AMEEICAlSr AND EUROPEAN SWORDS 77 



Nashville " on the left. This sword was presented to the National 

 Museum in 1916 by Mrs. Mary C. Lawton. 



SWORDS OWNED BY MAJ. GEN. GEORGE B. McCLELLAN 



Two other presentation swords of the period of the Civil War 

 of exceptional interest in the National Museum collection were pre- 

 sented to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan by the city of Boston and 

 the city of Philadelphia, respectively. The first of these ^^ has a 

 long, straight, two-edged blade, with a flat surface both the obverse 

 and reverse sides of which are decorated with trophy, floral, and 

 scroll designs. The grip is gold mounted; the entire surface is 

 covered with parallel vertical rows of laurel-leaf designs; the center 

 and the end are encircled by gold bands set with pearls. The pommel 

 is vase-shaped and the sides are decorated with oak leaves. The 

 knuckle guard is a flat, gold-mounted strip, the sides of which are 

 decorated with oak-leaf designs. The counterguard is double-shell- 

 shaped, with palm sprays at the top. The scabbard is gold mounted, 

 the obverse decorated with two floral and scroll designs in high relief 

 which surround in one case two angels supporting a plain shield 

 between them, and in the second a medieval casque. Between the 

 two is the inscription : " To Major General George B. McClellan 

 from many citizens of Boston, February 5, 1863. Pro Rege Saepe, 

 pro patria semper." This sword was presented to the National 

 Museum in 1917 by the Hon. George B. McClellan. 



The blade of the sword ^* presented to General McClellan by the 

 city of Philadelphia is likewise long, straight, and two edged, but, 

 unlike the one just described, has a deep narrow groove down the 

 center of each side. Both the obverse and the reverse sides are deco- 

 rated in silver chasing with the United States arms and floral and 

 trophy designs. The grip, which is gold mounted, is encircled 

 spirally five times by a wide spray of laurel leaves set with pearls, 

 and the intervening spaces on the reverse are set with diamonds. 

 The pommel consists of an eagle combating a snake, which is coiled 

 about the end of the grip. The knuckle guard, which is 4-sided, is 

 ornately decorated with oak-leaf scrolls and bead work; the center 

 of the lower portion consists of a medallion set diagonally with a 

 row of pearls; and the whole terminates in a quillon of the same 

 type with an oak scroll branch on the reverse and a hinged oval 

 shield on the obverse bearing the monogram " G. B. McC." The 

 scabbard is gold mounted, and the obverse is decorated with very 

 elaborate floral and scroll designs and two coats of arms between 



«* Length, 98.2 cm. Blade, 90.2 cm. long, 3.1 cm. wide. Inscribed "Palmer & Bachel- 

 dor, Boston, Mass." PI. 25, fig. 4. 



'-* Length, 95.6 cm. Blade, 78 cm. long, 2.8 cm. wide. Inscribed '* Bailey & Co., 

 Phila." PI. 25, fig. 5. 



