French Kepis. From upper left to bottom right: French Army, French police (since replaced with caps), French Foreign Legion, Unrelated RATP hat, French Gendarmerie, French Army

The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor. The word came into the English language from French, in which it is written with an acute accent: képi. It can be translated as "small cap". Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1512x696, 1463 KB) French Kepis. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1512x696, 1463 KB) French Kepis. ... The French Army (French: Armée de Terre) is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces. ... “Legionnaire” redirects here. ... Métro trains entering Église dAuteuil station The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) is the major transit authority responsible for public transportation in Paris and its environs. ... Gendarmes Gendarmes guarding the Paris Hall of Justice Gendarmerie motorcyclists police the roads and autoroutes of rural France. ... For the acronym CAP, see CAP. A cap is a form of headgear. ... A VISOR as worn by Geordi La Forge. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

French usage

1942 portrait of Charles de Gaulle in the Free French Forces wearing a kepi

It was formerly the most common headgear in the French Army. The kepi's predecessor originally appeared during the 1830s, in the course of the initial stages of the occupation of Algeria, as a series of various lightweight cane-framed cloth undress caps called casquette d'Afrique. These were intended as alternatives to the heavier, cloth-covered leather French Army shako. As a light and comfortable headdress it was adopted by the metropolitan (French mainland) infantry regiments for service and daily wear, with the heavy shako being relegated to parade use. In 1852, a new soft cloth cap was introduced for campaign and off-duty. Called bonnet de police à visière, this was the first proper model of the kepi. The visor was generally squarish in shape and oversized and was referred to as bec de canard (duck bill). This kepi had no chinstrap (jugulaire). Subsequent designs reduced the size of the cap and introduced chinstraps and buttons. The kepi became well known outside France during the Crimean War and was subsequently adopted in various forms by a number of other armies (including the U.S. and Russian) during the 1860s and 1870s. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Free French Forces under review during the Battle of Normandy. ... The French Army (French: Armée de Terre) is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces. ... The Casquette dAfrique is the term used to describe a range of lightweight military headgear used by the French metropolitan and colonial armies generally from the early 1830s to the 1860s. ... A Shako of a French Navy uniform of the 19th century. ... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire British Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,194 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought...

In 1876, a new model appeared with a rounded visor, as the squared visor drooped when dry and curled up when drying out. The model used in World War I was the 1886 pattern, which was a fuller shape incorporating air vents. “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

By 1900 the kepi had become the standard headdress of most French army units and (along with the red trousers of the period 1829-1914) a symbol of the French soldier. It appeared in full dress (with inner stiffening and ornamental plume or ball ornament)and service versions. Officers' ranks were shown by gold or silver braiding on the kepi. The different branches were distinguished by the colours of the cap - line infantry kepis for example were red with dark blue bands. Artillery wore dark blue kepis with red piping; Colonial Infantry dark blue with yellow piping; Spahi officers all light blue with gold braid. Cavalry normally wore shakos or plumed helmets, reserving red kepis with light or dark blue bands for wear in barracks. General officers wore (and continue to wear) kepis with gold oak leaves embroidered around the band. A braid Step by step creation of a basic braid using three strings To braid is to interweave or twine three or more separate strands of one or more materials in a diagonally overlapping pattern. ...

In 1914 most French soldiers wore their kepis to war. The highly visible colours were hidden by a blue grey cover, following the example of the Foreign Legion and other North African units who had long worn their kepis with white (or more recently khaki) covers in the field. With the adoption of sky blue uniforms and steel Adrian helmets in 1915 to replace the conspicuous peace time uniforms worn during the early months of war, the kepi was generally replaced by folding forage caps. Officers however still wore their kepis behind the lines. “Legionnaire” redirects here. ... The M26 Adrian helmet (French term: Casque Adrian) was a military helmet issued to the French Army during World War I. It was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare and head wounds became a significant proportion of battlefield casualties. ...

Following the war the kepi was gradually reintroduced in the peacetime French army. The Foreign Legion resumed wearing it during the 1920s; initially in red and blue and then in 1939 with white covers on all occasions. The bulk of the French army readopted the kepi in the various traditional branch colours for off-duty wear during the 1930s. It had now become a straight sided and higher headdress than the traditional soft cap. This made it unsuitable for war time wear and after 1940 it was seldom seen being worn except by officers. An exception was the Foreign Legion who, previously just one of many units that wore the kepi, now adopted it as a symbol.

The decision following the first Gulf War to end conscription in France and to rely on voluntary enlistment has led to a smartening up of uniforms and the reappearance of various traditional items for dress wear. This has included the reappearance in the army of the kepi which is now widely worn by all ranks on appropriate occasions. The French National Police have however discarded their dark blue kepis, adopting a low peaked cap. The reason given was that the kepi, while smart and distinctive, was inconvenient in vehicles. The National Police (Police Nationale) is one of two national police forces and the main civil law enforcement agency of France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. ...

French customs officers (douaniers) and the Gendarmerie still wear kepis for normal duty. Within the army, particularly notable are the kepis of the French Foreign Legion, whose members are sometimes called Képis blancs (white kepis), because of the unit's regulation white headgear. Former cavalry units wear light blue kepis with red tops and silver braid (for officers) and insignia. Other colours include all dark blue with red piping (for artillery units), dark blue with red tops (line infantry) and crimson with red tops (medical). The "dark blue" of officers' kepis is actually black. Gendarmes Gendarmes guarding the Paris Hall of Justice Gendarmerie motorcyclists police the roads and autoroutes of rural France. ... “Legionnaire” redirects here. ...

North American usage

Portrait of an unknown soldier wearing a kepi during the American Civil War

In the United States, the kepi is most often associated with the American Civil War era, and into the Indian Wars. The first official version was introduced for the U.S. Army in 1858. It bore scant resemblance to the current neat French pattern and was instead a rather baggy imitation in dark blue without the distinctive sunken top. It gave rise to a number of methods of wearing, most of which looked unmilitary. Officially called a forage cap, it was nicknamed 'bummers cap' by troops, being described as being 'shapeless as a feedbag'. Despite this, it became the most common form of cap worn by U.S. regulars and volunteers during the American Civil War and is characterised in films such as Gettysburg, Gods and Generals and Glory. It was also worn by many Confederate troops in dark blue, various shades of grey and butternut. A famous wartime commander who habitually wore this cap was Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, who wore his plain dark blue round-visored forage cap, a reminder of his days as a former instructor at the Virginia Military Institute, until it was almost falling apart. He was subsequently presented with a new grey forage cap, with gold braid, which he was wearing when he was mortally wounded on the first evening of the victorious battle of Chancellorsville on May 1, 1863. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (815x1024, 203 KB) Summary From: http://memory. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (815x1024, 203 KB) Summary From: http://memory. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Combatants Indian Nationss Colonial America/United States of America Indian Wars is the name generally used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between the Americans and the Indian Nations. ... Gettysburg was a 1993 movie that dramatized the decisive American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg. ... For other uses, see Gods and Generals (disambiguation). ... Glory is a 1989 drama based on the history of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment during the American Civil War. ... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... Stonewall Jackson For the 1960s country music artist, see Stonewall Jackson (musician); for the submarine, see USS Stonewall Jackson (SSBN-634). ... The Virginia Military Institute (VMI), located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state military college in the United States. ... Chancellorsville is an unicorporated village in Virginia, about twenty miles west of Fredericksburg. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The chasseur cap was also popular. A close copy of the French kepi, it had a sunken top and squared visor. In the North, it was often called the 'McClellan cap' after Union commander of the Army of the Potomac, G.B. McClellan. Civil War versions were often plain coloured dark blue or grey shade, however some units wore coloured variants, a few illustrative examples being: A Chasseur (a French term for hunter) is the designation given to certain regiments ofFrench light infantry (Chasseurs-à-Pied) or light cavalry (Chasseurs-à-Cheval) troops, trained for rapid action. ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... Generals Burnside, Hancock, Couch, Ferro, Patrick, Wilcox, Cochrane, Buford and others. ... For the 1960s commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, see George McClellan (police commissioner). ...

• U.S. - 14th NY (from Brooklyn)- dark blue base, red sides, dark blue top, red circular insert
• 12th NY - red base, grey sides, red top, white piping and later - dark blue base, light blue top and sides, white piping
• 11th Indiana - all red cap
• U.S. Sharpshooters - dark green (Note: Also used forage caps)
• Confederate Regulars:
  • 1st pattern
    • Infantry - light blue base, grey sides and top
    • Cavalry - yellow base, grey sides and top
    • Artillery - red base, grey sides and top
  • 2nd pattern
    • Infantry - dark blue base, light blue sides and top
    • Cavalry - dark blue base, yellow sides and top
    • Artillery - dark blue base, red sides and top
• Winchester Zouave Cadets (of South Carolina) all red
• Kentucky Brigade cavalry - all yellow
• Alexandria Rifles (of Virginia) - dark green.

The chasseur cap was standard issue in 1861 for New York infantry regiments which did not have their own special uniform. Post-war, the U.S. Army issued a series of kepi undress caps, characterised by their increasing smartness and decreasing practicality. The last model was issued in 1896. When the U.S. introduced a revised blue dress uniform in 1902, the kepi was discontinued in favour of a conventional visor cap with wide top and steep visor. State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... A US Marine marksman. ... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, bicycles, or other means. ... French Republican Guard - May 8, 2005 celebrations Cavalry (from French cavalerie) were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. ... Artillery with Gabion fortification Cannons on display at Fort Point Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Firing of an 18-pound gun, Louis-Philippe Crepin, (1772 – 1851) A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. ... A zouave from 1888. ... This article refers to the general definition of cadet. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32°430N to 35°12N... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... This article contains a trivia section. ...

The Army's current field cap, with its flat top and visor, may be a variation of the kepi. It was adopted after World War II and during the 1950s was "blocked" with heavy starching and ironing until its replacement with a baseball-style cap during the Vietnam War. The present-day cap was reintroduced in the 1980s with the adoption of the old-style BDU uniforms and was retained when the ACUPAT digital-pattern cammoflague uniforms were introduced in 2005. This does not cite any references or sources. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Two soldiers wearing the ACU. The Army Combat Uniform, or ACU, is a new combat uniform (battledress) to be worn by the United States Army. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Usage elsewhere

The practical nature and relative cheapness of the kepi made it a popular military headdress from the mid-nineteenth century on. The Belgian Army had a distinctive form of kepi with a high back to it. This continued to be worn in black and silver by the Belgian Gendarmerie until the 1950s. Many Latin American armies wore kepis in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which were close copies of the French model. The Greek Army of the same period wore dark blue or green (the latter for cavalry) kepis and continued the same style of headress in khaki when field uniforms of that colour were introduced in 1910. Other armies who favoured kepis during the final period of colourful uniforms that ended with World War I, included the Danish, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian (officers only) and Romanian armies. Even the Japanese Army adopted French style kepis for senior officers in full dress, as well as for their Gendarmerie units and military bands. The Norwegian armed forces used kepis until World War II and retains them for the full dress of officer cadets. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

In Switzerland, the kepi was worn as a part of the dress uniforms by higher NCOs (Sergeant major and above) and officers (with additional rank insignia) until the 1995 army reform. Since then, it is only worn by higher staff officers (Brigadier general and higher).

In Sweden the kepi has been used with several uniform types. The most common was the grey kepi, mössa m/23, to the field uniform of the 1923 pattern and the blue/dark blue kepi, mössa m/1865-99, to the uniform types m/1886 and m/1895 still in use by the Life Guards.

Significantly such historic opponents of France as Germany and Britain avoided the use of kepis, with only a few shortlived exceptions such as service in India during the 1850s-60s. During this time the Albert Shako was preferred. This may have been for practical rather than patriotic reasons, as the distinctive profile of the kepi would be likely to lead to confusion in battle. A Shako of a French Navy uniform of the 19th century. ...

In India, during the French colonial rule of Pondicherry, Yanam, Karaikal and Mahe, Kepis were worn by two kinds of policemen, the Armed and the Indigenous, differentiated by the colour of the kepis they wore. While the law and order forces wore bright red caps, the armed constabulary was conspicuous by its blue kepis. After Independence of India, the former french colonial territory was reorganised ino the Union Territory of Pondicherry and the bright red kepi continues to be the headgear of the constabulary — both for the local and the armed police signifying the cultural and administrative legacies left by the former colonialists. Map of Pondicherry Region, Union Territory of Pondicherry, India Pondicherry (Tamil:புதுவை,Hindi: पॉण्डिचेरी) is a Union Territory of India. ... Yanam or Yanaon is a district of the Union territory of Pondicherry and a town in that district. ... Karaikal, also Karikal, is one of the four regions of the Union Territory of Pondicherry. ... Categories: India geography stubs | Pondicherry ... Map of Pondicherry Region, Union Territory of Pondicherry, India Pondicherry (Tamil:புதுவை,Hindi: पॉण्डिचेरी) is a Union Territory of India. ...

Non-military use

Kepis also found their way into the uniforms of numerous railway and streetcar operators in the United States. From there it was adopted by other public transport operators around the world, including Brisbane, Australia, whose drivers and conductors continued to wear distinctive white Kepis with black visors until 1961. Brisbane bus inspectors continued to wear black kepis with decorative braid until the introduction of a French blue kepi in 1987. Brisbane Transport replaced inspector's kepis in 1995, although as at 2006 they can still be worn at official functions. a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ... Brisbane (pronounced ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, as well as the third largest city in Australia, with a greater metropolitan population of 1. ... One of Brisbane Transports natural gas-powered Scania L94UB buses CityCat catamaran ferry Brisbane Transport is a division of the Brisbane City Council. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

The kepi formed the male standard headgear of uniformed British Rail employees from the mid 1960s to the mid 1980s. This article is about the defunct entity British Railways, which later traded as British Rail. The History of rail transport in Great Britain is covered in its own article. ...

Kepis are also worn by traditional student fraternities, also called Studentenverbindung, in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. They are called Stürmer and are very colorfull in appearance. A Studentenverbindung (the umbrella term that includes the Burschenschaften, Landsmannschaften, Corps, Turnerschaften, Sängerschaften, Catholic Corporations, Wingolf and Ferialverbindungen) is a German student corporation equivalent to fraternities in the US or Canada. ... Couleur (from french, in engl. ...

D. P. Dearborn wearing a kepi Download high resolution version (469x626, 21 KB)D. P. Dearborn, his kepi badge is 3, and we speculate he later transferred to the 4th. ...

Foreign legionnaires Image File history File links Download high resolution version (646x1192, 133 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: French Foreign Legion Kepi French Army ...

gendarmes Download high resolution version (340x644, 42 KB)This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ...

Contemporary French Army képi Image File history File links A kepi worn by an officer of the French Army Copyright © 2005 David Monniaux File links The following pages link to this file: Kepi ...