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Handsome early Civil War-era Chasseur-style leather shako military cap, identical in pattern to the French Model 1858 Chasseur Shako, and was almost certainly one of the 10,000 sets of Chasseur uniforms imported into the US circa 1860 by the Godillot company of Paris, France. The shako has most of the original tarred finish remaining, with some minor crazing and flaking throughout, heaviest on the squared peak and along the stiffening bands on the sides of the crown. The interior of the shako is missing the original comfort band, but is otherwise in fine shape, and has some portions of the original chinstrap remaining. The underside of the peak retains most of the original green paint finish, with large embossed "G" in the center. All of the stitched seams are still strong and intact. The front of the crown has the original painted sheet brass eagle and infantry horn plate, and a period replacement large maroon parade pompom as well; the pompoms that originally came with these shakos were shorter and had a more tapered "acorn" shape. Originally, there would have been a red, white, and blue metal cockade behind the eagle’s head, but that is no longer present. Additionally, there are two added holes on either side of the shako near the temples where a wearer-added chinstrap was once installed.
These caps were not very popular with the troops as they were uncomfortable and quite hot, despite the ventilation grommets on either side of the crown. Civil War units known to have been issued these shakos at the start of the war include the 18th Massachusetts Infantry, the 62nd Pennsylvania Infantry, and the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry.
