Here is the hat I "created". The photo's a little dark, but it's the only shot I have at this time. It started off as a 1902 Dress Cap from S & S Firearms ($45.00). One problem with this hat is that it is covered with a synthetic cloth, not wool. It has the appearance of gabardine, but it has that "double-knit" texture to it. Barring a close inspection, it looks okay. I have added a chinstrap and side buttons since the photo was taken.
I removed the wire stiffener in the crown, and the "horsehair" material from the inside of the crown. The patent leather brim was removed, and a leather visor from an old kepi was added. The leather visor from the kepi already had a strip of material sewn to it, so it was fairly easy to stitch this into the cap between the blue material and the sweatband. This particular cap has two metal ventilation grommets on each side that I do not care for, but there's not much I can do about that.
The green band is 1 1/2" grosgrain ribbon and 3/16" gold braid I got from Hobby Lobby.
The insignia was also obtained from S & S. It is a "Rhode Island" anchor cap insignia, nicely embroidered in heavy metallic thread on black cloth, It was originally on an oval-shaped backing, so I trimmed around the anchor leaving an even border (about 1/8") all around. The cannon insignia is a "false embroidered" cap badge - don't get the "hat" badge, as it is for the Hardee Hat, and much larger. The metal of the badge is textured to look like metallic embroidery, and is made of shiny brass. I weathered it with cold blueing solution to get it to match the anchor embroidery, and it brings out some better detail. The cannons attach with wires.
Overall, I think it came out "just okay". It's a fairly good representation of what the hat probably looked like, but as US Scout stated, there are no good photos of original hats. For the price (under $70.00 total) I think I did okay for a first attempt, but for more authenticity regarding material and exact style, it may be better to locate a CW naval officer's cap to start with. It was kind of a fun project, and I may try it again if I find a better hat to work with. Hope this gives you some good ideas, and good luck with your research. Keep us posted on what you come up with.
Guns Garrett