72 BULLETIN 16 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



SWORD OWNED BY CAPT. A. H. FOSTER 



A sword of very plain design but of much historical interest is 

 one that was presented to Capt. A. H. Foster, of Company D, 

 Twenty-fifth Kegiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, by his company in 

 1 862. This sword ^^ is the regular type of weapon carried during the 

 Civil War by staff and field officers. The grip is covered with fish- 

 skin and wound with 14 turns of gilt wire. The scabbard is dec- 

 orated with a trophy and floral and scroll design and inscribed on 

 the obverse : " Presented to Captain A. H. Foster, Co. 4, 25th Kegt. 

 Mass. Vols, by his company as a token of their regard and esteem 

 for him and for his bravery at the Battle of Roanoke, Feb. 8th, 

 1862." This sword was presented to the National Museum in 1891 

 by Mrs. E. A. Foster. 



SWORD OWNED BY MAJ. GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK 



A sword of exceptional historical interest and great beauty of 

 design is one ^^^ presented to Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, 

 United States Army, at the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, in 

 1864. The blade is straight with two edges. The obverse is dec- 

 orated in silver on a gold background with the letters " U. S." in 

 script, the figure of a United States Infantry officer in full uniform 

 standing with a sword in the right hand and a standard in the left ; 

 the whole is flanked with floral and scroll designs. The reverse is 

 similarly decorated with a medieval trophy, a man-at-arms, and 

 floral and scroll designs. The grip is 4-sided and finished in silver 

 gilt; the top and bottom are decorated with a single line of bead- 

 work ; on both the obverse and reverse sides is represented a standing 

 facing female figure personifying War, a sword in her left hand and 

 a standard raised above her head. The oval-shaped pommel is 

 surmounted by an eagle- poised for flight. The knuckle guard con- 

 sists of two sprays of laurel leaves arranged in the form of a bow 

 with a female figure of Victory superimposed upon the low^er part. 

 The quillon terminates above the blade in a monster's head; a large 

 shield attached to the obverse bears a laurel wreath ; and a small one 

 on the reverse bears the inscription " Voted to Maj. Gen. W. S. Han- 

 cock at the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, St. Louis, June 4, 1864." 

 The scabbard, which is gold mounted, bears on the obverse, near the 

 top, an eagle, displayed in gold surrounded by a circle of 36 diamond 

 chips set in gold stars; the whole rests on a blue enamel background 

 flanked by two standards and surmounted by tw^o palm sprays and 

 a square standard; in the center is an oval shield inscribed " U. S." 



-^ Length, 96.5 cm. Blade, 82 cm. long, 2.6 cm. wide. Marked "Ames Mfg. Co., 

 Chicopee, Mass." PI. 24, fig. 4. 



* Length, 99 cm. Blade, 78.5 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide. Marked " Tiffany & Co., New 

 York." PI. 25, fig. 1. 



