AMEEICAN AND EUROPEAN SWOEDS 33 



right angles below the blade, terminating in a disk above and bearing 

 a circular beaded branch on the obverse of the quillons. The most 

 interesting feature of the design of this saber is the beading on the 

 lower part of the guard and on the obverse of the quillons. The 

 latter are of the same design as the quillon attached to the sword of 

 Col. William Dudley described above. The Hopkins collection con- 

 tains another saber with a similarly designed guard but without the 

 eagle's head on the pommel. 



The National Museum collection includes a saber ^- of this period 

 with a broad blade with a deep curve and a narrow deep groove on 

 each side near the back. Each side is stamped deeply with the date 

 1806 in large figures. The grip is made of highly polished ivory 

 with a geometrical design covering about half of one side. The 

 pommel is a silver eagle's head, and the knuckle guard consists of a 

 slender, flat, silvered strip, which terminates above the blade in a 

 quillon ending in a plain disk. The scabbard is made of black 

 leather with three large silver mounts. This interesting example of 

 the early nineteenth century saber was acquired by the Museum 

 from John A. Sachse in 1927. 



SABER OWNED BY CAPT. MORDECAI MYERS 



A saber of this period in the National Museum collection of 

 special interest is one that was carried during the War of 1812 by 

 Capt. Mordecai Myers, of the Thirteenth New York Infantry. This 

 saber ^^ has a long, heavy, deeply curved blade with three narrow 

 grooves near the back. Both sides of the blade are decorated near 

 the hilt with engraved designs representing an eagle surrounded by 

 stars within an oval between two slender floral sprays. The grip, 

 which is made of ivory and is decorated with eight parallel vertical 

 grooves, is surmounted by a silver-mounted strip, which is continued 

 to form an eagle-head pommel with the plumage extending the entire 

 length of the strip. The knuckle guard is a flat silvered strip of an 

 elongated S shape, the lower side being decorated with an oak leaf 

 scroll. The quillons are of the same type, the one above the blade 

 terminating in an eagle's beak. To the quillons are attached on each 

 side of the blade a small shield decorated in relief with a design show- 

 ing a mounted officer waving his sword. The scabbard is a heavy 

 iron piece reinforced with three iron bands. 



The owner of this saber was born in Newport, R. I., in 1776. In 

 1812 he received a commission as captain in the United States Army 

 and was assigned to the Thirteenth Regiment of Infantry. He was 

 severely wounded at the Battle of Cryslers Field on the Niagara 



^ Length, 84.7 cm. Blade, 71 cm. long, 3.5 cm. wide. 



"Length, 93.5 cm. Blade, 81 cm. long, 3.5 cm. wide. PI. 9, fig. 1. 



