66 BULLETIN 16 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



general type as the United States Artillery saber of the same period, 

 but the decorations on the blade are distinctively southern in charac- 

 ter. The obverse of the blade bears a variety of fruit and floral 

 designs, and the reverse shows a trophy of Confederate flags above 

 crossed cannon, floral and oak-leaf designs, and a scroll inscribed 

 " C. S." The grip is of leather, wound in grooves with 10 turns of 

 gilt wire, and the pommel and guard are of the same type as those 

 of the United States Artillery swords of the same period. The scab- 

 bard is steel with three brass mounts. This interesting relic was 

 transferred to the National Museum in 1923 from the Military 

 Service Institution. 



CAVALRY OFFICERS' SABERS 



A Confederate Cavalry officer's saber " of interest in the National 

 Museum collection has a long, slightly curved blade with a convex 

 overhanging back. Both sides are decorated with floral designs in 

 silver chasing, a trophy and a 5-pointed star with the letters of the 

 word " T-E-X-A-S " between the points. The grip is made of wood 

 decorated with 12 parallel vertical grooves, and the whole is sur- 

 mounted by a plain brass strip terminating in a plain circular 

 pommel. The knuckle guard consists of a plain brass strip with 

 three curved branches of similar design, which unite on the obverse 

 of the blade with a narrow oval counterguard. This saber belongs 

 to the Alfred F. Hopkins collection. 



The collection includes three other Confederate Cavalry sabers 

 with plain guards cut from a brass plate with the letters " C. S. A." 

 between the branches.^* One of these belongs to the Alfred F. 

 Hopkins collection; another was lent to the museum in 1911 by Mrs. 

 Kate N. Foote ; and a third ^^ was acquired in 1927 from John A. 

 Sachse. 



PRESENTATION SWORDS, 1861 TO 1865 



The collection of presentation swords of the Civil War period in 

 the possession of the National Museum is particularly interesting 

 both from the viewpoint of history and that of the art of sword 

 making. "Weapons of the great commanders on the side of the 

 Union are well represented in this series by beautiful swords pre- 

 sented to them either during the conflict or soon after its termina- 

 tion ; nearly every branch of the service is thus represented. 



The presentation swords of greatest interest in this series are those 

 that were presented to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. These swords, four 



" Length, 100.5 cm. Blade, 87.2 cm. long, 3 cm. wide. PL 23, fig. 5. 

 "Length, 94.7 cm. Blade, 81.2 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide. PI. 23, flg. 4. 

 " Length, 96.3 cm. Blade, 82.3 cm. long, 3 cm. wide. PI. 23, flg. 6. 



