AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN SWORDS 31 



States shield, the whole flanked with floral and scroll designs. The 

 grip is 4-sided with a row of imitation brilliants along the edges and 

 a floral design on the obverse and reverse. The pommel represents 

 an eagle's head, and the guard is a flat strip decorated in the center 

 of the lower portion with an oval medallion bearing an eagle dis- 

 played. The knuckle guard is continued above the blade to form a 

 quillon of the same type, terminating in a ram's head. To the 

 obverse of the quillon is attached a large oval shield, bearing the 

 figures of Ulysses half kneeling, with a female figure of Victory 

 on his shoulder. The scabbard is engraved with three panels bear- 

 ing representations of the Battle of Niagara, a view of the falls, and 

 an eagle on a globe between United States flags. The obverse of 

 the scabbard also bears a tablet inscribed : " Major General Jacob 

 Brown, U. S. Army " and the reverse is inscribed in three lines : 



" Presented by His Excellency, Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of 

 the State of New York, pursuant to Resolution of the Senate and 

 Assembly of the said State as a testimony of gratitude to Major 

 General Jacob Brown for his eminent services and as a memorial 

 of the repeated victories obtained by him over the enemies of his 

 country." 



The recipient of this sword was born in Bucks County, Pa., in 

 1775, and from 1796 to 1798 was engaged in surveying public lands 

 in Ohio. In 1798 he settled in New York, and, having obtained some 

 military experience as secretary to Alexander Hamilton, he was in 

 1809 made colonel of militia. In the following year he was made 

 brigadier general and in 1812 was placed in command of the New 

 York frontier from Oswego to Lake St. Francis. In July, 1813, he 

 was appointed brigadier general in the Regular Army and on Jan- 

 uary 24, 1814, he was placed in command of the army of Niagara 

 with the rank of major general. He subsequently conducted a suc- 

 cessful campaign along the Niagara frontier during which he was 

 victorious at Fort Erie, Chippewa, and Niagara. At the close of 

 the war he retained command of the northern divisions of the Army, 

 and in 1821 he was made general-in-chief of the United States Army. 

 He died in Washington, D. C, in 1828. His sword was presented 

 to the National Museum in 1904 by Nathan Brown Chase. 



PRESENTATION SWORD OF MAJ. GEN. ELEAZER W. RIPLEY 



A second sword ^^ of this type is one presented by the State of 

 New York to Maj. Gen. Eleazer W. Ripley, United States Army, in 

 recognition of his services during the War of 1812. The form of 

 the blade and the general design as a whole are the same as of the 

 sword presented to Major General Brown described above. The ob- 



s" Length, 90.5 cm. Blade, 78.5 cm. long; 2.5 cm. wide. PI. 6, flg. 6. 



