Intriguing British sword to identify

Belgian1 · 21st November 2018, 04:10 PM

Good evening Jim,
It is with pleasure that I will share other best photos, as soon as I have it in hand. Indeed, I have long been attracted by British swords very and sometimes too curved without knowing the real reason. For my part, I read "somewhere" that these blades short and more curved were for easier use in the woods and groves during skirmishes. But indeed, it would be interesting to know more about these units of harassment and elites who were probably sent to tire the enemy with the skirmishes ........ ????
See you soon and thank you for your contribution to this topic

Fabrice

Jim McDougall · 21st November 2018, 10:51 PM

Fabrice, I finally found of a photo of a most unusual sabre I have had for many years and is basically of the M1796 light cavalry sabers. It is the only photo I have so I apologize for the poor quality.

What is unusual is that you can see the dramatically parabolic blade with this needle like point. The blade is a rod type pipe back which extends the full length of the blade, which was not characteristic of the M1796 cavalry swords of the time nor of course was this point nor the curve.

To make things even more puzzling, the stirrup hilt has a sharply canted grip, also atypical of these swords. This type of grip angle is something known on some Indian tulwars and some Tatar and Caucasian sabers.

Actually this sword was featured among a selection of variants of the M1796 light cavalry saber which was published in Denmark many years ago. As this was the first year of these regulation pattern swords for the British army, and as LeMarchant and Osborn were involved in evaluating select features, there were numbers of innovative ideas tried.

While the 'hatchet' point with heavy, slightly curved blade and the radiused tip on the final pattern served well for its slashing cuts.....there were some who favored the thrust and sharp points.

This saber has been regarded as perhaps either a variant or prototype for the early 1796 sabers, however in later years after seeing some flank company officers in illustrations with radically curved blades, I thought that might be the case for this one.

Whatever the case, it is unusual enough to have been included in that article as a variant, and to see your example here, it is most intriguing to look further into these type blades.

Jim McDougall · 27th November 2018, 06:51 PM

Interesting exercise, it would be even more so if anyone out there had any other insights or examples regarding the swords used in flank companies in these times. While perhaps a bit too esoteric for most, it seems there are others in the group who collect British swords. Looking forward to pictures from Belgian!!

21st November 2018, 04:10 PM	#1
Belgian1 Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Belgium Posts: 52	Misterious "British" to identifying Good evening Jim, It is with pleasure that I will share other best photos, as soon as I have it in hand. Indeed, I have long been attracted by British swords very and sometimes too curved without knowing the real reason. For my part, I read "somewhere" that these blades short and more curved were for easier use in the woods and groves during skirmishes. But indeed, it would be interesting to know more about these units of harassment and elites who were probably sent to tire the enemy with the skirmishes ........ ???? See you soon and thank you for your contribution to this topic Fabrice

21st November 2018, 10:51 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,189	Fabrice, I finally found of a photo of a most unusual sabre I have had for many years and is basically of the M1796 light cavalry sabers. It is the only photo I have so I apologize for the poor quality. What is unusual is that you can see the dramatically parabolic blade with this needle like point. The blade is a rod type pipe back which extends the full length of the blade, which was not characteristic of the M1796 cavalry swords of the time nor of course was this point nor the curve. To make things even more puzzling, the stirrup hilt has a sharply canted grip, also atypical of these swords. This type of grip angle is something known on some Indian tulwars and some Tatar and Caucasian sabers. Actually this sword was featured among a selection of variants of the M1796 light cavalry saber which was published in Denmark many years ago. As this was the first year of these regulation pattern swords for the British army, and as LeMarchant and Osborn were involved in evaluating select features, there were numbers of innovative ideas tried. While the 'hatchet' point with heavy, slightly curved blade and the radiused tip on the final pattern served well for its slashing cuts.....there were some who favored the thrust and sharp points. This saber has been regarded as perhaps either a variant or prototype for the early 1796 sabers, however in later years after seeing some flank company officers in illustrations with radically curved blades, I thought that might be the case for this one. Whatever the case, it is unusual enough to have been included in that article as a variant, and to see your example here, it is most intriguing to look further into these type blades. Attached Images Last edited by Jim McDougall; 22nd November 2018 at 03:04 AM.

27th November 2018, 06:51 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,189	Interesting exercise, it would be even more so if anyone out there had any other insights or examples regarding the swords used in flank companies in these times. While perhaps a bit too esoteric for most, it seems there are others in the group who collect British swords. Looking forward to pictures from Belgian!!