~~~ LEATHER HELMET ~~~

The leather helmet is one of the two clothing items that would have stood a dragoon out from other units. These helmets were made of heavy boiled leather, and were stiffened with a varnish finish. This type of headwear offered protection not only from enemy sword blows but also from tree branches in the woods that the dragoons patroled. They were generally of a modern jockey cap style and had different crest and visor variations. Theodorick Bland ordered in May of 1777, that the 1st dragoons were to have leathered helmets with a vertical front piece. No visor was specified. Paintings and drawings of dragoons at this time period however, show a helmet of this style being worn with an attached visor. Additional documentation indicate helmets worn by the 5th troop were adorned with a red silk turban and a white horse hair crest.

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