2 BULLETIN 16 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



panied by suitable illustrations. That this material is worthy of 

 such a record is self-evident to all who are interested in the preser- 

 vation of similar objects connected with the military and naval his- 

 tory of the United States. The swords are typical of many others 

 now in the possession of individual collectors, and of local historical 

 societies and other public organizations, and the information herein 

 regarding them should indicate clearly the historical value of such 

 objects. Only through the medium of such a record can the true 

 significance of these collections and the importance of their preser- 

 vation be conveyed to the public. 



A secondary aim has been to supplement the literature already 

 available on the general subject of military and naval swords. This 

 aim has arisen, however, more from the nature of the subject than 

 from any special effort on the part of the writer, whose work has 

 been confined to the swords contained in the collection of the United 

 States National Museum and to the sources of information readily 

 available in that connection. The technical history of the American 

 sword remains to be written, and the present paper by no means 

 attempts the performance of such a serious task. An effort has 

 herein been made, however, to indicate the changes in the designs of 

 the swords used in the Army and Navy of the United States during 

 the nineteenth century. With this object in view descriptions have 

 been given of many swords of technical rather than of historical 

 interest. 



The classification of the swords of technical interest only has in 

 many cases proved a difficult task on account of the scarcity and 

 uncertainty of the records concerning their origin and history. In 

 such cases the conclusions stated have been based upon a study of the 

 swords of the types indicated in the possession of the National Mu- 

 seum. A study of a larger and more representative collection of 

 swords of this character would undoubtedly have produced more 

 satisfactory and complete results. As already stated, however, the 

 swords of historical interest have been the central theme, and the 

 swords of technical interest only have been used to perfect as far as 

 possible a historical background for the weapons of personal as well 

 as technical interest. This is particularly true in connection with 

 the swords of American origin and design. 



A third object in the preparation of this bulletin has been to recog- 

 nize appropriately the generosity of those contributors to the National 

 Museum collections whose public spirit has made possible the assem- 

 bling of the swords herein described. The various sources from 

 which these swords have been derived are accordingly given in the 

 text. Individual swords of a personal character have been, for the 

 most part, lent or presented to the National Museum by the descend- 

 ants of their original owners. Many of the swords of purely techni- 



