Hat Cords
The Stetsons worn by many Cavalry soldiers all include a colored band just above the brim referred to as a cord, braid, hobble, wrap, or acorn.
The most popular color, yellow, is worn by all enlisted Cavalry soldiers.
“Legend has it” that the acorns at the end of the cords were designed to bounce off the brim of the hat to keep riders awake.
Legend also says that “in the olden days”, there were no such thing as combat patches, so the units had soldiers tie their acorns in a knot to show they were combat experienced. This is done by tying a half-hitch knot on each side of the "keeper" (or slide). The knots are referred to as “Combat Knots.”
I claim all this to be legend because there is nothing in writing about it. It is all Cavalry Stetson tradition. Some of this dates back to the first world war, some much farther back than that. Read on…
“Dan,
I saw your post concerning combat knots on a couple of different forums and thought I’d offer you what little info I know. I’m one of those dreaded non-19D Stetson wearers. I served in the 1st Cavalry Division as an 11M for a number of years, including Desert Storm.
Although we were Infantry, our Commissioned Officers often wore unit-specific Cavalry brass (or sew on) on their collars, and our unit guidons were red and white Cavalry guidons rather than blue Infantry guidons.
Researching Cavalry Stetsons a little less than a year ago and using “combat knots” as a search term, I found an online auction selling what was described as a WWI peaked campaign hat. It was brownish in color and resembled a modern day Drill Sergeant’s hat. The auctioneer claimed it had been worn overseas by the auctioneer’s ancestor, and had been recently found in an attic. By way of establishing the authenticity of the hat, the auctioneer specifically mentioned the knots and said that the ancestor had explained when the auctioneer was a child that the knots signified combat service.
The hat itself was out of shape and looked moth-eaten, but I saw the knots that had been tied in the cord very clearly. Each cord end had been tied into a half hitch by running them under and back up behind both cords, then back forward and through the loop it had created. The half hitches were snugged together toward the little sleeve that retains the cords in the front.
As I was only looking for an example of how to tie the same knots into mine, I didn’t bother to save a copy of the images. It didn’t occur to me that I’d ever need or want to provide any verification on the subject. Unfortunately, I’m unable to find those pictures again and I haven’t found any others like them. Hope this helps you. First Team!”
The site visitor who submitted the above information also included this image. Thanks for the email!
The 1st Cavalry Division authorizes knots in their hat cords also, but they do not call them Combat Knots. Here is a link to their MOI:
http://www.1cda.org/cav_hat_moi.htmOur new Combat Cords are longer than standard cords, which allows room for the knots and still lets the acorns rest at the edge of the brim!
You can check them out here.
| Table Courtesy of Dr. Howard G. Lanham – http://www.angelfire.com/md2/patches/other/abranchcolors.html | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRANCH | PRIMARY COLOR | SECONDARY COLOR | COLOR EST. | CORD FROM CAP |
| Adjutant General’s Corps | Dark Blue | Scarlet | 1936 |  |
| Air Corps | Ultramarine | Golden Orange | 1920 |  |
| Armored Center & Units | Green | White | 1942 |  |
| Cavalry | Yellow | 1855 |  |
|
| Chaplains | Black | no enlisted men | ||
| Chemical Warfare | Cobalt Blue | Golden Yellow | 1918 | |
| Coast Artillery | Scarlet | 1902 |  |
|
| Corps of Engineers | Scarlet | White | 1902 |  |
| Detached Enlisted Men | Green | |||
| Field Artillery | Scarlet | 1851 | |
|
| Finance Dept. | Silver Gray | Golden Yellow | 1921 | |
| Infantry | Light Blue | 1851 |  |
|
| Inspector General’s Dept. | Dark Blue | Light Blue | 1936 | |
| Judge Advocate General’s Dept. | Dark Blue | White | 1936 | |
| Medical Dept. | Maroon | White | 1916 |  |
| Military Intelligence | Golden Yellow | Purple | 1936 | no enlisted men |
| Military Police | Yellow | Green | 1922 |  |
| National Guard Bureau | Dark Blue | 1921 | ||
| Ordnance Dept. | Crimson | Yellow | 1921 |  |
| Permanent Professors USMA | Scarlet | Silver Gray | 1936 | no enlisted men |
| Quartermaster Corps | Buff | 1902 | ||
| Signal Corps | Orange | White | 1902 | |
| Specialists’ Reserve | Brown | Golden Yellow | 1936 | no enlisted men |
| Tank Destroyer | Golden Orange | Black | 1943 | |
| Transportation Corps | Brick Red | Golden Yellow | 1942 | |
| Warrant Officers | Brown | 1936 | no enlisted men (1) | |
| Women’s Army Corps | Old Gold | Moss Green | 1942 |  |
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