AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN SWORDS 43 



The pommel is button-shaped with a wavy surface. The knuckle 

 ^ard consists of a plain brass strip with two curved branches, 

 which constitute the design known as the " half basket " type. The 

 quillon is of the same type as the guard and terminates above the 

 blade in a disk. The National Museum has two sabers®^ of this 

 type made by N. P. Ames, which belong to the Alfred F. Hopkins 

 collection. A third one,*'^ transferred to the Museum from the Li- 

 brary of Congress in 1917, was made by W. L. & M. Sargant, and 

 has a long curved blade with a flat back and a wide deep groove 

 on either side. The grip is the regular type as described above, but 

 the branches of the guard are without flutings and a small brass 

 shield appears on each side of the upper portion of the grip. In 



1839 sabers of this type were assigned also to officers of the Topo- 

 graphical Engineer Corps. The blades ^* were inscribed " United 

 States Corps of Topographical Engineers," and the scabbard bore 

 the monogram " T. E." on a small shield. 



MOUNTED ARTILLERY SABERS, 1840 TO 1850 



The colonel of ordnance of the United States Army addressed a 

 letter to the Secretary of War in December, 1838, stating that some 

 dissatisfaction had been expressed by the inspector general and some 

 of the dragoons officers w^ith regard to the United States Army 

 Cavalry saber then in use. He suggested, therefore, that measures 

 be taken to procure from Europe a number of sabers of the most 

 approved patterns and workmanship in order to compare them with 

 our own, and to stimulate, if necessary, our manufacturers to im- 

 prove their work. With this object in view, he suggested that about 

 500 light Cavalry sabers and one handsome light Artillery saber be 

 obtained each from England, France, and Germany. These swords 

 should, he thought, be brass-mounted with bright steel scabbards of 

 the latest pattern adopted in each of the countries named. They 

 should, moreover, be purchased from the government manufacturies 

 or from those employed to work for the governments, and should 

 be accompanied by certificate of inspection, if possible, from officers 

 employed in the respective armies for that purpose.^^ 



It seems logical to conclude that the changes made in the types 

 of sabers carried by the personnel of the United States Army about 



1840 resulted from the complaints noted above and the informa- 

 tion obtained from abroad upon the ground of these complaints. 

 In any event, soon after these complaints had been made, the models 

 of the sabers in use in the Army were radically changed and weapons 



»2 Length, 101 cm. Blade, 87 cm. long, 2.8 cm. wide. PI. 16, figs. 1, 3. 

 ^ Length, 103 cm. Blade, 90 cm. long, 3 cm. wide. 



'* A saber of this type was transferred to the National Museum by the War Depart- 

 ment in 1901. See pi. 16, fig. 2. 



" Ordnajice Department Reports, vol. 1, p. 359, 1878. 



