The Fort Mackinac rifle team in 1886, proudly displaying their trophy and their mustaches.
Today, people wear all sorts of hairstyles, jewelry, tattoos, and other adornments to personalize their look. In the late 19th century, however, only one accessory would do for the fashionable and well-dressed man: a mustache.
Private Amos Wilkie
Unfashionable for most of the 18th century, facial hair came back into style in the early 19th century. While beards were popular by the 1850s (think Abraham Lincoln), as the years passed mustaches became increasingly fashionable.
Here are just a few of the mustachioed men who served at Fort Mackinac between the 1870s and 1890s:
A company of the 23rd Infantry on the parade ground in the 1880s- how many mustaches can you see?A close up of the group and their mustaches.Captain Leslie Smith, commanding officer 1869-74Captain Edwin Sellers, commanding officer 1879-84Captain Greenleaf Goodale, commanding officer 1886-90Quartermaster Sergeant John Fletcher, 1885-93Lieutenant Edmund Smith, 1890-92Captain George Brady, commanding officer 1884-86
