A shako or shacko (, , or ) is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a peak, and sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with an ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise; and often has a feather, hackle, or pompom attached at the top.
Extensively used as an item of military headgear during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the shako now survives as part of some ceremonial uniforms.
Origins
The word shako originated from the Hungarian name for the peak, which Hungarian border soldiers () added around 1790 to their previously visorless stovepipe-style hats. Originally these hats were part of the clothing commonly worn by shepherds, before being added to the uniform of the Hungarian hussar in the early 18th century.
Other spellings include chako, czako, sjako, schako, schakot, and tschako. From 1800 on, the shako began being adopted by European armies, replacing bicornes in most instances. George III issued a general order on 24 February 1800 which ordered British infantrymen and artillerymen to replace their bicornes with shakos. Made of heavy felt and leather, shakos more easily retained its shape and provided some protection for the wearers head, while its visor shaded his eyes.John R. Elting, page 445 "Swords Around A Throne - Napoleon's Grande Armee",
It retained this preeminence until the mid-19th century, when spiked helmets began to appear in the army of Prussia, which influenced armies of the various German states; and the more practical kepi replaced it for all but parade wear in the French Army. The Imperial Russian Army substituted a spiked helmet for the shako in 1844–45 but returned to the latter headdress in 1855, before adopting a form of kepi in 1864.Boris Mollo, Uniforms of the Imperial Russian Army, Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, military fashions changed and cloth or leather helmets based on the German headdress began to supersede the shako in many armies.
Although the mid-19th century shako was impressive in appearance and enhanced the wearer's height, it was also heavy and provided little protection against bad weather, as most were made of cloth or felt material over a leather body and peak. Many armies utilized specially designed oilskin covers to protect the shako and the wearer from heavy rain while on campaign. The shako provided little protection from enemy attack, beyond giving partial shielding of the head from enemy cavalry sabres.Major R. M. Barnes, page 90 "Military Uniforms of Britain and the Empire". Sphere Books, 1972
During the period of general peace that followed the Napoleonic Wars, the shako in European armies became a showy and impractical headdress best suited for the parade ground. As an example, the Regency shako adopted by British Army officers in 1822 was in height and across at the crown, with ornamental gold cords and lace. Lieutenant Colonel George Anthony Legh Keck can be seen in an 1851 portrait wearing a "broad-topped" shako topped by a white plume and held in place by bronze chin scales.Morgan-Jones, G. (2008) "The Prince Albert's Own Yeomanry - Leicester Yeomanry" http://www.paoyeomanry.co.uk/LY3.htm The Regency shako was followed in the British Army by a succession of models—"Bell-topped", "Albert", "French" and "Quilted"—until the adoption of the Home Service helmet in 1877.
Variations The French light infantry shako ("stovepipe") was prescribed in October 1801. There were patterns with and without visors but the shako's body was always cylindrical. In February 1806 a line infantry shako of different pattern was adopted. Its body was semi-conical, with the top being wider than the brim. The line infantry pattern was 18 cm high and 23 cm wide at its largest diameter.
In November 1810 the shako's dimensions slightly altered to 19 cm height and a top of 24.4 cm diameter, the top now made of hard leather. The former decorations of cords and tassels were forbidden, since chin scales were added to the design (brass for line infantry, white metal for light infantry). The shako front was ornamented by a metal lozenge bearing the regimental number surmounted by a 7 cm tricolour cockade. Decorative bands in gold or silver around the top circumference indicated the officer ranks: from a 34 mm band with an additional 14 mm band located 20 mm below (colonel, the only officer with two shako bands) to a single 18 mm band (sub-lieutenant or adjutant-non-commissioned officer, the latter with a red silk lozenge pattern woven in to it).T. E. Crowdy: Napoleon's Infantry Handbook, 2015, p.74
In 1812, the front plate lozenge was replaced by an eagle surmounting a crest with the regimental number. Prior to 1806 the light infantry shakos were ornamented by a metal bugle () or simply by a tricolour cockade () and coloured cords or straps. Whereas in 1801 the cockade was placed on the shako's left or right side, it later moved to the front.
The British pattern "stovepipe" shako was a tall, cylindrical type with a brass badge attached to the front that began replacing bicornes from 24 February 1800 onwards. The stovepipe shako was used by infantry and artillery units of Britain's regular army, militia, Volunteer Corps and Fencible Corps along with European units of the East India Company's Presidency armies and other colonial forces. In the US Army, a lower felt shako superseded the top hat style, bearskin crest surmounted "round hat" in 1810.David Cole: Survey of U.S. Army. Uniforms, weapons and accoutrements, 2007, p. 5
The "Belgic" shako was a black felt shako with a raised front introduced in the Portuguese Marine Corps in 1797 and then in the Portuguese Army in 1806, as the . It was later adopted by the British Army, officially replacing the stovepipe shako on 18 March 1812, but did not completely replace it until 1815 and therefore was also known as the "Waterloo" shako. This cumbersome headgear was already discarded in 1816, in favour of the slightly bell topped "Regency" shako.Cattley p. 193 The Belgic shako was decorated with silver or gold lace for officers, according to regimental practice.Colonel Robert H. Rankin, page 21 "Military Headdress - a pictorial history of military headgear from 1660 to 1914", René Chartrand, page 45 "The Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars (3)", In 1813 the US Army adopted a similar entirely leather made model,Edgar M. Howell, Donald E. Kloster: United States Army Headgear to 1854. Catalog of United States Army Uniforms in the Collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Vol.1, 1969, p. 15 ff. nicknamed by the soldiers as "Tombstone" cap, because of the extension of the top front that reminded on a grave marker.Cole p. 6
In the Imperial Russian Army a cylindrical shako was adopted in 1803 for musketeers, and by grenadiers and fusiliers in 1805. It was replaced by the distinctive (also ) shako between 1812 and 1816. The was worn again from 1910 by infantry regiments of the Imperial Guard, and since 2006 as part of the Kremlin Regiment's ceremonial uniform. Its distinguishing feature was the dished or concave top.Haythornthwaite, Philip (1987) The Russian Army of the Napoleonic Wars (1): Infantry 1799–1814 Osprey Publishing, (p. 23) This style of shako was worn by the Black Brunswickers alongside shakos of the Austrian pattern.Von Pivka, Otto (1985), Brunswick Troops, 1809–15, Osprey Publishing, (p. 47)
In 1815 the Russian style shako was adopted by the Royal Swedish army as . The Swedish shako was made of black felt with a leather visor and crown. The shako was equipped with a banderole, brass badge with the regiment's coat of arms, cockade and a pompon as a company sign. The officers' shako was also equipped with a yellow plume. In 1831 the m/1815 shako was replaced by a new model, the m/1831. This shako was taller and lighter than its predecessor. The front was adorned with a brass badge with the Swedish coat of arms, three crowns, and a plate with the name of the regiment, a yellow cockade of leather and a pompon.
The bell-top shako was a large and elaborate type which became popular in the 1820s and 1830s when there was little warfare between the major European powers and practicality on the battlefield became less important than appearance on the parade ground. It featured a crown that clearly flared outwards towards the top, giving a distinctive bell shape, and was often adorned with decorative cords and plumes. British troops were accoutered with the bell-top shako from 1829 to 1844.Kannik, Prebben (1968), Military Uniforms in Colour, Blandford Press, (p.206)
In 1813, US troops followed that example by adopting the "yeoman" crown cap for artillery and rifle regiments, followed by the bell crown cap (with concave sides) from 1821.Howell, Kloster p. 19 The US shakos changed again from 1832 to 1851, when a leather-made "cap" for infantry and artillery was introduced, resembling the former "yeoman" crown cap.Howell, Kloster p. 26 Dragoons were issued with a cap model, whose crown was smaller than the cap's base.Howell, Kloster p. 31 All those models were dropped in between 1851 and 1854, in favour of a cloth made shako of smaller size and swung shape, similar to the British "Albert" shako.Howell, Kloster p. 59
The Albert shako was a British design introduced in 1844, which was intended to be more practical than previous models. It featured a lower crown that tapered inwards at the top, and a second peak at the back intended to protect the wearer's neck from the sun. It is named after Prince Albert who supposedly designed it. It was not popular, and during the Crimean War a round "undress cap" was often worn instead. It was eventually replaced by smaller, lighter versions.Kannik p. 212
In the British Army it was the so-called French pattern shako (1855–1861),Cattley p. 200 the quilted shako (1861–1869)Cattley p. 202 and a last shako model (1869–1878), as lower and more ornamented version intended to be worn on parades only. The last two shako models were made of dark blue cloth mounted on a cork base.Cattley p. 200, p. 204f. The shako was finally superseded for most British regiments by the Home Service helmet in 1878.Kannik p. 232
In the US Army, the last shako model of 1872 (a cut-down version of the 1851–1854 pattern) was replaced by the spiked helmet in 1882.Edgar M. Howell: United States Army Headgear 1855–1902. Catalog of United States Army Uniforms in the Collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Vol.2, 1975, p. 35 p. 62 Cavalry and artillery had adopted the helmet already in 1872.Howell p. 41 For undress or campaign dress, forage capsHowell, Kloster p. 22 and felt hatsHowell p. 1 had replaced the shako style cap since 1825 respectively 1855.
The Bengal Native Infantry of the British East India Company's army worn a version of the bell-top shako as described above, although lacking a vizor or peak. Frequently portrayed in contemporary illustrations as being worn by mutinous sepoys during the Great Indian Rebellion of 1857, this headdress was actually replaced by the Kilmarnock cap ten years before.W.Y. Carman, page 100 "Indian Army Uniforms: Infantry", Morgan-Grampian: London 1969
Busby is the English name for the Hungarian ('fur shako') or , a military head-dress made of fur, originally worn by Hungarian hussars. In its original Hungarian form the busby was a cylindrical fur cap, having a bag of coloured cloth hanging from the top. This bag could be filled with sand and the end attached to the right shoulder as a defence against sabre cuts.
Final period of extensive wear