During the Civil War in 1862, the Confederate Army adopted a new pattern for kepis worn by their officers. In this second pattern, the entire cap of the kepi is in the color of the army branch (Red, Yellow or Blue). The gold braid, also known as the Austrian braid indicates officer status and the number of braids reflects the rank. Other than garrison and high ranking events, these fancy pieces were seldom encountered on the actual battlefield after late 1862. Needless to say, it did not take the wearers long to realize that a bright colored cap made quite a nice target! The leather chin strap was originally intended to be used, but as time went by, this gave way to a simple, non-adjustable leather strap. Choose color, size and rank for number of braids when ordering.