British 19th Century Indian Cavalry Troopers’ Swords

THE VARIETY OF SWORDS carried by Indian cavalry troopers in the service of the East India Company and later, the British Army, are quite wide and varied.  There does not seem to be any specific regulations or patterns for use in India during the early 1800’s and in most cases, the equipping and sourcing of swords for cavalry regiments was the responsibility of senior officers, who made use of local swordsmiths, of which there was an abundance in India, due to its long history of sword making.  Many of these sword makers attempted to replicate British and European sword designs, particularly with regard to the hilt but added their traditional Tulwar-style blade, that would have been more familar to native soldiers.

As the century progressed and the chaos of the Indian Mutiny (1857) subsided, culminating in the demise of the East India Company and takeover of military control of the India by the British Army, a more standardised series of sword types starting arriving in India.  This was due partly to the shipping to India of large quantities of redundant British Army swords that were either no longer deemed serviceable or the pattern had been superceded by a new one.  This can be seen most noticeably in the use of the 1796 Pattern Cavalry Trooper’s Sword that gained a new lease of life in India, with large stocks shipped over from the 1820’s.  British sword makers also began to manufacture swords specifically for use in India with many of stirrup-hilted type.

© Harvey Withers Military Publishing, 2024

Taken from The British Sword – From 1600 to the Present Day – An Illustrated History by Harvey J S Withers – 12,000 full colour photographs – 884 pages

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