Campaign hat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A campaign hat (also Stetson, drill instructor hat, drill sergeant hat, round brown, ranger hat, sergeant hat, Scouts hat, Smokey Bear hat, lemon squeezer) is a broad-brimmed felt hat with a high crown pinched at the four corners. It is associated with World War I ground forces of the United States Army, contemporary U.S. military drill instructors, state police forces, park rangers, Boy Scouts, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and others. It should not be confused with a campaign cap.

Up through the WWI era, the campaign hat worn by American soldiers was fairly soft and the brim was often curved or folded to the wearer's liking. By the 1930's the felt was made very stiff with a permenently flat brim. Around this time it was dubbed the "Montana Peak" design, referring to the pinched crown.

In Canada the Stetson was the official dress hat of the Northwest Mounted Police (later Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who retained it as part of the full dress uniform) as well as Canadian cavalry units in the First World War. The hat was phased out of military use by the Service Dress Cap following the First World War.