "pom poms".
To distinguish ranks, the regiments had different colored and different shaped tape along the outside of the hats.
Depending on the regiment:
- Privates had either white or black tape.
- NCO's had either white or golden tape.
- Officers had either golden or silver tape, often times with ornaments along the outside. Some higher ranked officers also had white feathers added to the tape.
Many officers had cockades, although that depends on the regiment. Some had only a brass button.
In the Prussian army, there was no rank insignia for the officer ranks. So a Lieutenant had the same uniform as a Major.
Also: In 18th. century Prussia, they already called the hats "Dreispitz" which translates to Tricorne. :)
Hey, thanks for those informationen! Were the prussians the only ones to distinguish ranks or were others german nations doing so as well?
I'm currently trying to learn as much about the tricorne/Dreispitz in Germany as possible.
@Tonitiger 赤の虎 Since many German states were inspired by the Prussian uniforms, for example Hessia, Mecklenburg or Brunswick, they used the same system and often times almost identical uniforms.
I believe in Saxony and Bavaria, they used the same system, but with different uniforms. But I don't know for sure, since the Bavarian army was always pretty "unique".
@@MusketierPeter That's quite interessting. Can you tell me from where you got those information? I'd like to read into that :)
Drei = 3 + Spitz = point or angle.
Corner = Eck or ecker.
Dreispitz = 3-Point(spitz is singular), or literally a tri-angle.
What did King Frederick say? Something like “Crowns are just hats that let in the rain.”?
Friedrich II of Prussia did indeed make that quote. The exact quote you're looking for is ''A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.''. I believe he said that sometime in his later life as a reflection to his coronation in 1740.
Friedrich II Thank you, Your majesty. I knew I could count on you.
You're most welcome.
You are my favorite Teaboo. Love your content.
I really do wish 18th century fashion world come back.
Are you volunteering to wear a corset?
MAKE IT!
@@storkravingmadthermian6689 no, I'm a guy so I would wear the long coat and the tricorn hat
@@cahoutcharles961 well men had to wear corsets too later on
@@sambulls When?
In my younger years I used to be a historian and I especially focused on military history for my personal (rather than professional) studies and I must commend you on your channel and your detailed presentations :applause:. I actually learned something here (about wearing the hat sideways to avoid clocking it with your musket!).
"Bright sunny you know, terrible environments" HA
You know, there's a simple reason why some things are the way they are and that's because it's in the regs. Simple as that. Now, as to why they are in the regs, it's because some high muckety muck liked it that and so had it written into the regs.
Btw, have you or could you do a video on the British uniforms of the period that you reenact and how to tell rank. If there's one thing that really fascinates me when it comes to military uniforms is how to tell what rank a person is.
Riceball01 Good idea, that is a very interesting topic .
It's so funny that soldiers too had a particular, abnormal way of wearing their hats. Of course, as you most elequintly demonstrate, they had a good reason for it; sailors wore their hats turned backwards, but for no utilitarian purpose that I have ever found. It was purely a fashion choice, a way to proclaim to the world that you were a tar and proud of the fact.
Keeps the point of your hat out from interfering in your work. You're stooped, you're leaning over rigging, you're climbing the shrouds - you don't want the point banging off stuff. If you wear it backward, you can be stooped and still see forward, lean over rigging or climb without banging it off stuff, etc.
The point also covered the back of the neck somewhat. You're gonna get your face wet, may as well keep the water from running down your back.
I love the way you describe the smallest of details. You have a way with sowing the viewer into the information shared. Either through narrative or simple fact.
You’re a true historian. I’m not sure if that’s what you’re going for, but yeh. I even shared your channel with my brother. Specifically Grapeshot and Ship of the Line. You genuinely are a wealth of knowledge that continually astounds me. I’d pay a solid dollar to take a look at your bookshelf.
I’m unsure if you’ve got this book, but Clive by Robert Harvey may stoke your interest. It’s a fascinating read about a British fellow from early childhood to later years.
Lots of good information Brandon. Excellent tutorial and something’s I’ve always wondered about. As I’m a history buff, I’ve subscribed to your channel and looking forward to more tutorials on your kit and uniform. Thank you.
I remember for the original Lego pirates set (late 90s), the ads often showed the british military and civilians wearing tricorn hats but at different angles. It might not have been consistently, but I remember that the detail was always a little fascinating.
.
Thanks for the history lesson, Brandon.
This entire channel agrovates me on how much Brandon goes i to detail.
You are a charming and entertaining fellow Brandon; I do always so enjoy your presentations. Nice job 😊
wow, thank you so much!! I was just looking for an eplaination about the strange angle of the tr....ehm...cocked hat!
Great videos of yours, indeed! As you can guess, english is not my language, so my compliments to you, because your polite and plain style let me follow your videos quite easily!!
Thank you very much, again.
Wonderful informative video, Brandon. Video subject for you - I and I'm sure many others would love to see you talk about your favorite or recommended books.
Thank You Brandon! All Good, Useful, and Informative! Great job!
The moltern wool is actually hardened after the sewing of the three edges. This is done via the layering of the contemporary equivalents of shallak and liquid resin. The more layers you put on, the harder and stiffer the headpiece becomes. This is one of the reasons why shakos of the 19th century were harder and far stiffer than your cocked hat, because of the increased number of layers. Your point about the "tape" is correct. The tape is used to prevent any sort of fraying or damage to the edges of the headpiece. One of the reasons why you don't see many civilian tricornes with edge lining is simply because of the conditions they'd be expected to be in. Military tricornes, of course, would have been open to more elements than the common towns-dweller's headgear 😂
I love your channel and info Brandon.
I've Followed your videos for a few years I can promise you have an enthusiasm that ensures I will seek you out
This is the most interesting video about a hat that I've ever seen!
*laughs in Ushanka*
Not really.
I just like the -Fedora- USHANKA I got for my birthday.
I got one for Christmas but it got stolen ):
I wear mine everyday the ushanka is the best hat
Nice hat
Thanks.
Thank you for the great demonstrations of how to wear hat😊
As far as I kown. In Sweden during the great nordic war at least. (My main intresst) Did the tape alsowe show regemental belonginga to. With different colours.
And as far as I know swedes did wear their hats pointing forward. But not the grenadiers. That wore a cap so their hat would not hinder their throw.
But I can be wrong of cause. I have not yet got my hands on any docements from the royal armory. Really need to take time to go there and look around.
4:04 Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Great video as always!
How interesting and educational and I was wondering why Washington was depicted in paintings with the hat “sideways”. Thank you for this video, it is great!
I was indeed curious about the cocked hats. Thanks for explaining that.
Cockades were to distinguish nationality, originating from a time before nations adopted distinct national colours for the majority of their uniforms. Even when national uniform colours had been adopted, many nations wore the same colour as other nations. For example, in the period of the Seven Years War the Austrians, Spanish and French all wore white uniforms. But the French had white cockades, the Spanish wore red and the Austrians wore black and yellow cockades. Therefore you could recognise the nationality of the wearer at least from a distance where he got near enough to shoot at.
I recall reading somewhere that the American forces in the revolutionary war originally wore black cockades like the British but then added a white strip of cloth when they became allies with the French, thus having a black and white cockade. By the war of 1812, European armies still wore small circular national cockades but by this time the difference in colour and style of uniforms used by these armies made cockades less important as a form of recognition in the field.
Great video! Very informative!
Love that new marching intro
Excellent video! I feel like a hat expert now! But I have a question; what were some of the reasons why cocked hats were replaced with shakos by the Napoléon is wars?
Pie Does Roblox perhaps it was to scare the enemy by making themselves look taller
Or maybe it was to differentiate themselves from other regiments
Shakos originated with hungarian hussars and were first issued to grenadiers since a broad hat would come in the way of them throwing their grenades. Everybody thought hussars were cool and grenadiers were even cooler and even more so with the tall shakos who made these already impressive men even more impressive. So shakos became the fashionabel thing to wear and lots of armies adopted them. Shakos have the added benefit of a visor and being a decent protection against sabre strikes from above thanks to their sturdy materials and putting a couple of inches bufferzone between the point of imact and your actual head.
Style mostly I think.
Next shocker of the day: They were not refered to, in the British army at least, as shakos at the time; they were "Regimental Caps" (At least this is what I have been told). The change was due to fashion. In the British Army, just like the cocked hat was replaced by the 1800 pattern (Stovepipe) cap in 1800, the Stovepipe cap was replaced by the 1812 pattern (Belgic) cap in 1812. You can clearly see even the difference between these different "shakos" if you search for Stovepipe shako and Belgic shako. You can't fight in the clothing of yesterday, now can you?
I learned something!! Thanks!
I love your channel, and XVIII/XIX century era ! But I want you to make more videos about naval battles, ships of the line and marines soldiers from this era.
Awesome video
i always wondered where you put your camera. I imagined a big camera mounted on the top front with a strap harness (a bit like a headlamp). I never expected something so discrete. Where do you put the camera for WWII reenactments?
Great video.
As someone who lives in the area where the Southern Campaign was conducted, "horrible environment" is a suitable description for summer. I would also hazard a guess that the reasoning for the tape is to protect the edge from fraying and wear, much like hemming does on clothing.
You are an ancestor regiment of The Rifles.
the origin of the cockade comes from the earlier field signs used to distinguish friend from foe when uniforms, or lack of same, were similar between armies. quite often it was simply a piece of cloth or sprig foliage, in fact, Austro-Hungarian army headgear still incorporated oak leaves up to the first world war. Britain used black cockades to denote allegiance to the house of Hanover while the Jacobite supporters used white.
Thanks for the information. 👍
But why did they choose the Tricorne? And why was it replaced in the Napoleon Era?
Paulo Abib It was the fashion of the day. EVERYONE wore cocked hats. They were especially common among the Gentry, who unless they were relaxing in their banyan and night cap/turben wore little other head gear, but all walks of society wore them, even ladies when they wore hunting or riding uniforms. Search for 18th century paintings of city or land scapes and if there are any human figures in it, doubtless at least one will be sporting a cocked hat.
jake jones I know less about the shako (I assume that is what you meant?) which came into widespread use in the 1800s, a period I am less well acquiented with; however, from what I have read, it seems to have been fashion that inspired the shako's widespread adoption by the armies of Europe, since it existed in the 18th century (mostly in Hungary), but simply didn't catch on until after tall hats had replaced cocked hats in general, non-military fashion. Since both cocked hats and shakos were made from the same materials (beaver pelt or felted wool), they had the same thermal and water resistant properties, so the only non-fashion reason I can think of for the switch would be that shakos would never get knocked off your head by lack of care with your musket.
The swedish army wore tricorns right up to and through WW1.
basically, a broad brimmed hat was a pretty universal hat for everyone prior to this. The hat and broad brim offered shelter from rain and sun alike.
But especially if worn for a long time in harsh conditions, the stiffening tended to seep out of the hat, so it becamer softer and slouched.
And with Musketeers, the broad brim interfered with the handling of the firearm.
Both issues were solved by a single step: folding up one side, which also caught on as fashionable in the civilian realm.
Whith the idea of folding one side up established and noticing how the fold itself stabilized the brim overall, the hats were soon 'cocked' ('cocked' as in spanning something, the locks of guns were "cocked" to make them ready to fire etc.) as well, which made a remarkably sturdy hat, that will keep reasonably well in shape even with longer wear and/or relatively little stiffening.
The size of the brim also decreased further reducing the issues with slouching, and whereas a round hat is limited in it's expression of fashion, a cocked hat can be shaped to an infinite number of curves and shapes in a hatters hands, which offered enough variation for the fashion minded folks.
So for about a century, the cocked hat was THE hat, and changes in fashion largely pertained to ornamentation of it, and the size, proportion and shaping of the brim sections.
I.e. in the 1760-90s Brit military alone the hats first grew from a relatively round (when flat) median sized hat of the 50s to ridiculously small hats in the early 70s;
repidly recovering from that: the rear brim, or 'fan' becoming enlargened and pronounced specifically, the gutters (between the front leaves and the fan stayed relatively small and practical, the front leaves reaching a moderate size, in the late 70s;
In the early 80s the leaves and fans grew taller, the hats in all taller but not much wider, and towards the 90s the trend continued to extreme measures.
And throughout it all the front 'cock' became gradually smaller and less pronounced, so the hat gradually evolved into the more or less only 2 sided cocked hat of the 1800s.
It was later replaced in the napoleonic era because fashion changed, and also, military tried to break free from civilian fashion.
@@MrBigCookieCrumble
Do you know where I might find some information about that? I've been on the lookout for years with no success.
I have a picture of my farmors far wearing a tricorne hat in his parade/dress uniform from when he was a cadet in the Swedish Cavalry during 1917.
Thank you Brandon interesting vid
I can't speak on the tape's purpose with any certainty, but as someone who sews a lot, your theory about using it to protect against fraying make logical sense, and is often done for things that are made from materials that a difficult to hem, and don't fold over on themselves thinly and cleaning. A good example wold be adding borders to quilts. I would guess that it began with using spare fabric scraps as a practical protection, and then became intentionally decorative as time went on.
I recently discovered your channel and really enjoy your work!
great video! thanks
Brandon F. Great video, sir. Was wondering if there could be a video made where you might assemble your uniform and accouterments on camera to see how it properly goes. Thank you, sir.
I think it's mainly a fashion thing. If you look at portraits of 18th century personages wearing cocked hats, you'll find that gentlemen both in and out of uniform - and indeed ladies, too - will wear the hats cocked some of the time. And some of the time not. Bicornes as well, not just tricornes.
Lloyd of the Lindybeige channel tried to offer a practical reason why the Brodie helmet was worn cocked. I asked my father, who is old enough to have served in the military with the Brodie helmets being standard issue, and he said the reason was simply that it ended up cocked one way or the other no matter how you put it on. It was very difficult to keep it straight, so the soldiers ended up with the helmet cocked - to one side or the other. That aside, a cocked hat (or helmet) gives you an asymmetrical and therefore casual appearance, and thus a less stiff appearance. And in period art, you will see both officers and rankers wearing their hats cocked - or straight. And if they wear it cocked, it seems to be a matter of preference to what degree they wear it askew.
Your reenactment group looks fabulous.
Thanks!
Very nice video you've made. I was just wondering where you got your hat, or if there is a place you'd recommend to get one like it?
You are awesome!
Great channel you love your British army history
8:30 speaking from hat's I've made from leather, that white tape is just one of the ways of protecting your brim from fraying called a ribboned brim.
While I'm unsure what the color would signify in the military during that time, hand stitching these myself, I could tell you that probably wouldn't be much more expensive as it is rather simple to do.
Very enjoyable.
Cocked/tricorne hats are really cool hats
lovveee the VIDEO brandywine
Hello, I enjoy your work. Would you be so kind to do a video explaining the evolution of the cocked? I recall the cocked hat was very symmetrical to begin with and evolved into the what’s known as the bicorne of the French infantry of late French Revolution and early Napoleonic war.
thankyou so interesting we live and learn
Nice video! I have two questions:
Would contemporary hats like this have been made out of the same material(s)?
Would contemporary soldiers have undone the strings of the hats like you did in such weather as rain and/or bright sun?
@ 9:31
It helps tell armies apart: the French wore white, Russians green or white, Spain red, and so on. The Portuguese had a particularly confusing one, with red and blue atop white (near as I can tell from the few period pieces).
Many jaeger units in Germany also wore green cockades as a way to ID them.
@ 10:46
In the Prussian and Austrian services, they helped tell regiments, and even companies, apart.
There is so much confusion over hats. A slouch hat had a chinstrap (usually) and was worn cock-eyed (the crown was tilted so the right side of the brim slanted down, the left side up). The strap made it suitable for riding, the slant accommodated the rifle just as with a cocked hat, and it could be pinned up with an ornamental cockade. These hats were quite stiff, which protected the head from overhanging branches and thorns in the bush.
A hat which was cocked-up on one side only was worn by London meat market porters so that they could carry a side of mutton without knocking their hat off. It was known as a gibbous or jibus hat - gibbous being the shape of the moon when it is between half and full. The stiff cocked-up brim both protected the wearer's head and secured a cloth which protected his shoulder from the fat of a carcase.
So the Australian military bush hat is a cocked-up gibbous slouch hat.
And London fish market porters wore a very stiff bowler with a flattened crown to support round baskets of fish which they stacked on the hat to get around the narrow confines between stalls.
Will you do a video on where to find historically accurate uniforms? Thank you!!
I would be absolutely enthralled to see you make a video about the manual of arms, 1764. Wonderful video by the way, I have always been confused as to the difference between a cocked hat and a tricorne.
Random question: what sort of music do you enjoy listening to? Ever since I heard you put G.F Händel's music for the royal fireworks in your video about purchasing a commission, my interest has been piqued.
My musical tastes are quite diverse, although for the most part it's all older than 1945. Some of my favourites are Ralph Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Brahms, and Vivaldi (for a rather diverse collection!) but I also listen to everything from sea shanties and old soldiers songs to old monastic chants.
How on earth did you describe in near-perfect words an exact description of my own musical preferences? That is very interesting! I am more partial to music from the baroque era all the way to the late romantic era. Some of my favourites include Beethoven, Bach, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky, et cetera. I also very much enjoy British and eastern European marches (mostly Prussian), one of my favourites being 'De Brandenburgsche Mars'. I highly recommend taking a look at it.
Also, the cockade and pompoms might be vestiages from when soldiers in the previouse century often had to use things like scraps of cloth/feathers/flowers to show which side they were on in a battle? I remember hearing in one battle one side used pea pods from the field they were in stuck in their hats.
EXCELNETE VIDEO, SALUDOS DESDE MEXICO :)
thanks!
With the hole you've put in your cocked hat for the Go-Pro, have you considered installing a "cat flat" sort of arrangement, with an extra square of felt on the back?
That way you can disguise the hole for when you don't have the camera installed.
The cockade also was a way to identiy which prince/ruling house (which is more a 18th Century way of identity than the nation) the soldier was serving. For this reason, the cockade was white for the French, orange for the United-Provinces, etc.
I bought one while touring Boston last spring. I wore it everywhere. Some people gave me funny looks and others thought it was great. I really thought it would be more of a Boston "thing".
your accent is wonderful for this
I remember at an event last year a kid said that I was wearing a “Jack Sparrow tricorne hat” and it took him 10 minutes to realize it is called a cocked hat.
Brandon,
Question regarding the tape. I have seen the odd image which involves gold colored tape and/or (in a couple instances I saw for early 18th century Swedish and Russian infantry)...I'm actually not sure what the term for this would be. Feathered perhaps?...basically covered with what looks like white fur. I'll try leaving some links to share. Do you know if the British ever did either of these practices and was it actually based on the status of commissioned officers?
The most badass hat, in the history of man.
Long John silver call`s it cockrele hat.
Robert Louis Stevenson called it, laced hat.
The Spanish soldiers, made (envented) this style.
And thank you for this lovely video.
The battle of Monmouth?! I live there?!
Indeed I indeed really enjoyed your video very much thank you very much indeed sir
Wasn’t the cockade black because that was the color used by Great Britain at the time......the French used white, the Americans used black and white which I read was to represent the French alliance and their British origins. Is this true?
Also, the Spanish used red.
I think ( not sure 100%) that the cockade is more or a regimental feature. Of course it might depend on wich army you are talking about. In the French Army, most regiment had a white cockade but the artillery had a black one. Some foreign troops (like german regiments) and some light troops had a black cockade or none at all. There was also a big reform after the 7 years war wich changed, among many things, the color of the cockade for some regiments.
In the Spanish Army, the Spanish regiments had a red cockade but foreign regiments (walloon, Italian, Irish, swiss) had a black cockade.
In austrian and Prussian armies, varies from regiment to regiment. It could be a simple button( sometimes with laces), a regular cockade or a pompom instead of a cockade.
In some other armies, like hannover, they had a national symbol (sprig of oak leaves) incorporated into the cockade which had the colors of the regiment.
The British Army seems to be the exeption compared to others european armies, in the sense that every regiment had (more or less) the same cockade and is more of a national feature rather than a regimental feature.
The colour of the cockade indicated the country of the wearer, Russia was Black, Orange and White, Austria was Black and Yellow and several countries did use Black.
During the American war for independence, Continental Army privates and NCOs Wore black cockades. Commissioned officers wore cockades of different colors to indicate their rank.
When the French and Americans allied, the Americans took white cockades and added them to their black cockades to represent the alliance.
I remember a British folk song calling it a ‘Tri-Cocked hat’
As the song in _Robin and the Seven Hoods_ goes, _"A hat's not a hat till it's tilted…You either got or you haven't got class."_
Aside, I believe the corne in tricorne is supposed to mean horn, not corner, though I could be wrong.
I'm also willing to bet the tape around the edges was originally meant to help prevent the felt from fraying at the edges.
Not sure if it was ever brought up but the cloth tape was probably there to stiffen and protect the edge from fraying
Im gonna say hello on every vid from now on, be ready😂😂😂
It's interesting as when metal helmets came into the British army they did a similar thing with them for a similar reason basically putting them on a slight slope so the could aim Down the sites when prone
Will be making a video of the battle At Sturbridge this weekend
What material is the tape on your hat made of?
a pattern, please, or some advices about construction? excellent video
Brandon, Sir, i recomend you to take a glimpse at the tv show "the Frontier" I would like to know and perhaps watch a future video about the total inaccuracy of that show.
I just really like how you wear and with white egd
In some paintings I've seen British soldiers wearing what appears to be top hat type hats. Any information on these? There's lots in the painting: The 74th Highlanders at the Battle of Assaye 23rd September 1803 by David Rowlands. Could it possibly a hat worn by the soldiers in the East India Company army?
00:15 what's the music called?
Do you know roughly when soldiers cocked all three sides of their hats rather than just the one side, like what you see around the time of the English Civil War?
As to cockades I remember reading a book on the Battle of Culloden, and on the section describing the opposing forces it stated that the Jacobites were identified by a white cockade and the government army by the black cockade, so it might have served some purpose for identifying friend from foe. There are plenty of examples of soldiers placing items in their hats to do this, William III's army at the Battle of the Boyne wore green sprigs in their hats to distinguish themselves from James II's army.
Yes. I know today those who identify with James favor green and those who identify with William favor orange, but it was William's council of war on the eve of the battle ordered the troops to wear green sprigs. I don't think there was any symbolism intended, they just wanted an identifying badge and used what was at hand.
The greatest piece of headwear
Was it common to have one of the unpinned sides off to the left or right, similar to an aussie hat?
Wasn't there a 'Foot' regiment that wore a green uniform in the Niponlian Wars? (did I spell the correctly?).
The tassels were probably used as fringe to help wick and drain water away when it rained.
The need to position the hat to avoid getting it knocked off during rifle drill is in fact the very same reason why Australians pinned up one side of their slouch hats. It seems the need to avoid swatting your own hat off during drill transcends national boundaries.
How do you join a reenactment unit for rev war (british)
The BLACK Cockade was worn originally by adherents to the House of Hanover, and the White Cockade was worn by the adherents of the House of Stewart in the Rebellion of 1745. it was used as a symbol of what side you were on.