What hat styles were popular with the early Texas Rangers?

Sgt. Howard K. Williams, USAF

Deer Park, Texas

Bob Stevens, an authority on the organization, says that early Texas Rangers wore a planter’s or plantation hat. Around 1866, Stetson’s “Boss of the Plains” hat became popular. Rangers did not have an official uniform, so the men wore many other styles of hats. Early Ranger outfits were primarily frontier Indian fighters, and during the Revolution and Mexican War they served in volunteer outfits. These men wore anything that gave them shade from the blazing sun.