British Swords of the 19th Century
Here are some examples of pages from my new book – The British Sword – An Illustrated History – 1600 to the Present Day. These pages cover the 19th Century and include British infantry swords, cavalry swords and naval swords. Here are some extracts from my new book.
BRITISH 1803 PATTERN INFANTRY OFFICER’S SWORD – By 1800, this particular type of curved sabre had already been unofficially adopted by many light infantry and rifle officers, and it was only a matter of time before official recognition came in 1803. The choice of a curved sabre, in contrast to the straight-bladed sword carried by most infantry officers at that time, (the 1796 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword) was a direct response to experience gained in previous conflicts such as the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), where fighting in dense, closely packed wooded areas, called for a versatile sword that was not as rigid and cumbersome as the more
traditional infantry swords with their long and straight blades. There was also an element of elitism attached to this choice as officers of these regiments regarded themselves as distinct from standard regiments of the line and engaged in more daring and dangerous work.
BRITISH 1821 PATTERN ROYAL ARTILLERY OFFICER’S SWORD – This pattern of sword is identical to that carried by light cavalry officers (1821 Pattern Light Cavalry Officer’s Sword). It was introduced in the 1830’s, and adopted by both Royal Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery Officers. Prior to this, officers carried the standard 1786 and 1796 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword. A Regimental General Order of 1 June 1833 states that:
“ On no occasion will a Royal Horse Artillery Officer appear, whether in jacket, pelisse or frock coat, without his sword which shall be Regulation Cavalry with steel scabbard.”
This is interesting as there were actually two patterns of cavalry officer’s sword, comprising one for the light and one for the heavy cavalry branches, meaning that there was not a regulation or universal “Cavalry Sword” available at this time. Royal Artillery officers must have reasoned that the light cavalry version was probably the most suitable pattern to carry and so it was adopted.
BRITISH 1822 PATTERN INFANTRY OFFICER’S SWORD – The 1822 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword was a radical departure from previous British Army infantry sword patterns. Its distinctive half-basket hilt became the standard hilt type for British infantry officers’ swords until the end of the 19th Century. The 1822 Dress Regulations describes it as being:
“…a gilt half-basket, with GR IV inserted in the outward bars”.
Distinctive features of the sword include the so-called “Gothic” hilt, named as such after its apparent resemblance to the shapes of windows in Gothic architecture. It also had an inner guard that was hinged and could be folded down to sit comfortably against a uniform. The royal cypher was also inserted within an oval hilt
cartouche and during its lifetime, this pattern saw the
royal cypher of three monarchs (George IV, William IV and Victoria) placed within its hilt bars. Victorian examples are pretty common due to the monarch’s long reign and there are many interpretations of the royal cypher, including versions with both pierced and moulded “VR” cyphers. Earlier examples from the reign of George IV and William IV, who had relatively short reigns, tend to have hilts that are more delicately crafted than later Victorian pieces (c.1830’s) and display thinner hilt bars. Up until around 1835, there would also a requirement to have been a black leather hilt lining.
BRITISH 1827 PATTERN RIFLE OFFICER’S SWORD – The 1822 Dress Regulations stipulated that Rifle Officers carry the same sword as infantry officers with the proviso that they carry a steel scabbard for field service, relegating the black leather and gilt-brass-mounted scabbard for dress purposes. Rifle regiments had always prided themselves on being set apart from the “ordinary” infantry and this elitist attitude resulted in a desire to have their own distinctive pattern. This was duly realised in a Circular Memorandum issued by the Adjutant-General on 17 June 1827 that authorised the adoption of a steel-hilted sword of “Gothic” pattern. This became the 1827 Pattern Rifle Regiment Officer’s Sword.
BRITISH 1831 PATTERN GENERAL/STAFF OFFICER’S MAMELUKE SWORD – The introduction of the 1831 Pattern was heavily influenced by the Duke of Wellington who had been an early promoter of this design (following his service in India), carrying a mameluke type sword throughout the Napoleonic Wars. Wellington went on to become the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in the 1820’s and 1840’s, and during his period of office, a new pattern for general officers, based on a mameluke design, was authorised.
BRITISH 1854 PATTERN FOOT GUARDS OFFICER’S SWORD – At the same time as the 1845 Pattern Infantry Officer’s sword experienced changes to the hilt design (in 1854), sword hilts carried by the Foot Guards also underwent a change in that year. The gilt brass infantry hilt was replaced with a steel hilt (later nickel-plated) and where, formerly, there had been a crowned royal cypher within a pierced cartouche, it was now replaced with a specific regimental badge, comprising those of the Grenadier, Scots, Coldstream, Irish and in the 20th Century (1915), the Welsh Guards. Grips were wrapped with fishskin and bound with either brass, silver or steel twistwire.
MISC. BRITISH NAPOLEONIC CAVALRY OFFICERS’ SWORDS -There are many different Napoleonic cavalry officers’ sword types and when an officer was not bound by (or chose to ignore) specific official regulations with regard to the style of sword that he should carry, then personal choice and financial circumstances, became the overriding factors in his choice of sword. For most officers, particularly of light cavalry regiments, both in the regular army and the volunteer yeomanry, swords tended to be based around the style of the 1796 Pattern Light Cavalry Officer’s Sword, with stirrup or D-shaped guards and plain or lionshead pommels. There are also number of swords with attractive horse-head pommels in silver and it is most likely that they were carried by volunteer cavalry officers, as it was definitely not an official pattern.
BRITISH 1821 PATTERN LIGHT CAVALRY TROOPER’S SWORD – Although the previous pattern (1796 Pattern Light Cavalry Trooper’s Sword) was a sword that had been heavily influenced by a design promoted by Major-General John Gaspard Le Marchant, it was still not completely successful in its original intention of rivalling swords carried by French cavalry troopers. The lack of protection for the hand was a particularly serious problem as was the inability for the wide and curved blade to inflict mortal injuries on opponents.
BRITISH 1804/14 PATTERN NAVAL SEAMAN’S CUTLASS – In 1804, an official pattern of cutlass was ordered by the Board of Ordnance. This was the famous “figure-of-eight” or double disc-hilted cutlass, and is probably the cutlass most commonly associated with Royal Navy seaman during the Napoleonic Wars. The cutlass was designed by Henry Osborn of Birmingham and initially cost 4 shillings and tenpence each (the cost of adding a leather and brass-mounted scabbard was 2/3d). According to Annis and May (Swords for Sea Service, page 79), the Board of Ordnance later claimed that the design of the sword had been a joint venture between Osborn and Lord Horatio Nelson but subsequent research has indicated that they had confused the name with a certain R.A. Nelson who was Secretary to the Navy Board at that time. Henry Osborn had the lion’s share of the initial order with 3,000 ordered from the Birmingham sword cutler with equal orders of 1,750 each shared between the following sword makers – Woolley and Co., Craven and Co., Thomas Hadley and Samuel Dawes.
BRITISH 1805 PATTERN NAVAL OFFICER’S SWORD – The 1805 Pattern Naval Officer’s Sword is probably the most common sword type associated with British naval officers during the Napoleonic Wars. No official order has been found detailing the introduction and design of this sword but it is generally agreed that mention of a regulation British naval officer’s sword was made in an Admiralty Minute dated 4th August 1805.
“A sword of each pattern to be sent to the Port Admirals at Plymouth, Portsmouth and Sheerness with a letter signifying the directions of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that they be considered as the uniform swords to be worn in future by Officers of His Majesty’s Navy – the ornamented sword by Admirals, Captains and Commanders and the plain sword by Lieutenants and Midshipmen”.
BRITISH 1827 PATTERN NAVAL OFFICER’S SWORD – The year 1827 brought about a radical change in the design of British naval officers’ swords. The Napoleonic stirrup hilt was replaced by a solid gilt brass, half-basket hilt. It was based on the “Gothic-hilted” 1822 Pattern Infantry Officer’s Sword, and in place of the royal cypher and crown found on the Army version, there is a fouled anchor and crown. The lionshead pommel remained as a defining feature of this sword.
