Man's Hat
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Captain Phineas Meigs
(American, 1708 - 1782)
HatterMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1782
MediumBlocked felted wool
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width x length): 4 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 11 1/8in. (10.8 x 32.4 x 28.3cm)
ClassificationsDecorative Objects
Credit LineGift of Colonel Phineas Meigs
Object number1850.10.0
DescriptionDark felt hat with round crown. The brim is 2 1/2 inches wide, increasing in width to 4 3/8 inches where it is cocked up. The cocked side of the brim is held up by a string which is laced through four holes. (Other holes in the brim indicate that this was probably originally a tricorn hat with a brim consistently 4 3/8 inches wide; the holes indicate where the brim was cocked up.) Surrounding the base of the crown like a hat band is a knotted string. The hat was originally lined; only the remnants of the lining remain around the base of the crown.
Two holes in the crown are the result of musket fire; the small hole is the entry wound, and the large hole is the exit wound.
NotesHistorical Note: According to a letter written by the donor, Captain Phineas Meigs died wearing this hat, during the Battle of Madison on 19 May 1782. The people of East Guilford (now Madison), Connecticut were fighting with troops from an armed British vessel that had been cruising Long Island Sound. Captain Meigs was shot through the head by a musket ball; entry and exit holes are visible on the hat. Captain Meigs' was the last man killed on Connecticut soil during the Revolutionary War. Two holes in the crown are the result of musket fire; the small hole is the entry wound, and the large hole is the exit wound.
Research Notes: This hat was loaned to Colonial Williamsburg in 1992. Their staff took detailed notes on the construction and measurements of this hat, in order to use it as a pattern for the clothing of their reenactors (30 July 1992).
Status
Not on view
