AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN SWORDS 21 



Kevolution by a continental officer whose identity has not been 

 preserved. The sword ^ has the slender, triangular, 3-grooved blade, 

 so well known in this connection, of a deep-blue shade for three- 

 quarters of its length and decorated with floral and trophy designs 

 in gold. The grip, which is 4-sided, is covered with rich crimson 

 leather and decorated with spiral grooves. The silver pommel is 

 urn-shaped, the rim being decorated with a circlet of facets and the 

 body encircled by a line of beading and two rows of festoons. The 

 knuckle guard is slender and circular and continues to form quillons 

 of the same type drooping toward the blade. These three portions 

 of the handle are decorated with facets and floral designs. The 

 counterguard, which is made of silver plate, is oval in shape and is 

 decorated with a double row of openwork designs around the rim, 

 which appear as geometrical designs on the front and as a row of 

 brilliants surrounding a sunburst on the reverse. The front is 

 stamped on one side of the blade within a rectangle in small capitals 

 " WK " and on the other, in the same manner, with a lion. The 

 scabbard is made of wood covered with sheepskin with two silver 

 mounts and a silver sheath at the point. This sword was lent to the 

 National Museum in 1913 by Mrs. Henry Wells. 



SWORD OWNED BY MAJ. JACOB MORRIS 



Another small sword of plain but fascinating design in the na- 

 tional collection is one that was carried during the Revolution by 

 Maj. Jacob Morris. The blade of this sword ^° is very similar to 

 that of the one just described, but the dark-blue portion extends 

 only a short distance from the counterguard. The grip is wound 

 closely with silver-plated wire, and the pommel is of a severely plain 

 vase-shaped design. The laiuckle guard is made of a flat slender strip 

 of silver plate, which is continued to form quillons drooping toward 

 the blade. The counterguard is an oval piece of plate, the front 

 rim of which is decorated with a very delicate design of festooned 

 lines punched into the surface. This sword was presented to the 

 National Museum in 1924 by Victor Morris through the Wisconsin 

 Society of the Colonial Dames of America. 



The types of swords already described indicate clearly that the 

 officers of the Continental Army and the American Militia of this 

 period depended almost entirely upon English sources for the swords 

 they carried. This seems to be conclusively proved by the fact that 

 the swords of some of the most prominent military officers of this 

 period were of English manufacture. There was little opportunity 

 during this troubled period to establish the manufacture of sucli 

 weapons in the colonies. The swords already described were doubt- 



» Length, 100 cm. Blade, 82.5 cm. long, 2 cm. wide. PI. 3, fig. 3. 

 10 Length, 100 cm. Blade, 84.5 cm. long, 1.5 cm. wide. PI. 3, flg. 1. 



