THE 1803 PATTERN INFANTRY OFFICER’S SWORD was a pattern carried by many British light infantry and flank officers but not all. There is also a wide variety of swords that did not follow the dictates of the official pattern but chose a type of sword that closely followed those carried by the cavalry, most notably the 1796 Pattern Cavalry Officer’s Sword. These stirrup-hilted swords for infantry officers had versions with both a lionshead and plain pommel. To all intents and purposes they were identical to cavalry officers’ swords except that the blade length was shorter for obvious reasons.
Certain regiments also wanted to distinguish themselves from their peers and a number of flanks officers’ swords of distinctly regimental type appeared during this time. An example of this derivation can be seen in swords carried by officers of the 52nd (Oxfordshire ) Regiment of Foot. It had a steel stirrup hilt with a distinctive langet that held a silver strung bugle motif. Grips were wrapped in fishskin with two silver or steel rivets securing the tang and the scabbard was all-steel. The 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) and later, the 60th (Royal American) and 95th Rifles (Rifle Brigade), also carried steel-hilted sabres of regimental pattern.
© 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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