"...Nolan was particularly interested in Nizams Irregular Horse. He had recently read a medical report of an engagement in which these troops had defeated a superior force of Rohillas, and had been astonished by the havoc created by thier swords: heads and arms completely severed, hands cut off at a single blow, and legs above the knee. Was this the 'work of giants' or of some peculiar quality in the sword blade or its use? The answer surprised him. The swords turned out to be merely old blades, discarded by British dragoons, cut to a razor edge and worn in wooden scabbards from which they were never drawn except in action. But Nolan may have given insufficient credit to these broad, curved, spear pointed * blades, the light cavalry sword of 1796, perhaps the finest sword ever used by the British cavalry. He inquired the secret of the cavalrymans skill, and was struck by the simplicity of the reply. "We never teach them any way sir, a sharp sword will cut in anyones hand", said one of the Nizams seasoned troopers. The lesson of sharp swords was one that Nolan never forgot."
- from "Nolan of Balaklava", H.Moyse-Bartlett, London, 1971,p.121
autobiography of Louis Edward Nolan, key figure in the
charge of the Light Brigade Oct.25,1854
*these were actually hatchet points, not spear points on the M1796
Clearly the British swords were not inadequate, however improper maintainance and servicability of the weapons by many of the troops led to reports of thier poor quality. It seems ironic that in so many cases the blades on native weapons used against British forces were thier own surplus or captured blades.
By the middle of the 19th century onward, the swords used by irregular cavalry units were typically surplus British military examples, and later even examples of tulwars made specifically for native troopers (Mole produced these in latter 1890's). The less dramatic curve of the tulwar blades was likely influenced by European and British sabres of the 19th century whose blades reflected the constant struggle to effectively combine the potential for both cut and thrust. It is important to note that the native troopers favor toward the hatchet pointed M1796 blades continued throughout the 19th century, and British makers produced these blades for India Stores as late as the 1880's, with the swords used into the 20th c. mounted in stirrup hilts.
Incidentally, the term tulwar is applied not only to the familiar disc hilted examples, but to the Persian hilt form which is similar to the shamshir hilt but typically all steel and with the same flueret shaped langets. I have seen these mounted with British M1788 sword blades as well.
Best regards,
Jim
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