British Heavy Cavalry Troopers’ Swords of the 18th Century

THE BRITISH HEAVY CAVALRY TROOPER of the early-mid-18th Century carried a large basket-hilted broadsword that is frequently mistaken for its Highland equivalent.  It is a natural mistake to make but these swords were not meant for the Highlander.  Some are very similar to contemporary Scottish “Jacobite” basket hilts and were obviously an emulation of these practical and robust sword types and were deliberately made in the Scottish manner, but most had a manufacturing origin in the cities of London and Birmingham, rather than Glasgow or Stirling.

British cavalry troopers had been carrying different forms of the basket-hilted sword since the late-16th Century and it can be argued that this sword type was actually more an English invention rather than Scottish.  The decision for British heavy cavalry regiments to carry a basket hilt evolved from pure necessity; that is the need to have a substantial and enclosed hilt that effectively protected the sword hand of English troops whilst on horseback.

In the late-17th and early 18th Centuty, English basket hilts took the form of simple and large, open, multi-bar-hilted swords, constructed from thin bars and with pronounced apple or ovoid-shaped pommels.  As we move into the 18th Century, hilts became more enclosed and quite plain with undecorated panels, of varying size and complexity, with both rounded and flattened hilt bars.  Factors that differentiate between Scottish and English basket hilts include the arrangement and styles of hilt bars, panels, pommels and blade types.  Highland Scottish basket hilts never emulated the plainness of the English broadswords.  Some English basket hilts were also of a distinctive grid pattern, with intersecting bars that created a series of squares.  English basket hilts tended to be of heavy and robust construction and feel much weightier in the hand when compared with Scottish equivalents.  It has been suggested that English hilts were deliberately heavy in order that they could receive rather than parry a strong sword blow. 

Blades were normally sourced from abroad, most notably Germany, where they were regarded as being of more superior quality, a belief that did not always translate into reality when used in combat.  It was at this time that English sword makers began to challenge this foreign trade and blades marked to English sword cutlers become more common.

© 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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