Confederate Dog River swords

Jim McDougall · 16th May 2023, 04:29 PM

In 1960, William Albaugh III wrote the seminal book "Confederate Edged Weapons", which I recall being one of the first 'sword' books I had. Naturally collecting swords in those days there were plenty of opportunities to buy Union Civil War swords, they were everywhere! BUT, Confederate swords, not so much.

One of the most perplexing mysteries regarding Confederate swords was inadvertently created (p.115) when Albaugh was writing his book in the 1950s.
A letter he found by Lt. R.S.Jackson of the 20th Alabama Volunteers said it was written at Dog River Factory', Camp Goode, where he wrote of a sword 'being made up in town'.

After some time desperately trying to find the Dog River factory unsuccessfully, he coined the term 'Dog River' seemingly out of frustration, to classify Confederate swords from an unknown manufacturer, which seems ironic as many rank and file swords were not so marked.
I discovered years ago that CSA or regimental numbers were not placed on rank and file swords either, and the only swords emblazoned with the CSA (Confederate States of America) were officers swords.

The question has always been about the apocryphal 'dog river sword factory', did one exist?

It seems that there is indeed a Dog River in Alabama, and 5 miles SW of Mobile there was a Dog River cotton mill owned by Col. Garland Goode.
In September of 1861 the main factory building burned, but buildings in the factory village remained. This became a recruiting camp for soldiers to the Confederacy and loosely termed 'Camp Goode'.

This was some years ago confrmed by a letter from a Confederate soldier to Martha J. Wideman of Gaston (post office) Sumter County, and was date lined Dog River Factory (Camp Goode), Mobile, Alabama, July 18, 1862.

Apparently it would seem there was never a Dog River 'sword' factory and the term became a colorful epithet romantically classifying a Civil War sword as Confederate without distinct support. It has seemed this trope has become popularly overused especially in recent years, so I thought it would be a good topic to look into.

I would note that there are indeed numbers of makers who are known to have made swords for the Confederacy, and as most Civil War sabers are the M1840 type which were produced before the war, while the M1860 of course did come in as well. There were instances too of British M1853 swords being made by Isaac & Co. in England entirely for the Confederacy.

Jim McDougall · 16th May 2023, 05:43 PM

While not 'Dog River' I wanted to add an important type of Confederate sword which seems to be colloquially termed a 'Froelich' or 'Kenanville' by collectors.
Louis Froelich began producing swords in 1861 in Wilmington, N.C. but later went to Kenanville, N.C.
It seems there were two forms, one with a flared pommel, the 2nd (?) with the more familiar 'Phyrigian cap' style pommel similar to the US M1840, and known used by another Confederate maufacturer, Boyle & Gamble.

Froelich used Roman numerals as mating or bench marks on scabbard throat and quillon edge. This was perhaps one subtle identifier of his swords, though unclear if this was done by others.

In first image is the flared pommel type
Next is the Phrygian cap pommel type

16th May 2023, 04:29 PM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,942	Confederate Dog River swords In 1960, William Albaugh III wrote the seminal book "Confederate Edged Weapons", which I recall being one of the first 'sword' books I had. Naturally collecting swords in those days there were plenty of opportunities to buy Union Civil War swords, they were everywhere! BUT, Confederate swords, not so much. One of the most perplexing mysteries regarding Confederate swords was inadvertently created (p.115) when Albaugh was writing his book in the 1950s. A letter he found by Lt. R.S.Jackson of the 20th Alabama Volunteers said it was written at Dog River Factory', Camp Goode, where he wrote of a sword 'being made up in town'. After some time desperately trying to find the Dog River factory unsuccessfully, he coined the term 'Dog River' seemingly out of frustration, to classify Confederate swords from an unknown manufacturer, which seems ironic as many rank and file swords were not so marked. I discovered years ago that CSA or regimental numbers were not placed on rank and file swords either, and the only swords emblazoned with the CSA (Confederate States of America) were officers swords. The question has always been about the apocryphal 'dog river sword factory', did one exist? It seems that there is indeed a Dog River in Alabama, and 5 miles SW of Mobile there was a Dog River cotton mill owned by Col. Garland Goode. In September of 1861 the main factory building burned, but buildings in the factory village remained. This became a recruiting camp for soldiers to the Confederacy and loosely termed 'Camp Goode'. This was some years ago confrmed by a letter from a Confederate soldier to Martha J. Wideman of Gaston (post office) Sumter County, and was date lined Dog River Factory (Camp Goode), Mobile, Alabama, July 18, 1862. Apparently it would seem there was never a Dog River 'sword' factory and the term became a colorful epithet romantically classifying a Civil War sword as Confederate without distinct support. It has seemed this trope has become popularly overused especially in recent years, so I thought it would be a good topic to look into. I would note that there are indeed numbers of makers who are known to have made swords for the Confederacy, and as most Civil War sabers are the M1840 type which were produced before the war, while the M1860 of course did come in as well. There were instances too of British M1853 swords being made by Isaac & Co. in England entirely for the Confederacy.

16th May 2023, 05:43 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,942	Froelich or Kenville swords While not 'Dog River' I wanted to add an important type of Confederate sword which seems to be colloquially termed a 'Froelich' or 'Kenanville' by collectors. Louis Froelich began producing swords in 1861 in Wilmington, N.C. but later went to Kenanville, N.C. It seems there were two forms, one with a flared pommel, the 2nd (?) with the more familiar 'Phyrigian cap' style pommel similar to the US M1840, and known used by another Confederate maufacturer, Boyle & Gamble. Froelich used Roman numerals as mating or bench marks on scabbard throat and quillon edge. This was perhaps one subtle identifier of his swords, though unclear if this was done by others. In first image is the flared pommel type Next is the Phrygian cap pommel type Attached Images