AMERICAN AND EUEOPEAN SWORDS 123 



in the collection was captured during the War of 1812 and pre- 

 sented to Capt. Edward Trenchard, United States Navy, in accord- 

 ance with a resolution of Congress approved October 20, 1814. 

 The blade is slender and straight with a medium groove. The ob- 

 verse bears in gold chasing on a dark-blue background the royal 

 arms, a female figure representing Britannia, a spray of roses, and 

 a marine trophy. The reverse is decorated in a similar manner 

 with the monogram " G. K." below a crown, a foul anchor above 

 crossed cannons, and floral and scroll designs. The ivory grip is 

 decorated with eight vertical grooves wound with eight turns of gilt 

 wire and surmounted by a plain gilt strip terminating in a lion's 

 head pommel. The guard is a plain flat brass strip terminating in 

 a quillon of the same type and ending above the blade in a disk; 

 a small shield attached to each side of the blade is decorated in re- 

 lief with a foul anchor within a laurel wreath. The scabbard 

 is black leather with three brass mounts, the first of which is in- 

 scribed on the reverse side : '' Edward Trenchard, U. S. N. 1800- 

 1824. Captured during the War of 1812-15 and presented to Cap- 

 tain Edward Trenchard, U. S. Navy in accordance with Resolution 

 of Congress approved, October 20, 1814." 



The recipient of this sword was born in New Jersey in 1784. 

 He was appointed midshipman in the United States Navy in April, 

 1800; he served on the ship Adams of the Mediterranean Squadron 

 and participated in the attack on Tripoli in 1803-04. He was made 

 lieutenant in 1807 and commandant in 1813. During the War of 

 1812 he served on Lake Ontario under command of Commodore Isaac 

 Chauncey, and he participated in the attack on York, Canada, in 

 April, 1813. He also took part in the engagement with the British 

 fleet off Kingston, September 11, 1814, and -was awarded the sword 

 in recognition of his gallant and meritorious services during this 

 action. He was later placed in charge of the sloop John Adams in 

 the Mediterranean Squadron under Capt. William Bainbridge. He 

 was made captain in 1817 and commanded the sloop Gyane off the 

 coast of Africa, 1819-1822. He died at the navy yard in Brooklyn, 

 N. Y., in 1824. His sword was presented to the National Museum 

 in 1895 by Edward Trenchard. 



NAVAL OFFICER'S SWORD OF 1815 



The National Museum collection contains also a British naval 

 cutlass "1 of the period of the War of 1812, which was found on 

 the scene of the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. This cut- 

 lass has a deeply curved blade of medium length with a wide shallow 

 groove and a narrow deep groove on each side, both of which are 



"^ Length, 85.5 cm. Blade, 73.5 cm. long, 3 cm. wide. 



