I am now the proud owner of a hand made "Liberty Cap" in a style that was apparently fairly common but which is all but forgotten today. The classic red Phrygian cap emblazzoned with "Liberty" in white letters is well represented among modern reenactors and patriotic heraldry, but mine is an alternate version, in dark ingigo wool, and it proudly proclaims an historically accurate rebel's love of CONGRESS.
I found some beautiful deep indigo yarn from the Catskill Merino Sheep Farm. Yes, Merinos were intorduced to the US in 1807, but the wool is gorgeous and my talented friend Janet who knitted it for me said it was a joy to work with.
And now I can stand up with any true Patriot and proclaim my loyalty to that bastion of Liberty, CONGRESS!
Huzzah!
Nice cap. I love this. I never such crotchet cap. I love this words which is written in white color.
Posted by: וילות בהרצליה פיתוח | February 21, 2012 at 11:37 AM
Can I have that liberty cap? only I will use it on my The Walking Dead video.
Posted by: Watch Walking Dead | October 12, 2011 at 06:35 AM
Phrygian caps don’t seem to have been popular before the Revolutionary War; I found only one reference when I was doing research on Liberty Trees and Poles for Alfred Young's book LIBERTY TREE, and that was a representation of a cap instead of a real one. But they were definitely popular as symbols of Jeffersonian politics around 1800. I don't know the evidence about them during the war, though of course they might have both a political and a practical value for soldiers on campaign.
Posted by: J. L. Bell | September 23, 2011 at 12:58 PM