CIRCA 1898-1902, INDIAN WARS, COOK, ARMBAND, BRASSARD, INFANTRY, VINTAGE
This is an original Indian War Period U.S. Army, Infantry Cook, Brassard. Worn on the upper sleeve of the soldier's uniform coat, this piece is one of the distinctive enlisted insignias of the Indian War period. The combination of Dark Blue and White wool creates an attractive piece and makes for a nice addition to your collection. A complete unissued, unused brassard with no damage or moth holes. This piece originates from an established collection of Indian War period Chevrons. This piece was removed from the collectors display and shows evidence of yellow paper/glue. The patterns were cut by hand with a steel die that was hit over the wool with a hammer. In many cases, the soldier would cut out the cooks cap and sew it onto their uniform. There was no reaction to ultraviolet light. We will be listing more original U.S. Army Indian War Chevrons from this collection as time permits.
Those soldiers with a modicum of culinary skills usually ended up preparing food although the Army provided no formal training during most of the 19th century. Finally in 1896 the Commissary General of Subsistence published its Manual for Army Cooks that simply dove into the details of cooking without any introduction. An act of Congress in the summer of 1898 started a path forward when it authorized one cook per company, which was raised for most units to two cooks per company in March 1899. The Regular Army Signal Corps had eight cooks in February 1900. Cooks received the pay and allowances of a Corporal in 1898 and were to take the rank of Corporal, but in March 1899 the pay and allowances increased to that of an Infantry Sergeant.
The Chevron represents a cook's cap. Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery cooks wore the chevron in a single color; Engineers cooks wore a red cap with white edges; and Signal Corps cooks a black cap trimmed in white.