Lt Col. John Gaspard Le Marchant

[Ian Knight]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

I once had a M1796 light cavalry sabre with traces of bluing and inscribed motif on the blade, including the pre-1801 British coat of arms (with fluer de lis in upper right quadrant). It seems it was possibly even slightly shorter than the 31" described here. It was entirely unmarked as far as maker and was without scabbard.
I was always curious about this sabre as being rather on the short side, and wonder as well if there was a particular instance of the period for the size of the blade so much shorter than the typical cavalry length.

Hello Jim,
I have five British P1796 LC sabre in my collection at the moment. They all have 33" blades apart from one which is 32".
One of my sabres, made by Osborn (the same maker who made Le Marchant's sabre), has much of its blue & gilt remaining, it also has the pre-1801 coat of arms. The blade is 33".

Would they have made shorter sabres for Officers of a smaller stature I wonder?

Ian