Site Overlay
atavistmas-1552478384-87.jpg

No Mustaches or Imperials Allowed

Sporting a beard and a hint of a smile, this naval 1st assistant engineer dresses in an 1852 regulation uniform. The general order, dated March 8, 1852, provides detailed guidelines about what to wear and how to wear it. Also included, a passage addressing hair and beards: “The hair of all persons belonging to the Navy, when in actual service, is to be kept short. No part of the beard is to be worn long, and the whiskers shall not descend more than two inches below the tip of the ear, except at sea, in high latitudes, when the Regulation may, for the time, be dispensed with by order of the Commander of a Squadron, or of a vessel acting under separate orders. Mustaches and imperials are not to be worn by officers or men on any pretense whatever.” Judging from this likeness, he appears to be in compliance on the beard front.

Sixth-plate ambrotype by an anonymous photographer. Thomas Harris Collection.
Sixth-plate ambrotype by an anonymous photographer. Thomas Harris Collection.

SPREAD THE WORD: We encourage you to share this story on social media and elsewhere to educate and raise awareness. If you wish to use any image on this page for another purpose, please request permission.

LEARN MORE about Military Images, America’s only magazine dedicated to showcasing, interpreting and preserving Civil War portrait photography.

VISIT OUR STORE to subscribe, renew a subscription, and more.

Scroll Up