Now On View: A Quaker Militiaman’s Hat

This military-style cocked hat belonged to Barzillai Newbold, a Quaker man from Burlington County, New Jersey, who served in the militia during the Revolutionary War. Newbold chose revolution over religion by breaking from the pacifist beliefs of the Quakers (also known as the Religious Society of Friends) and fighting in the war. In June 1776, the Quaker meeting in Chesterfield, New Jersey, condemned and disowned Barzillai Newbold, then just 17 years old, because he would not turn away from military service. Newbold rose to the rank of major and served on the staff of the commander of New Jersey’s militia, Philemon Dickinson. After the war, he returned to his community, including the Quaker meeting. Barzillai Newbold’s hat is on public display for the first time, courtesy of his descendants.

Newbold's hat is on view in the Oneida Nation Atrium.