British saber believed of Papal Army volunteers

Jim McDougall · 16th May 2021, 12:56 AM

This is another of my 'mystery' swords acquired back in the 1970s. This was among piles of old swords on a table at a gun show, and pretty much simply scoffed at by those circling the table.

I knew of course it was a British M1796 saber, and by Thomas Bate of Birmingham, but I was intrigued by the curious markings scribed on the langet.
C s A
4
43
My thoughts naturally raced toward a Confederate connection in the Civil War, with the CSA markings, but over time, research with authorities proved that to be an optimistic assumption. Apparently aside from Virginia cavalry, hardly any Confederate swords were 'unit marked', and the CSA confined to cast hilts incorporating those letters.

My attention then turned to Spanish colonial, knowing that much of the Mexican military had British arms, and perhaps Carlos IV might be contrived in the letters. This tenuous idea was too quickly disproven.

Years later, in 2003, I was given a brilliant suggestion, that perhaps this was a sword which ended up in the Castel Sant Angelo, in the Vatican in Rome.
This ancient edifice had been a military fortress, prison, and armory, which was undoubtedly used during the campaigns of the 'risorgimento' or wars of unification 1861-1870. In addition to Swiss Guards and protection units, Pope Pius IX, maintained a Papal Army of volunteers and mercenaries.
Among these were Irish volunteers.

Interestingly among these Irish volunteers was Capt. Miles Keogh, who later would fall at the disastrous Battle of the Little Big Horn in Montana in 1876.

It appears this saber, obviously older and surplus, may have been among weapons acquired by the armory, and the CsA and numbers must be rack numbers of as yet unknown denominator.

Another curious feature of this saber is a deliberate square notch at the tip of the blade.

The armory and military use of the Castel Sant Angelo was decommissioned in 1901. Possibly this saber was of the holdings there?

While of course highly speculative, there is reasonable plausibility it would seem. These times in Italian history are very complex, but perhaps there are members out there more familiar with volunteer units who might have been in service in this period and in this Papal Army.

I would be grateful for comments.

PS I may have posted this years ago, so please pardon the new post

16th May 2021, 12:56 AM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,944	British saber believed of Papal Army volunteers This is another of my 'mystery' swords acquired back in the 1970s. This was among piles of old swords on a table at a gun show, and pretty much simply scoffed at by those circling the table. I knew of course it was a British M1796 saber, and by Thomas Bate of Birmingham, but I was intrigued by the curious markings scribed on the langet. C s A 4 43 My thoughts naturally raced toward a Confederate connection in the Civil War, with the CSA markings, but over time, research with authorities proved that to be an optimistic assumption. Apparently aside from Virginia cavalry, hardly any Confederate swords were 'unit marked', and the CSA confined to cast hilts incorporating those letters. My attention then turned to Spanish colonial, knowing that much of the Mexican military had British arms, and perhaps Carlos IV might be contrived in the letters. This tenuous idea was too quickly disproven. Years later, in 2003, I was given a brilliant suggestion, that perhaps this was a sword which ended up in the Castel Sant Angelo, in the Vatican in Rome. This ancient edifice had been a military fortress, prison, and armory, which was undoubtedly used during the campaigns of the 'risorgimento' or wars of unification 1861-1870. In addition to Swiss Guards and protection units, Pope Pius IX, maintained a Papal Army of volunteers and mercenaries. Among these were Irish volunteers. Interestingly among these Irish volunteers was Capt. Miles Keogh, who later would fall at the disastrous Battle of the Little Big Horn in Montana in 1876. It appears this saber, obviously older and surplus, may have been among weapons acquired by the armory, and the CsA and numbers must be rack numbers of as yet unknown denominator. Another curious feature of this saber is a deliberate square notch at the tip of the blade. The armory and military use of the Castel Sant Angelo was decommissioned in 1901. Possibly this saber was of the holdings there? While of course highly speculative, there is reasonable plausibility it would seem. These times in Italian history are very complex, but perhaps there are members out there more familiar with volunteer units who might have been in service in this period and in this Papal Army. I would be grateful for comments. PS I may have posted this years ago, so please pardon the new post Attached Images