THE INTRODUCTION OF THIS PATTERN can be traced back to the influence of Major J. G. Le Marchant, a heavy cavalry officer in command of a squadron of the 2nd Dragoon Guards. He served during the Flanders expedition of 1794 and was disturbed to witness the abject failure of British swords in the field, noting that many broke upon first contact with another blade and were generally too heavy and cumbersome in the hand. Le Marchant recorded:
“The swords then in use by the British cavalry were of various descriptions, scarcely 2 regiments having the same pattern; but one of the most popular was a wide, long and heavy blade, mounted with a cumbrous, fantastic handle.”
When Le Marchant returned home in 1794, he embarked on designing a new sword for cavalry and did so in partnership with Henry Osborn(e), a noted Birmingham sword maker, whose name is frequently found on swords from this period. They submitted a new design for a slashing sword with curved blade to the Commander-in-Chief (the Duke of York), in early 1796 and provided a document entitled, “A Plan for Constructing and Mounting in a Different Manner the Swords of the Cavalry”. This was the genesis of the 1796 Pattern Light Cavalry Trooper’s Sword and was further endorsed in his seminal work on the correct use of this pattern; Rules and Regulations for the Sword Exercise of the Cavalry (1796). In June 1796, a Board of Cavalry General Officers considered Le Marchant’s design and decided that it was suitable for issue to light cavalry regiments.
The sword comprised a wrought iron or steel stirrup hilt with a curved, slashing blade of flat back form, single-edged except for the last 10 inches. There is also a prominent and wide fuller to within 8 inches of the point. As with the previous light cavalry pattern, protection for the hand was minimal and the scabbard was heavy in comparison with the sword and would have been quite an encumbrance and noisy (particularly with its loose suspension rings) when a soldier was mounted on his horse and moving. The grip has a wooden core upon which leather has been stretched when wet, bound with cord and then allowed to shrink to form a ribbed handle. Scabbards were made from wrought iron with two bands and loose rings.
© Harvey Withers Military Publishing, 2024