Varnum Blog

Revolutionary War Rhode Island United Train of Artillery leather cap

Our Rhode Island United Train of Artillery leather cap (worn during the Revolution by Benajah Carpenter) has safely returned to the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia,PA.

Carpenter was killed in action at the Battle of Long Island presumably while wearing it. One of the rarest and historically most significant objects in our collection, the hat is one of only a very small handful of U.S. military hats from the Revolutionary War that survive today.

“For our Country” and, in Latin, “In God We Hope” adorns the front of the wavy bill. This is an American treasure and the Varnum Continentals are happy to have shared it with tens of thousands of people from across the nation.