AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN SWORDS 101 



been carried by officers of the Marine Corps from the time of its 

 adoption in 1825 to the present day with the exception of the period 

 from 1859 to 1875. During that period the officers of the Marine 

 Corps carried swords simiLar to the foot officers' swords adopted for 

 use in the United States Army in 1850. This sword, as stated above/^ 

 was very similar to the regulation naval officer's sword adopted at 

 the same time. 



SWORD OVv^NED BY CAPT. FRANK M. MUNROE 



The sword of the oriental type was again adopted in 1875 for the 

 use of the officers of the Marine Corps. The National Museum has 

 two examples of this sword. One of these was carried during the 

 latter part of the nineteenth century by Capt. Frank M. Munroe, 

 United States Marine Corps. This sword "^ has a slightly curved 

 blade with a broad shallow groove extending about three-fourths its 

 length and two narrow short grooves near the point. Each side is 

 decorated with a scroll inscribed " U. S. Marines." The grip is 

 formed of two plain ivory strips attached to the sides of the tang 

 by two brass rivets, the ends of which bear stars, which appear on 

 each side of the grip. The pommel is knob-shaped and bears a 

 single large perforation through which the sword knot passes. The 

 quillons are plain brass strips, which terminate in acorn points and 

 are prolonged to right and left in the center in such a manner as to 

 form a cross. The scabbard is nickel-plated and bears a brass mount 

 at the tip decorated on either side with a floral design. 



The owner of this sword entered the Marine Corps as second 

 lieutenant in 1861. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 

 the same year and to that of captain in 1864. His sword was pre- 

 sented to the National Museum in 1921 by Miss Helen Munroe. A 

 more recent sword ^^ of this type was lent to the National Museum 

 in 1924 by Lieut. William A. Rolff, United States Marine Corps. 

 The design is practically the same as that of the one just described, 

 but the decorations on the blade are more ornate nnd in high relief; 

 the legend on the blade of this sword reads: "United States 

 Marines." The scabbard is the same type as that of the sword just 

 described. 



NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS' SWORDS 



The swords ^^ now carried by noncommissioned officers of the 

 United States Marine Corps are similar in design to the foot officer's 

 sword adopted in 1850. 



" See p. 95. 



" Length, 93 cm. Blade, 80 cm. long, 2.2 cm. wide. PI. 30, fig. 4. 



™ Length, 89 cm. Blade, 75.5 cm. long, 2 cm. wide. PI. 30, fig. 5. 



»» Length, 91 cm. Blade, 75.3 cm. long, 3 cm. wide. PI. 30, fig. 6. 



