38 BULLETIN 16 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



to other general officers and to officers of the general staff. The usual 

 design of this sword was as follows: The blade was straight, broad, 

 and long, with a narrow, deep central groove on each side, both 

 sides being decorated with various designs in silver chasing. The 

 hilt was made of brass, and the grip was circular and decorated 

 with fine vertical grooves. The pommel was vase-shaped, and the 

 knuckle guard was circular at the ends and flattened at the bottom, 

 where it was decorated on each side with a line of beadwork. The 

 quillons were plain, circular brass pieces passing through the center 

 of the counterguard, which was a double-heart-shaped brass plate 

 with a row of beadwork around the border. 



SWORDS FROM THE ALFRED F. HOPKINS COLLECTION 



The earliest sword of this type in the National Museum belongs 

 to the Alfred F. Hopkins collection. It *^ has a long, slender, 2-edged 

 blade with a narrow deep groove on each side extending from 

 hilt to point. Each side bears in plain chasing the United States 

 arms flanked by large floral and trophy designs. The barrel-shaped 

 grip is decorated horizontally with laurel sprays and crescent 

 designs. The brass pommel is vase-shaped. The knuckle guard 

 is a brass strip decorated with crescents. The quillons are straight 

 cylinders, and the lower one passes through a niche of the counter- 

 guard, which is a solid double-heart-shaped brass plate surmounted 

 by a shell the front of which is engraved with floral scrolls. One 

 side of the scabbard, which is made of brass with two rings, is 

 decorated with floral scrolls. The Hopkins collection contains two 

 other swords of this type made by N. P. Ames, of Springfield, 

 Mass. The blades of these two swords ^^ are similar to the one 

 just described. The grips are covered with a thin sheet of steel 

 decorated with fine grooves. The lower parts of the guards are 

 decorated with beadwork, and the fronts of the counterguards are 

 convex in shape. In both cases the scabbards are made of black 

 leather with three brass mounts. 



SWORD OWNED BY MAJ. GEN. ALEXANDER MACOMB 



There are several other examples of this sword in the national 

 collection. Two of these were owned by Maj. Gen. Alexander Ma- 

 comb, United States Army. One of these *^ bears on the obverse of 

 the blade in silver chasing on a gold background the United States 

 arms surrounded by 15 stars, and a trophy consisting of a drum, a 



" Length, 99 cm. Blade, 81.5 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide. PI. 11, fig. 2. 

 *8 Length, 94 cm. Blade, 78.5 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide. Marked "Ames Mfg. Co. Chicopee, 

 Mass." PI. 11, figs. 1, 8. 



«» Length, 94 cm. Blade, 79 cm. long, 2.2 cm. wide. PI. 11, fig. 4. 



