British LC 1796 sabre in Spanish use

[midelburgo]

This is just a short intro to the subject, which as far as I know has not been revised previously, much less researched.

Since the first involvements of the British Army and Navy in the peninsula in 1808, it seems 1796 light cavalry sabres were supplied to both Portuguese and Spanish units. I have seen some references to the coastal landing of swords behind French lines in the gulf of Biscay. Later the supply would be as well of only blades, at Cadiz for example.

It will be difficult to identify a complete original LC 1796 sabre as being used in the Peninsula Campaign or later (1820s, 1830s, 1840s), in the Portuguese or Spanish armies, unless explicit unit numbers or mottoes are present. Many have been probably brought back to UK or USA in later periods.

This is not the case for 1796 blades that had been rehilted and found in Spain or Spanish collections. I believe there are two general customs here.

-Possibly because of their lightness, officers liked the 1796 blades, so they will take precedence for keeping them over the troopers.

-And they seem to have preferred brass hilts modelled on the French ANXI sabres, to the original iron stirrup (P) types.

Some of these swords were built in the Peninsula War period, but other were assembled later indeed.

I will show some examples.

Older ones are probably those British blades mounted with original captured French ANXI hilts, with their original markings. Blade by GILL.

Later, some workshops in Spain were probably able to cast the hilts, copying the French ANXI hilt. These do not have markings. A lot of research could be done here. For example, Gabriel Benito Ybarzabal, who would later make
the brass hilts and iron scabbards of many Toledo swords until the 1830s, worked in Eibar/Placencia, that was under French ocupattion in 1808-1813.

Did he made hilts for the French? No idea. In 1814 he was able to make hilts for the Spanish Guardia de Corps units, so we could think his workshop was spared.

In 1821, after a political turn, larger freedom was given to individual entrepreneurs, so Benito Ybarzabal started making complete swords in his own factory. One of his models was a copy of a LC 1796 blade, marked on the spine Fabrica de Ybarzabal Año de 1821, with an unmarked copy of a French ANXI hilt. Scabbard, copy of the British original, is marked Ybarzabal. It seems this concoction was a favourite of some Spanish officers and they ordered it to be made anew.

Spanish cavalry officer swords with Toledo blades can be found with iron hilts resembling the ANXI, in the period 1808-1820. And same happens with the 1796 LC blades.

[midelburgo]

In later years, some Spanish derivatives of the ANXI hilts, as the rare 1825 LC model or the 1815 LC for troopers or officers (here) were also matched to the British 1796 LC blades.

Even the 1860 LC model (Iron basket) can be found with an old 1796 LC blade. Probably an officer favourite.