British Swords of the 18th 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 18th Century and include British infantry swords, cavalry swords, basket hilts, hunting swords, naval swords and smallswords. Here are some extracts from my new book.
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.
SCOTTISH HIGHLAND BASKET-HILTED broadswords of the 18th Century (particularly examples from the first half of the century), were manufactured at a time when it is commonly agreed that Scottish sword makers were working at the height of their skills, producing some of the most distinctive and arguably, the finest basket hilts ever seen. When compared with their English counterparts, the sheer skill, quality and beauty imbued into the manufacture of these swords, highlights both the enormous pride that went into their production, but also the sword maker’s crucial technical understanding that a Highlander’s sword had to be robust and effective in battle, both in terms of its broadsword blade and basket hilt. In both aesthetic and practical terms, Scottish basket hilts of the 18th Century handsomely fulfilled this criteria.
THE BRITISH 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.
THE HUNTING SWORD IN BRITAIN IN THE 18TH CENTURY – The beginning of the 18th Century witnessed a near monopoly of supply to Britain for both hunting and civilian blades by the German sword makers of Solingen and Passau. They were able to produce blades to order and offered a complete range from curved and straight, to saw-backed. Blades are found with flat-backed profiles, double-edged or double-edged near the point, single-fullered and multi-fullered, terminating either a short length from the ricasso or travelling the full length of the blade. This great variety of blade types is testament to the sheer number of hunting swords that were produced during the century and exported to Britain. Sword cutlers in England were unable to complete with foreign hunting blades, both on price and quality, and there are very few genuine hunting swords (hilt and blade) during this period that can claim to have a wholly English origin, so examples shown in this book will likely have been made abroad but carried in Britain.
THE BRITISH NAVAL SWORD IN THE 18TH CENTURY – As we enter the 18th Century, the design of the English naval cutlass became more simplified. The introduction of a double disc-type or “figure of eight” hilt was probably the most notable change and this gave the seaman far more protection to the hand than the previous D-guard cutlasses. The previous type of cutlass hilt was not completely phased out as there are many unofficial examples of this style that were still carried well into the 18th and early 19th Century. British naval cutlasses of the 18th Century were provided for Royal Navy seamen by the Board of Ordnance, a government department based in the Tower of London, whose duties also included being responsible for the storage and supply of arms to British forces.
