AMERICAN AI^D EUEOPEAlSr SWOEDS 6 



cal interest were obtained by the Museum from the United States 

 War and Navy Departments. An exception is a large collection lent 

 to the National Museum in 1923 by Dr. Alfred F. Hopkins, of Wash- 

 ington, D. C. This group, which is referred to in the text as the 

 Alfred F. Hopkins collection, was donated to the Museum by Mrs. 

 Beulah Hepburn Emmet in 1926 and includes a large number of 

 early American military and naval swords of unusual historical and 

 technical interest. It constituted an exceptionally valuable acquisi- 

 tion to the historical collections of the National Museum, because prior 

 to its receipt they included very few American swords of this type 

 manufactured prior to 1840. The acquisition of the Hopkins collec- 

 tion thus filled an important gap in the Museum series of American 

 military and naval swords. 



HISTORICAL CLASSIFICATION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL SWORDS 



Both the American and the European swords described may be 

 divided into three separate and distinct classes with reference to their 

 general historical significance : Swords of technical interest only ; 

 swords of personal as well as technical interest; and presentation 

 swords, which differ materially from the swords of the other two 

 classes both as regards their intrinsic character and their historical 

 interest. 



(1) The swords belonging to the first of these classes, those of 

 technical interest only, are valuable on account of the information 

 they furnish concerning the history of the sword as a weapon. They 

 indicate the development of the use of the sword and the character 

 of the various types used during a specific period. They show also 

 the different kinds used during each period by the various ranks and 

 branches of the military and naval services. Thus the American 

 swords of this character represent the development of the military 

 and naval power of the United States during the period that elapsed 

 between the beginning of the Revolution and the close of the World 

 War. 



(2) The second class of swords, those of both technical and per- 

 sonal interest, includes weapons that were the personal property of 

 noted military and naval commanders. They possess a unique de- 

 gree of interest to the American public through their connection with 

 some of the best known personalities of American history. These 

 swords thus are doubly important. From the technical viewpoint 

 they illustrate the history of sword making and indicate the changes 

 in the types of swords used during various periods. From the his- 

 torical viewpoint they represent not only the development of military 

 and naval power, but they illustrate in a graphic manner the personal 

 achievements of their original owners. In some cases these swords 



