How long were havelocks worn?

[Johnson]

As the title above says. How long were havelocks worn? I know
they were none-issue but I was curious how long soldiers kept them.
The most threw them away or used them as a coffee-filter or other
practical uses. Personally,I would fold it up and put it in my blanket
roll or knapsack. I would rather walk with it for four years then get sunburn.

And till which time-period will it be authentic to wear them?

Please Note: Frank, remember: You must sign your real first AND last name with every post.

Kind regards,

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: How long were havelocks worn?

Frank,

Welcome to the A-C!

In reading your question, it is very general. Could you be more specific? Are you attempting to portray a particular unit at a particular place/time? Do you mean how long would one havelock last one soldier under conditions of typical use? ...or for what time period can you reasonably wear one appropriately in a portrayal.

These are the types of details that should drive your thinking regarding such questions.

Imagine a question like "How long were dark blue trousers worn?"
Proper answers could be "the whole war", "3 weeks, while on campaign", or "not after June 1862" because the question doesn't specify.

Sorry to sound nit-picky, but this kind of information is necessary to get you a good answer to your question.

[cprljohnivey]

Re: How long were havelocks worn?

Personal experience: About 20 Minutes. Thats all I could take.

[Philip cav]

Re: How long were havelocks worn?

Hello, I do remeber that in the book "Echoes Of Glory " Union that a soldier wrote that a Women's aid society sent his unit havelocks. I do not have the book near me at this time. But he did write to the effect that they wrote a "thanks" to them. An then tossed these articles away.

[Johnson]

Re: How long were havelocks worn?

Frank,

Welcome to the A-C!

In reading your question, it is very general. Could you be more specific? Are you attempting to portray a particular unit at a particular place/time? Do you mean how long would one havelock last one soldier under conditions of typical use? ...or for what time period can you reasonably wear one appropriately in a portrayal.

These are the types of details that should drive your thinking regarding such questions.

Imagine a question like "How long were dark blue trousers worn?"
Proper answers could be "the whole war", "3 weeks, while on campaign", or "not after June 1862" because the question doesn't specify.

Sorry to sound nit-picky, but this kind of information is necessary to get you a good answer to your question.

I understand.


I portray two units,6th Alabama and 1st Maryland (Confederate). My question is
how long a havelock lasted with normal use and how long it was used by both sides.
Did they stop wearing them in 1861,or are there any reports of soldiers wearing them
in 1863 by example. So in fact the last two questions you gave in your post.

Also. I have red that some Confederate soldiers used handkerchiefs as a improvised
havelock and neck wear. Do you know which fabric they were made from and where I
can buy authentic fabric?


Kind regards,

Frank

[David Fox]

Re: How long were havelocks worn?

Wasn't Bragg seen wearing one during the Kentucky Campaign? That alone would be enough to put the rest of the personnel of the AOT off them, forever.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: How long were havelocks worn?

Hallo!

IMHO, it might be useful to look at havelocks in context, and then look at what research and documentation might exist for their presence or use in the
6th Alabama or 1st Maryland. For example it is said that one of the 6th Alabama conpanies initiall\y wore raccoon hats *Raccoon Roughs"
(Company "I"??)

Havelocks being NUG a non-standard, non-mass issue, non-governmental, non-regulation thing, this can come down to perhaps trying to take an exception and look for a rule to universally justify one from 1861-1865 no matter what extant documentation, time and place of the unit being portrayed? Along the lines, maybe, of such things as white canvas leggings or "bullet proof" vests, etc., etc.

Curt

[Secesh]

Re: How long were havelocks worn?

It wasn't that they were an inconvenience to carry...I have read several accounts that they were tossed because they cut off airflow to the back of the head and neck, intensifying the heat beating down on the back of the neck.

[colorado infantry]

Re: How long were havelocks worn?

Havelocks work great in desert climates (which is what they were designed for) as they do keep the sun off the back of your neck (I know some archaeologists in Egypt that still wear something akin to a modern havelock), but in humid Virginia (or where have you) they become hot houses. It didn't take the soldiers long to figure that out, but as Mr. Wickett said it really depends on what unit you're protraying, where, and under what conditions. I personally kept my last havelock on for about an hour at 150th Bull Run before I threw it away and put on a straw hat. There's really no reason to carry it around. And as the C.R.R.C. has shown the soldiers were all pretty tanned, I think after a few weeks in the field they would have burnt less. So all in all, there's really no reason to keep it very long in the field. Just my honest opinion as an experimental archaeologist.