Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Jim McDougall · 10th March 2007, 06:11 AM

Hi William,
It's good to hear from you! Please note that I have not questioned the quality of British blades, only the proper use of them by British troopers, a thing not uncommon in other ranks of many armies in various circumstances.
While there were many debates, questions and scandals concerning British swords from the latter 18th through the end of the 19th centuries, it is commonly held that the British M1796 light cavalry sabre was the finest sword ever used by the British cavalry. Indeed it remained in use by yeomanry units throughout the 19th c. and in Indian regiments into the 20th.

I will share with you some excerpts on which I have based my comments.

British General Gaspard LeMarchant (1766-1812) was a brilliant cavalry officer who worked at advancing cavalry tactics and weapons, and was responsible for devising the M1796 sabre from his observations while detached on campaign in Flanders with Austrian forces in 1795. While there, he noted the brilliant swordsmansip of the Austrians, and regrettably noted that one Austrian officer had observed that while British swordplay was entertaining, he likened it to "somebody chopping wood".
("Scientific Soldier:A Life of General Le Marchant" , R.H.Thoumaine, 1968, p.41).

In "Swords of the British Army" (Brian Robson, London, 1975, p.34), it is noted that , "...the history of the British cavalry troopers sword in the 19th c. is largely one of complaints. How far these complaints genuinely arose from defects in the swords and how far they were due to deficiencies in the users is difficult to determine".
Further, "...there is however, evidence to suggest that the faults were not confined to the swords. Very often, the troopers were not well trained in the difficult art of mounted swordsmanship and
'little attention was paid to the care and sharpening of the swords".

In reviewing "British Cut and Thrust Weapons" (John Wilkinson-Latham,1971) on p.20, the author cites passages from Louis E.Nolan from his 1853 Treatise on cavalry, "Cavalry,Its History and Tactics", where it is noted,
"...at Rumnugger..the troopers of the light cavalry had no confidence in their swords. A regulation sword in his hand,
which must always be blunted by the steel scabbard in which it
is encased.
The native sword blades were chiefly old dragoon blades cast from our service..they all had an edge like a razor from heel to point, and were
worn in wooden scabbards".

Nolan made these observations in India in 1850, and it is interesting to note that he, like LeMarchant, approached all aspects of the cavalry with deep passion. Ironically both were killed in cavalry charges, LeMarchant at Salamanca in 1812 and Nolan at Balaklava in the immortal "Charge of the Light Brigade".

In "Nolan of Balaclava" (H.Moyse-Bartlett, London, 1971, p.121) the author describes Nolans observations concerning the terrifying effectiveness of the swords used by troopers of Nizams Irregular Horse against Rohilla tribesmen, where "...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".

Clearly, the blades did indeed have superior quality basically, however would not seem to have held in particularly high regard by the British troopers, if they were simply discarded. This may likely indicate that the men at this period and on campaign on India's frontiers had no special regard for swords because of more reliance on firearms with little consideration for the sword.

At the end of the 18th century, there were indeed wooden inserts in many of the M1788 sabres, in particular those by Gill, however it does not appear that wooden inserts were widely used in the subsequent issues of regulation swords for cavalry troopers. The concerns expressed by Nolan, noting the importance of wooden scabbards must have been considered in the ongoing struggle to improve the quality of British swords later in the 19th c. as seen in this excerpt from "Sword, Lance and Bayonet" , Ffoulkes & Hopkinson, 1938, p.22),
"...in considering convenience in use the scabbard must not be left out of consideration. Writing in 1869 Colonel Denison ("Modern Cavalry") urged the use of a wooden lining, as the sword edge coming in contact with the metal scabbard tended to become blunted, and he instances the universal use of the wooden scabbard by Oriental horsemen in support of his contention".

This would of course suggest that swords were typically sheathed in metal scabbards as late as 1869, although as you have noted, officers swords were often in leather covered wood cases. I have seen noted that later in the 19th c. swords sent to India were in wood scabbards that were covered there locally so as not to question the type of animal hide applied to cover it.

There can never be any question of the gallantry of the outstanding cavalry of Great Britain in these times, and my comments were not intended to question that in any way. In the years after the Napoleonic Wars there was a great deal of complacency in the military, and colonial campaigns were anything but ideal for parade ground discipline. The constant struggles in the neverending debate of cut vs. thrust typically negated any consistancy in sword design or exercise and certainly had profound bearing on the importance of the sword as a viable combat weapon with the growing emphasis on firearms as principle weapons.

I hope this will better explain my comments

All the best,
Jim

10th March 2007, 06:11 AM	#24
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	Hi William, It's good to hear from you! Please note that I have not questioned the quality of British blades, only the proper use of them by British troopers, a thing not uncommon in other ranks of many armies in various circumstances. While there were many debates, questions and scandals concerning British swords from the latter 18th through the end of the 19th centuries, it is commonly held that the British M1796 light cavalry sabre was the finest sword ever used by the British cavalry. Indeed it remained in use by yeomanry units throughout the 19th c. and in Indian regiments into the 20th. I will share with you some excerpts on which I have based my comments. British General Gaspard LeMarchant (1766-1812) was a brilliant cavalry officer who worked at advancing cavalry tactics and weapons, and was responsible for devising the M1796 sabre from his observations while detached on campaign in Flanders with Austrian forces in 1795. While there, he noted the brilliant swordsmansip of the Austrians, and regrettably noted that one Austrian officer had observed that while British swordplay was entertaining, he likened it to "somebody chopping wood". ("Scientific Soldier:A Life of General Le Marchant" , R.H.Thoumaine, 1968, p.41). In "Swords of the British Army" (Brian Robson, London, 1975, p.34), it is noted that , "...the history of the British cavalry troopers sword in the 19th c. is largely one of complaints. How far these complaints genuinely arose from defects in the swords and how far they were due to deficiencies in the users is difficult to determine". Further, "...there is however, evidence to suggest that the faults were not confined to the swords. Very often, the troopers were not well trained in the difficult art of mounted swordsmanship and 'little attention was paid to the care and sharpening of the swords". In reviewing "British Cut and Thrust Weapons" (John Wilkinson-Latham,1971) on p.20, the author cites passages from Louis E.Nolan from his 1853 Treatise on cavalry, "Cavalry,Its History and Tactics", where it is noted, "...at Rumnugger..the troopers of the light cavalry had no confidence in their swords. A regulation sword in his hand, which must always be blunted by the steel scabbard in which it is encased. The native sword blades were chiefly old dragoon blades cast from our service..they all had an edge like a razor from heel to point, and were worn in wooden scabbards". Nolan made these observations in India in 1850, and it is interesting to note that he, like LeMarchant, approached all aspects of the cavalry with deep passion. Ironically both were killed in cavalry charges, LeMarchant at Salamanca in 1812 and Nolan at Balaklava in the immortal "Charge of the Light Brigade". In "Nolan of Balaclava" (H.Moyse-Bartlett, London, 1971, p.121) the author describes Nolans observations concerning the terrifying effectiveness of the swords used by troopers of Nizams Irregular Horse against Rohilla tribesmen, where "...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". Clearly, the blades did indeed have superior quality basically, however would not seem to have held in particularly high regard by the British troopers, if they were simply discarded. This may likely indicate that the men at this period and on campaign on India's frontiers had no special regard for swords because of more reliance on firearms with little consideration for the sword. At the end of the 18th century, there were indeed wooden inserts in many of the M1788 sabres, in particular those by Gill, however it does not appear that wooden inserts were widely used in the subsequent issues of regulation swords for cavalry troopers. The concerns expressed by Nolan, noting the importance of wooden scabbards must have been considered in the ongoing struggle to improve the quality of British swords later in the 19th c. as seen in this excerpt from "Sword, Lance and Bayonet" , Ffoulkes & Hopkinson, 1938, p.22), "...in considering convenience in use the scabbard must not be left out of consideration. Writing in 1869 Colonel Denison ("Modern Cavalry") urged the use of a wooden lining, as the sword edge coming in contact with the metal scabbard tended to become blunted, and he instances the universal use of the wooden scabbard by Oriental horsemen in support of his contention". This would of course suggest that swords were typically sheathed in metal scabbards as late as 1869, although as you have noted, officers swords were often in leather covered wood cases. I have seen noted that later in the 19th c. swords sent to India were in wood scabbards that were covered there locally so as not to question the type of animal hide applied to cover it. There can never be any question of the gallantry of the outstanding cavalry of Great Britain in these times, and my comments were not intended to question that in any way. In the years after the Napoleonic Wars there was a great deal of complacency in the military, and colonial campaigns were anything but ideal for parade ground discipline. The constant struggles in the neverending debate of cut vs. thrust typically negated any consistancy in sword design or exercise and certainly had profound bearing on the importance of the sword as a viable combat weapon with the growing emphasis on firearms as principle weapons. I hope this will better explain my comments All the best, Jim Last edited by Jim McDougall; 10th March 2007 at 02:36 PM.