AMEEICAISr AND EUEOPEAlSr SWORDS 121 



SWORD OF GEN. JOSE ANTONIO PAEZ 



An English sword of special interest is one presented to Gen. Jose 

 Antonio Paez, of Venezuela, in 1837 by King William IV of Great 

 Britain. The blade of this sword ^'^ is long and heavy with a deep 

 curve. The obverse side is decorated in silver chasing with a unicorn 

 within a floral wreath, a medieval trophy, and a lion's head within 

 a circle of roses ; the whole is superimposed upon a modern trophj^, 

 a trophy of fasces and flags, crossed cannon within a floral wreath, 

 thunderbolts within a wreath of oak and laurel, and a crown. The 

 reverse side bears between two designs, one showing a lion rampant, 

 the other fasces and flags, the following inscription : " The Gift of 

 King William IV to General Paez as a mark of esteem for his char- 

 acter, and for the disinterested patriotism which has distinguished 

 his gallant and victorious career, 1837." The grip consists of the 

 tang, gold-plated at the top and bottom and faced on each side with 

 heavy ivory strips decorated with a gold inlay medallion on each 

 side flanked by small floral designs, the obverse one containing a lion 

 rampant, the reverse one a unicorn. The pommel is merely the grip 

 continued to form a knob at right angles to the grip. The quillons 

 are 4-sided with gold-plate finish, the front and rear being plain, 

 the obverse and reverse being decorated with scroll designs; the 

 shields on each side are decorated with crossed cannon within a 

 wreath of rose and thistle. The scabbard, which is made of wood 

 covered with fishskin, bears three gold-plated mounts. The first 

 is decorated with a rose and thistle circlet and a scroll design, the 

 second bears a thunderbolt, and the third has a series of floral and 

 scroll designs, 



SABER OF MAJ. GEN. FRANK WHEATON 



An English saber ^^ in the National Museum collection owned dur- 

 ing the Civil War by Maj. Gen. Frank Wheaton, United States 

 Army, has a long heavy blade with a slight curve, a wide deep groove 

 on each side, and a diamond-shaped point. The grip, which is 

 covered with fishskin and is wound with steel wire, is surmounted 

 by a plain convex steel grip, which terminates in a ridged conical 

 pommel. The guard is formed of a heavy steel strip with two 

 branches of a similar type. The scabbard is made of steel with two 

 rings and is inscribed with the names of the following engagements : 

 "Bull Run; Yorktown; Williamsburg; Slaters Cross Roads; Ellisons 

 Mills; Mechanicsville ; Seven Pines; Gaines Mills; Charles City Cross 

 Roads ; Malvern Hill ; 2d Bull Run ; Cramptons Gap ; Antietam ; Ist 



" Length, 90.3 cm. Blade, 77.3 cm. long, 2.7 cm. wide. Marked " Prosser Makers to 

 the King." PI. 44, fig. 3. 



" Length, 96.5 cm. Blade, 82.7 cm. long, 2.7 cm. wide. PL 35, fig. 1. 



98266—32 9 



