Were sabres used effectively in U.S. Civil War?

[Jim McDougall]

Outstanding discussion here guys, with some great perspectives and very useful information. It does seem that the Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia June 9,1863 stands as an excellent example of the effective use of the cavalry sabre in this period. I have seen references to this battle being significant in Custer's reputation, and it does appear that this particular battle was primarily a cavalry engagement. I believe that being the case would support the effective use of sabres from many of the accounts, as the figures that were predominant such as Custer and the brilliant J.E.B.Stuart, who certainly could be considered flamboyant in perceptions of themselves as modern cavaliers. This may suggest that these officers might well have insisted on a bit larger degree of emphasis on use of the sabre with their troops at this time.

From most of what has been discussed here, I am understanding that in the overall course of the war, from the beginning and through the Battle at Brandy Station, the sabre had at least nominal presence as a weapon.
It seems as if with more conscripts and volunteers joining the ranks as the consuming war dragged on, the hurried training offered less attention to these derisively regarded and cumbersome weapons, and became more of an obligatory encumbrance.

It also seems that with the amazing volume of tens of thousands of swords produced and imported, little training, reluctance to thier use, or maintainance, that these swords literally became surplus almost immediately.
This would seem to largely account for such large numbers of these swords of the Civil War remaining unsharpened, and may have led to these perceptions, that sabres were never sharpened.

In studying American swords, I have often seen the irony of the development of the U.S. M1913 "Patton" cavalry sword, often described as one of the finest cavalry swords devised, yet never used in combat. These were produced in considerable number until 1919, but the sword by then was decidedly obsolete. The last use of the cavalry sabre in combat it seems was in Luzon, in the Philippines in 1906, and the swords used were appararantly surplus sabres from the Civil War.

As Vandoo has noted, after this time, the legend of Francis Bannerman began with his monumental acquisition of military surplus, and many thousands of these swords beginning thier odyssey in the collections that became the foundation of our 'collective' hobby.

The notes mentioned on unsharpened swords are well placed, and I recall earlier discussions where British forces were devastated by the seemingly superhuman swordsmanship of the native warriors in India. Even more astounded were they when they discovered that the sabres they were using were actually discarded or captured British swords of the superceded M1796 light cavalry pattern. It was found they were sharpened razor sharp, kept well oiled and in wooden rather than steel scabbards. The secret to this fantastic swordsmanship was not primarily in skill, but in sharp blades.

All best regards,
Jim