THE BRITISH INFANTRYMAN’S SWORD of the early-mid-18th Century is an interesting and somewhat neglected area of study as most energy seems to directed at the latter part of the century when standardised sword patterns began to be introduced into the British Army, allowing easier categorisation both in terms of specifications and chronology. This earlier period is noted for its sheer breadth of styles and is symptomatic of the rather chaotic state of official and unofficial procurement of weapons for individual regiments. Despite this, there is one main sword type that was common during this period and that was the infantry hanger. In general terms, it comprised a short sword with a single edge and was made with either a brass or iron hilt. Its purpose was to give the soldier a close quarter weapon to be used in conjunction with his musket or when the musket was not available. It had a relatively short period of use as the socket bayonet eventually became the first choice edged sidearm for British infantry.
Hangers from the first quarter of the 18th Century feature brass, clamshell guards and D-Guard knucklebows and polished wood grips. Blades tend to be single-edged and slightly curved. Most would probably have been sourced from overseas, mainly Germany. The half-basket hilt was also popular and carried by grenadier soldiers. Hangers were sheathed in simple leather and brass-mounted scabbards with a hook to attach a wide leather belt that was strung over the shoulder.
The two or three-bar-hilted brass-mounted hanger is a style that is frequently encountered and recognisable as a type carried by British soldiers from the mid-late-18th Century. It is defined by its distinctive heart-shaped counterguard and was a common weapon carried through a number of conflicts, most notably the American Revolutionary War (1776-1783). British militia regiments were also issued with this hanger and many are engraved with a county designation to the underside of the counterguard.
In 1768, a Royal Warrant decreed that only infantry sergeants, grenadiers, fifers, drummers and Highland soldiers (who were issued with basket-hilts) could carry swords. This ended the widespread use of the sword by ordinary soldiers in the British Army and from then they had to rely on the cold steel of their bayonets.
© Harvey Withers Military Publishing, 2024