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Originally Posted by Philip
Jim, I would imagine that these bilbos outfitted for colonial service were also issued to garrisons in tropical areas where troops had to venture into rainforests, or sail up creeks in canoes and small boats. I can see the value of a more compact sword than a full-length rapier, not to mention one with a blade that has at least some cutting ability and enough mass to parry a native war club. The cup hilt itself presents issues as re convenient portability. Oakeshott rightly points out that this hilt, though an extremely efficient hand protector, is bulky when worn at the belt, and that very long, thrust-only blades aren't practical in a battle melee. Besides that, the scabbards are simply too fragile -- I have a Milanese cuphilt whose period sheath has survived, and imagine a stiff leather tube, tapering down to a skinny conical metal tip, that hugs the blade closely with no internal liner or stiffener (such as a wood or metal core) to reinforce it once the sword is out. No wonder that only a miniscule number of rapiers on the market and in collections have intact sheaths.
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Very well noted Philip, and indeed the case for shorter and more effectively proportioned swords seems as you say, well represented in the southern areas of America (Louisiana, Florida etc) and the 'Caribbean'hilt (as termed by Peterson) did have shorter, stout blades.
Just as some of my own observations which I add for comment more for general readership here, and are details which are of course well known by you, I would additionally suggest;
A true rapier blade, thin and typically long, would be effectively useless in combat situations where high impact, and wildly variable circumstances would probably break it almost immediately. These were suited only for one on one more controlled interaction in fencing and dueling.
The large cup hilt or any heavily constructed hilt would be most inconvenient worn at the waist through a sash and these kinds of annoyances would likely have been attended to with less obtrusive carry methods. It seems like the scabbard carry configuration with such rapiers typically had the hilt outward and forward toward more horizontal plane.
On another note regarding hilt size outside rapiers, the British heavy cavalry M1796 sword with the heavy full disc guard was eventually regarded as a nuisance as the disc reportedly chafed uniforms. The remedy was to cut down the inner side of the disc. This seems odd as these swords were usually worn with dramatically long straps in the flamboyant Napoleonic hussar convention of almost, if not actually , dragging the ground (hence the term 'drag' on the surround on the chape of the scabbard).
The scabbard you have is an outstanding anomaly, as rapier scabbards in any case seem to have been fragile affairs which seldom survived through time while their steel and iron occupants of course did.