Great War U.S. Officer Uniforms

[TL Foster]

Once again I present the unusual, and this is very different. In general, officers were given a good bit of leeway when buying commercially made uniforms as long as they meet a rather broad criteria. So stated, I present Capt. J.M. Morrell.
The hat is one I've seem in pictures of engineers and survey parties in the field during that general period . The boots are consistent with the same group. It would follow that perhaps Capt. Morrell's branch was Engineers, and going out on a limb, Mounted Engineers. Regretfully, on enlargement, I could not see any collar insignia that would support my theory. Anyway, I just love the boots. They a bit like motorcycle courier boots as used by the Brits.

http://theworldwar.pastperfectonline.co ... 7457483671
Cheers
Tom

[Pat Holscher]

Once again I present the unusual, and this is very different. In general, officers were given a good bit of leeway when buying commercially made uniforms as long as they meet a rather broad criteria. So stated, I present Capt. J.M. Morrell.
The hat is one I've seem in pictures of engineers and survey parties in the field during that general period . The boots are consistent with the same group. It would follow that perhaps Capt. Morrell's branch was Engineers, and going out on a limb, Mounted Engineers. Regretfully, on enlargement, I could not see any collar insignia that would support my theory. Anyway, I just love the boots. They a bit like motorcycle courier boots as used by the Brits.

http://theworldwar.pastperfectonline.co ... 7457483671
Cheers
Tom

I've occasionally seen some cavalry officers just before World War One with similar boots. Seems that there was some experimentation going on with private purchase lace up boots at the time with popular commercial boots seeing fairly common use.

[Brian P.]

Great pic! Capt. Morrell is dressed pretty typically for an officer in the field from 1912 through the Great War and up to the 1926 uniform change. The Service Hat (Campaign Hat) was standard field wear. It was only supplemented by the overseas hat and helmet in the war zone. The boots are a pretty common private purchase style. You see them used frequently during the Border Crisis, and they turn up regularly amongst officers in the trenches. All officers were still expected to be able to ride during this period, so being with a horse doesn't really help us to figure out his branch.