46 BULLETIN 16 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



was named Long's Peak in his honor. From 1827 to 1830 he was 

 engaged in surveying for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. When 

 the Topographical Engineers were organized as a separate corps in 

 1838 he was made major. In 1861 he was made chief of Topograph- 

 ical Engineers with the rank of colonel. He died in Alton, 111., in 

 1864. His sword was bequeathed to the National Museum in 1918 

 by William Foulke Johnes. 



SWORD OWNED BY MAJ. GEN. GEORGE B. McCLELLAN 



An interesting presentation sword of the period of the War with 

 Mexico is one ^^ of the Engineer Corps type that was presented to 

 Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, United States Army, when 

 lieutenant, in recognition of services during that conflict. The blade 

 is straight and triangular in shape. The two obverse sides are 

 decorated with floral and scroll designs and the reverse sides with 

 the United States coat of arms, floral and scroll designs, and the 

 inscription " U. S. Corps of Engineers." The grip is gold mounted 

 and is made in the form of two rattlesnakes in 14 coils with the 

 heads joined to the pommel and the tails to the quillons. The 

 knuckle guard, which is 4-sided, terminates at the pommel in a 

 scroll ; the obverse and reverse sides are decorated in the center with 

 a 5-pointed star flanked by thunderbolts. The quillons are plain 

 flat strips and the counterguard is heart-shaped. The upper portion 

 of the obverse side terminates in an oak-leaf scroll inclosing a 

 5-pointed star, and the lowest part is decorated in silver Avith a 

 double-turreted castle above 26 stars; the reverse side is a semi- 

 circular bronze shield without decoration. The scabbard, which is 

 silver plated with four gold-plated mounts, is inscribed : " Presented 

 to Lieut. Geo. B. McClellan of the Corps of Sappers and Miners, 

 U. S. A., by a number of gentlemen as a testimonial of their high 

 admiration for his gallantry during the war with Mexico; 1st at 

 the siege of Vera Cruz; 2nd Battle of Cerro Gordo; 3rd Battle of 

 Contreras; 4th Battle of Churubusco; 5th Chapultepec; 6th, Capture 

 of the City of Mexico." This sword was presented to the National 

 Museum in 1917 by the Hon, George B. McClellan, together with a 

 number of other swords, uniforms, and miscellaneous military relics 

 relating to the career of General McClellan. 



The two swords just described are exceptional in type and do not 

 at all resemble the other presentation swords belonging to this sec- 

 tion of the National Museum collection. The others are all very 

 similar in general design with blades typical of the period under dis- 

 cussion and the hilts resembling one another to a marked degree. 



■" Length, 94.2 cm. Blade, 80.8 cm. long, 1.9 cm. wide. Marked " N. P. Ames, Cutlers, 

 Springfield, Mass." PI. 12, fig. 2. 



