THE US CAVALRY M1840/1860 SABER FAMILY
Apr 30, 2017 18:59:07 GMT
Post by Dave Kelly on Apr 30, 2017 18:59:07 GMT
The US Cavalry M1840/1860 Sabers: A comparative analysis including Windlass Steelcrafts repros.
( Funny; the pics are exclusively British Crimean War, but practically all the music is US Cavalry calls.)
FULL DISCLOSURE:
All sabers reviewed or demonstrated were previously or currently are owned by the author. This article was originally written in Oct 2010. Reproduction pieces may have been modified since this was first published.
INTRODUCTION:
I grew up addicted to the story of the American Civil War. It was a seminal crisis in American history. An ideological and economic conflict that almost overturned the Constitutional Republic. Before it was over, it would see the mobilization of over 3 million men in arms, at least 600,000 dead and over 10,000 military engagements and an average of 2.25 major battles every month of the war.
American popular history is now full of illusions romancing the exploits of the US Cavalry. Actually, pre Civil War, Americans spurned the cavalry as an over expensive, anti republican institution of the past; outdated by the emergence of improved weapons and transportation capabilities.
War experience shattered those presumptions. While the grand battlefield proved too risky for mounted battle, the light cavalry proved vital to it’s historic role as security and reconnaissance buffer to seek out the enemy and to deny the enemy intelligence of their army. To secure the vast spaces between the major armies and as their weapons and training improved, they became a dangerous exploitation force for independent operational raids and as an exploitation force on the edge of the battlefield, pressing the enemies flanks and rear as they collapsed.
Although improved pistols and carbines diminished the importance of the saber, it was still used as an effective shock weapon in mounted engagements. Even in the closing phase of the war there were memorable cavalry battles. Sailors Creek VA, the Army of the Potomac's cavalry smashed Anderson’s Infantry Corps and routed the Confederate right. Westport Missouri, Sterling Prices 3d invasion was turned back in a three day series of battles in Which Pleasonton’s Cavalry Division repeatedly smashed Price’s reserves with deliberate pistol and saber cavalry charges against undisciplined frontier militia unused to such action.
Cavalrymen were often the butt of the infantries sneer, “ Who ever saw a dead cavalryman?” But it was forever the cavalry on the forward edge of the front who manned the lonely pickets and engaged in forgotten places like Aldie, Middleburg, Falling Waters, Monterey Pass et al.
This too brief survey must needs focus on a small portion of the story. In this case we will discuss the iconic buttress sabers of the Union Army: The US M1840 and 60. In concept these sabers were modeled after the French M1822 Light Cavalry Saber. The 1860 would go on to be the sword of the US Cavalry until 1913.
In the realm of modern reproductions, the Civil War has provided a popular market for replicas bolstered by a large reenactor population, in addition to a rabid antiques market. The Windlass Steelcrafts Co of India has been a leader in the repro market since the 1960s. Cold Steel is newer. Lynn Thompson’s company acts as furbishers. They contract with established forges to make them modded issues of their own product. No surprise the Cold Steel’s M1840 (misnamed an 1860 ) is actually a Windlass product.
Deepeeka is an older member of this market. The competing cousins of Universal Sword and WeaponsEdge India have models in this market. I will make some remarks in summation but I have not owned these.
THE FRENCH 1822 SYSTEM OF SABERS:
The French War Ministry sought to make a new, simplified system of cavalry sabers, standardizing the Montmorency bladed sabers for the use of both the Heavy and Light Cavalry regiments of the Army. There was severe resistance from the heavies, who considered the ANXII to be the ultimate heavy cav pallasche; an opinion shared by most of the other power nations of Europe who had adopted it or modified it to their taste.
The Light Cavalry version on the other hand was immediately embraced as the heir to the 1802 light and far superior to the vexing 1816 pipe backed saber. American military missions to Europe would bring back samples of current weapons for Ordnance Department review. After the blunder made in 1833, of trying to use the British 1821 Officer’s pipe backed saber as a standard for US enlisted men, the Ordnance Dept sought out it’s replacement starting in 1838. The US wanted the French M1822. France said no: they were more that willing to produce swords for the US, but would not provide proprietary knowledge on it’s production.
Consequently the US sought out a different partner. They chose the English based agent of the Solingen firm of Kirschbaum Cie; Schnitzler and Kirschbaum, London. Most of the major Solingen companies had their own version of the 1822 employed by several European states at different times. S&K did not sell these to the British, as the British Cavalry had their own 1821LC which was on a par with the French LC. The Germans were more flexible. They agreed to American production for a fee, and provided sabers until 1842, while the US Ames Co. tooled up for production of the saber.
THE US M1840 CAVALRY SABER:
( Chart Error: Above. The German Unmarked Blade Width at Point of Percussion (PoP) says 1 1.8 in. It should read 1 1/8 in.)
At the point in time the US adopted the M1840, the cavalry establishment of the Regular Army consisted of two regiments of Dragoons, some 1200 men. The state militias were, by law, the source of military reserves in the event of war. Their need for weapons was amorphous, as standards for maintained soldiers were disregarded by most states. Many 1833 dragoon sabers were in the hands of these state militias.
The War with Mexico in 1846-8 resulted in the acquisition of all of the southwest above the Rio Grande. Texas had previously accepted statehood in Feb 1846; although territorial boundaries remained in dispute until the Missouri compromise settlements of 1850.
The realization of the goals of American manifest ambitions required an enlarged standing military presence to police the territories. The regular cavalry was enlarged to 5 regiments in 1855.
THE US 1860 CAVALRY SABER:
The M1840 was not a universal favorite. It had earned the sobriquet of “the ole wristbreaker”. The 2.8 lb saber had a very pronounced forward bias in it’s balance. It was a sword made to favor the cut over the thrust. By 1856 the Ames Company an the Ordnance Dept had agreed upon a serious rebuild of the light cavalry saber and a directive followed with orders for 1000 sabers went into effect. There were tooling issues in 1856. Half the delivered sabers were rejected. A second order in 1857 made up the losses an made another 1000 sabers. 1858 was the year the last 1840s were delivered and arsenal fill orders for the 1860 began. Arthur Wylie refers to this saber as the M1856. Consensus of most authors appears to have gone with 1860.
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR:
The first half of the 19th Century saw unprecedented growth in American population, territories, industry, commerce and trade. All that was about to fail because of the festering wound of slavery. Slave commerce had presumably been set on a path for extinction by the Constitution, which banned the import of slaves by 1808. But then Eli Whitney invented a cotton threshing machine and the American South became the controlling factor for 90% of all commercial cotton in the western world. Slavery and Cotton were conjoined and cotton magnates needed the slave states to multiply in order for slave states to be able to control abolitionism in the Congress of the United States. The rise of the Republican Party and softening of Democratic partisanship caused the Southern radicals to call for secession. A. Lincoln’s election as President, thanks to a split in the Democratic ticket, saw the Deep South declare themselves free an independent. A Confederate national government convened in Montgomery, Alabama. Lincoln refused to surrender national properties in the south. When Lincoln moved to resupply Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, Jefferson Davis ordered the fort bombarded and seized. This attack on Sumter was justification for a federal response to restore the rule of law.
Thus the American Civil War began. The American military system was stubbornly anti militaristic. We were lazy in defense, because there were no legitimate threats from our immediate neighbors and the logistics of launching trans continental campaigns was beyond the functional capabilities of the period. ( The British Empire, the most powerful global state of the period, had failed miserably, twice, in attempting to take back control of the US.) On the eve of the Civil War the Regular Army had all of 16,000 effectives scattered across the country.
With a Civil War the country confronted it’s deadliest adversary: it’s self. Short term the Confederacy had the paper potential of raising an army of half of million men. The North 3 times that. Supplies were not on hand. It would take two years for both sides to get ahead of the weapons power curve. During the course of the war over 2300 regiments would be raised for service for both sides. 12% of those were cavalry. It would require a quarter million swords to stand up these units and another quarter million to replace losses over time.
No infrastructure for such a demand existed in America. The Ordnance Department solicited bids from all sorts of forges willing to try their hand at sword production. Agents were dispatched to Solingen, other production centers and every governmental ordnance department to contract surplus stocks and create new contracts.
In the first year of the war, many American contractors found themselves unable to make their quotas for production. Several of these companies made backchannel arrangements with Solingen firms to bootleg unmarked blades to America to be turned into American quota submissions. Thousands of these blades were intercepted by port of New York customs and turned over to the Ordnance Department for immediate use. Thus, the many unmarked blades on the market today.
The Confederacy was at a grave disadvantage due to industrial shortages at home, and the closure of ports making blockade running the iffy means for overseas deliveries. The South kept their heads above water early on by winning battles and thus gaining control of the battlefield. This allowed southern armies the opportunity to police the field for equipment. Many federal sabers became Confederate family heirlooms.
WEAPONS CHARACTERISTICS AND HANDLING:
(TOP TO BOTTOM) US M1860, US M1840, FR M1822LC
US M1860
For years I used the 1860/1906 saber as a surrogate for the war period 1860. Bought a war era 1860 last fall and am once again ashamed of myself for cutting corners and reaching wrong conclusions. Springfield cut some corners with the late model saber. The hilt is not as elegant as the original 1860. In several respects the original 1860 does try to correct the errors of the German 1822 clones. First off you will note the big, long hilt on the 1860. Much improves control of the saber and de-stresses the wrist. The application of the point is also much improved. The blade is still somewhat tubby. Will also note that the cavalryman who employed this saber had the blacksmith heat and turn the top of the guard plate so he could rest his thumb over the back balance lever. My respect for the 1860 has improved.
US M1840
No reason to spend more time beating up the Ames/Kirschbaum saber. It is a brutal, cut and bash saber. The blade will break bones without sharpening. Shame the hilt is just too small to control the saber. The Weyersburg sabers are much better. I have several PDL sabers. They have been given a lofty status because Tiffany Co used them. Their 1840s really aren't much better than the Kirschbaums.
Story from the exploits of Confederate General Nathan B Forrest. One nasty skirmish in 1863 saw the General suddenly separated from his escorts an surrounded by 5 Union cavalrymen. A short exchange an the General once again defied death an beat his way back to friendly troops. His staff gleefully celebrate another Forrest personal triumph, only to have Forrest comment, "Hell. One of them amn Yankees ha thought to lunge, that woul of been the end of Forrest. (They must have had M1840s.)
FR M1822LC
Needs no comment. Just try all the other Civil War dragoons and then pick up the French LC. The foible is a bit weak for cutting, but the blade is shorter than most others so the mid shaft comes up quicker to cut with. Nothing like it for the US Cavalry until you get to the Patton.
SWORD KNOTS:
Sword knot is a silly term. It has nothing to do with the function of the double cord. It's a lanyard. It's meant to tie off the sword to the wrist so that you don't embarrass yourself by tossing it away in the middle of the battle: something very awkward if you are on foot, but down right fatal if you are mounted. The use of these lanyards can be documented to early 16th Century Italy where writers suggested to men at arms that silk scarfs could be used to tie off their complex hilted swords. Enlisted men usually made due with fairly simple straps, but gentlemen turned their appliances into jewelry. Expensive embroidered cloth straps ending with elaborate tooled bobs. "knots".
The US adopted French sword knots; using a plain buff/white clayed knot up to 1855. A simpler black dyed lanyard strap had a frayed bobbin sewn on to one end of the strap. The other end had a slit cut in it's end; then that end was run thru the bobbin to come thru to the frayed strings. A strap, 1.25x.5 inch was cut into a Turkish knot pattern and sewn together. The band was pried down top of the strap and forced over bobbin ties. A final step was to pull the slit side of the strap down low enough so that you could tie off some embroidery strands. Once that is done, pull the strap back up to secure the strands. ( This arrangement may sound weak. It is intended to be. It is a break away point so that the lanyard will come apart under heavy load, instead of pulling you off your horse, or ripping your arm off.)
REFERENCES:
1. Harold Peterson's classic American Sword is dated and of very rudimentary value.
2. Richard Bezdek's books an American Swords and the Civil War are very useful. For collectors. Tech data can be wanting.
3. William Albaugh III is the godfather of Confederate sword research.
4. Arthur Wylie's American Swords is a 1980 published work that is fairly comprehensive from a number of categories, covering north and southern military weapons and gentleman small swords.
5. John H Thillman's 2 Vol set on Union military swords is near definitive for US military swords and their producers.
6. The Library of Congress online resource center is a fabulous resource. Their collection of Civil War photos and other illustrations is free to the public. Archival massive tiff file may be had if your computer has the power. My original copies of Edwin Forbes field illustrations for the Army of the Potomac were obtained here. Forbes was unique for his interest in equestrian subjects.
( Funny; the pics are exclusively British Crimean War, but practically all the music is US Cavalry calls.)
FULL DISCLOSURE:
All sabers reviewed or demonstrated were previously or currently are owned by the author. This article was originally written in Oct 2010. Reproduction pieces may have been modified since this was first published.
INTRODUCTION:
I grew up addicted to the story of the American Civil War. It was a seminal crisis in American history. An ideological and economic conflict that almost overturned the Constitutional Republic. Before it was over, it would see the mobilization of over 3 million men in arms, at least 600,000 dead and over 10,000 military engagements and an average of 2.25 major battles every month of the war.
American popular history is now full of illusions romancing the exploits of the US Cavalry. Actually, pre Civil War, Americans spurned the cavalry as an over expensive, anti republican institution of the past; outdated by the emergence of improved weapons and transportation capabilities.
War experience shattered those presumptions. While the grand battlefield proved too risky for mounted battle, the light cavalry proved vital to it’s historic role as security and reconnaissance buffer to seek out the enemy and to deny the enemy intelligence of their army. To secure the vast spaces between the major armies and as their weapons and training improved, they became a dangerous exploitation force for independent operational raids and as an exploitation force on the edge of the battlefield, pressing the enemies flanks and rear as they collapsed.
Although improved pistols and carbines diminished the importance of the saber, it was still used as an effective shock weapon in mounted engagements. Even in the closing phase of the war there were memorable cavalry battles. Sailors Creek VA, the Army of the Potomac's cavalry smashed Anderson’s Infantry Corps and routed the Confederate right. Westport Missouri, Sterling Prices 3d invasion was turned back in a three day series of battles in Which Pleasonton’s Cavalry Division repeatedly smashed Price’s reserves with deliberate pistol and saber cavalry charges against undisciplined frontier militia unused to such action.
Cavalrymen were often the butt of the infantries sneer, “ Who ever saw a dead cavalryman?” But it was forever the cavalry on the forward edge of the front who manned the lonely pickets and engaged in forgotten places like Aldie, Middleburg, Falling Waters, Monterey Pass et al.
This too brief survey must needs focus on a small portion of the story. In this case we will discuss the iconic buttress sabers of the Union Army: The US M1840 and 60. In concept these sabers were modeled after the French M1822 Light Cavalry Saber. The 1860 would go on to be the sword of the US Cavalry until 1913.
In the realm of modern reproductions, the Civil War has provided a popular market for replicas bolstered by a large reenactor population, in addition to a rabid antiques market. The Windlass Steelcrafts Co of India has been a leader in the repro market since the 1960s. Cold Steel is newer. Lynn Thompson’s company acts as furbishers. They contract with established forges to make them modded issues of their own product. No surprise the Cold Steel’s M1840 (misnamed an 1860 ) is actually a Windlass product.
Deepeeka is an older member of this market. The competing cousins of Universal Sword and WeaponsEdge India have models in this market. I will make some remarks in summation but I have not owned these.
THE FRENCH 1822 SYSTEM OF SABERS:
The French War Ministry sought to make a new, simplified system of cavalry sabers, standardizing the Montmorency bladed sabers for the use of both the Heavy and Light Cavalry regiments of the Army. There was severe resistance from the heavies, who considered the ANXII to be the ultimate heavy cav pallasche; an opinion shared by most of the other power nations of Europe who had adopted it or modified it to their taste.
The Light Cavalry version on the other hand was immediately embraced as the heir to the 1802 light and far superior to the vexing 1816 pipe backed saber. American military missions to Europe would bring back samples of current weapons for Ordnance Department review. After the blunder made in 1833, of trying to use the British 1821 Officer’s pipe backed saber as a standard for US enlisted men, the Ordnance Dept sought out it’s replacement starting in 1838. The US wanted the French M1822. France said no: they were more that willing to produce swords for the US, but would not provide proprietary knowledge on it’s production.
Consequently the US sought out a different partner. They chose the English based agent of the Solingen firm of Kirschbaum Cie; Schnitzler and Kirschbaum, London. Most of the major Solingen companies had their own version of the 1822 employed by several European states at different times. S&K did not sell these to the British, as the British Cavalry had their own 1821LC which was on a par with the French LC. The Germans were more flexible. They agreed to American production for a fee, and provided sabers until 1842, while the US Ames Co. tooled up for production of the saber.
THE US M1840 CAVALRY SABER:
( Chart Error: Above. The German Unmarked Blade Width at Point of Percussion (PoP) says 1 1.8 in. It should read 1 1/8 in.)
At the point in time the US adopted the M1840, the cavalry establishment of the Regular Army consisted of two regiments of Dragoons, some 1200 men. The state militias were, by law, the source of military reserves in the event of war. Their need for weapons was amorphous, as standards for maintained soldiers were disregarded by most states. Many 1833 dragoon sabers were in the hands of these state militias.
The War with Mexico in 1846-8 resulted in the acquisition of all of the southwest above the Rio Grande. Texas had previously accepted statehood in Feb 1846; although territorial boundaries remained in dispute until the Missouri compromise settlements of 1850.
The realization of the goals of American manifest ambitions required an enlarged standing military presence to police the territories. The regular cavalry was enlarged to 5 regiments in 1855.
THE US 1860 CAVALRY SABER:
The M1840 was not a universal favorite. It had earned the sobriquet of “the ole wristbreaker”. The 2.8 lb saber had a very pronounced forward bias in it’s balance. It was a sword made to favor the cut over the thrust. By 1856 the Ames Company an the Ordnance Dept had agreed upon a serious rebuild of the light cavalry saber and a directive followed with orders for 1000 sabers went into effect. There were tooling issues in 1856. Half the delivered sabers were rejected. A second order in 1857 made up the losses an made another 1000 sabers. 1858 was the year the last 1840s were delivered and arsenal fill orders for the 1860 began. Arthur Wylie refers to this saber as the M1856. Consensus of most authors appears to have gone with 1860.
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR:
The first half of the 19th Century saw unprecedented growth in American population, territories, industry, commerce and trade. All that was about to fail because of the festering wound of slavery. Slave commerce had presumably been set on a path for extinction by the Constitution, which banned the import of slaves by 1808. But then Eli Whitney invented a cotton threshing machine and the American South became the controlling factor for 90% of all commercial cotton in the western world. Slavery and Cotton were conjoined and cotton magnates needed the slave states to multiply in order for slave states to be able to control abolitionism in the Congress of the United States. The rise of the Republican Party and softening of Democratic partisanship caused the Southern radicals to call for secession. A. Lincoln’s election as President, thanks to a split in the Democratic ticket, saw the Deep South declare themselves free an independent. A Confederate national government convened in Montgomery, Alabama. Lincoln refused to surrender national properties in the south. When Lincoln moved to resupply Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, Jefferson Davis ordered the fort bombarded and seized. This attack on Sumter was justification for a federal response to restore the rule of law.
Thus the American Civil War began. The American military system was stubbornly anti militaristic. We were lazy in defense, because there were no legitimate threats from our immediate neighbors and the logistics of launching trans continental campaigns was beyond the functional capabilities of the period. ( The British Empire, the most powerful global state of the period, had failed miserably, twice, in attempting to take back control of the US.) On the eve of the Civil War the Regular Army had all of 16,000 effectives scattered across the country.
With a Civil War the country confronted it’s deadliest adversary: it’s self. Short term the Confederacy had the paper potential of raising an army of half of million men. The North 3 times that. Supplies were not on hand. It would take two years for both sides to get ahead of the weapons power curve. During the course of the war over 2300 regiments would be raised for service for both sides. 12% of those were cavalry. It would require a quarter million swords to stand up these units and another quarter million to replace losses over time.
No infrastructure for such a demand existed in America. The Ordnance Department solicited bids from all sorts of forges willing to try their hand at sword production. Agents were dispatched to Solingen, other production centers and every governmental ordnance department to contract surplus stocks and create new contracts.
In the first year of the war, many American contractors found themselves unable to make their quotas for production. Several of these companies made backchannel arrangements with Solingen firms to bootleg unmarked blades to America to be turned into American quota submissions. Thousands of these blades were intercepted by port of New York customs and turned over to the Ordnance Department for immediate use. Thus, the many unmarked blades on the market today.
The Confederacy was at a grave disadvantage due to industrial shortages at home, and the closure of ports making blockade running the iffy means for overseas deliveries. The South kept their heads above water early on by winning battles and thus gaining control of the battlefield. This allowed southern armies the opportunity to police the field for equipment. Many federal sabers became Confederate family heirlooms.
WEAPONS CHARACTERISTICS AND HANDLING:
(TOP TO BOTTOM) US M1860, US M1840, FR M1822LC
US M1860
For years I used the 1860/1906 saber as a surrogate for the war period 1860. Bought a war era 1860 last fall and am once again ashamed of myself for cutting corners and reaching wrong conclusions. Springfield cut some corners with the late model saber. The hilt is not as elegant as the original 1860. In several respects the original 1860 does try to correct the errors of the German 1822 clones. First off you will note the big, long hilt on the 1860. Much improves control of the saber and de-stresses the wrist. The application of the point is also much improved. The blade is still somewhat tubby. Will also note that the cavalryman who employed this saber had the blacksmith heat and turn the top of the guard plate so he could rest his thumb over the back balance lever. My respect for the 1860 has improved.
US M1840
No reason to spend more time beating up the Ames/Kirschbaum saber. It is a brutal, cut and bash saber. The blade will break bones without sharpening. Shame the hilt is just too small to control the saber. The Weyersburg sabers are much better. I have several PDL sabers. They have been given a lofty status because Tiffany Co used them. Their 1840s really aren't much better than the Kirschbaums.
Story from the exploits of Confederate General Nathan B Forrest. One nasty skirmish in 1863 saw the General suddenly separated from his escorts an surrounded by 5 Union cavalrymen. A short exchange an the General once again defied death an beat his way back to friendly troops. His staff gleefully celebrate another Forrest personal triumph, only to have Forrest comment, "Hell. One of them amn Yankees ha thought to lunge, that woul of been the end of Forrest. (They must have had M1840s.)
FR M1822LC
Needs no comment. Just try all the other Civil War dragoons and then pick up the French LC. The foible is a bit weak for cutting, but the blade is shorter than most others so the mid shaft comes up quicker to cut with. Nothing like it for the US Cavalry until you get to the Patton.
SWORD KNOTS:
Sword knot is a silly term. It has nothing to do with the function of the double cord. It's a lanyard. It's meant to tie off the sword to the wrist so that you don't embarrass yourself by tossing it away in the middle of the battle: something very awkward if you are on foot, but down right fatal if you are mounted. The use of these lanyards can be documented to early 16th Century Italy where writers suggested to men at arms that silk scarfs could be used to tie off their complex hilted swords. Enlisted men usually made due with fairly simple straps, but gentlemen turned their appliances into jewelry. Expensive embroidered cloth straps ending with elaborate tooled bobs. "knots".
The US adopted French sword knots; using a plain buff/white clayed knot up to 1855. A simpler black dyed lanyard strap had a frayed bobbin sewn on to one end of the strap. The other end had a slit cut in it's end; then that end was run thru the bobbin to come thru to the frayed strings. A strap, 1.25x.5 inch was cut into a Turkish knot pattern and sewn together. The band was pried down top of the strap and forced over bobbin ties. A final step was to pull the slit side of the strap down low enough so that you could tie off some embroidery strands. Once that is done, pull the strap back up to secure the strands. ( This arrangement may sound weak. It is intended to be. It is a break away point so that the lanyard will come apart under heavy load, instead of pulling you off your horse, or ripping your arm off.)
REFERENCES:
1. Harold Peterson's classic American Sword is dated and of very rudimentary value.
2. Richard Bezdek's books an American Swords and the Civil War are very useful. For collectors. Tech data can be wanting.
3. William Albaugh III is the godfather of Confederate sword research.
4. Arthur Wylie's American Swords is a 1980 published work that is fairly comprehensive from a number of categories, covering north and southern military weapons and gentleman small swords.
5. John H Thillman's 2 Vol set on Union military swords is near definitive for US military swords and their producers.
6. The Library of Congress online resource center is a fabulous resource. Their collection of Civil War photos and other illustrations is free to the public. Archival massive tiff file may be had if your computer has the power. My original copies of Edwin Forbes field illustrations for the Army of the Potomac were obtained here. Forbes was unique for his interest in equestrian subjects.
11.8 wide at the pop
