English (French) Colonial "Hanger" by At The Royal Sword

Disclaimer: the following review will have more to do with terminology, typology, classification, and ethnography than it will about an actual sword. I'll explain why below:

Here's my general thrust, if you'll pardon the pun: swords are amorphous objects. Typing swords, classifying swords, and using terminology to identify and discuss swords is a way to bring some sort of clarity and order to bear on our understanding of these objects and their place in history, BUT, there is a fine line between typing swords and pigeon-holing swords. There is a fine line between using typology and terminology and ethnography as TOOLS to identify swords, AND, becoming so anally-retentive about these things that we cannot make room for swords of dubious ethnic origin or dubious type, because these swords exist and they are not so easy to identify. The sword I am reviewing IS one of those swords.

The sword was sold as an "English Hanger, smallsword style" by a vendor and historical reenactor recommended by our own Edelweiss; his name is David Ledoyen, and his business is At The Royal Sword: www.theroyalsword.com/.

David is based out of Quebec and has an abiding interest in French Colonial history. He is a fairly well known reenactor and his small business exists as a way to bring good quality replicas of French colonial materiel to other reenactors. Therefore, the swords he offers are intended mostly for reenactment purposes and are sort of glorified costume pieces: very well-researched costume pieces. The quality of his swords, however, is suprisingly good, especially the French swords he offers, which are based on his own extensive research; the hilts are made from molds he created himself from original swords.

The "English hanger, smallsword style" is based on a sword that is displayed in the foyer of the Governor's Palace at Colonial Williamsburg, VA. There are about forty of these swords prominently displayed there, but they are not originals, they are replicas.

They were created by a now-defunct business called Navy Sword. They were commissioned by the folks at the Governor's Palace to adorn the foyer as decorative objects. These folks concluded that this style of sword was English because, A) English and American officers carried smallswords, and, B) because it is featured in a period painting by William Hogarth entitled "March of the Guards to Finchley."

The problem here is that the sword they replicated is NOT English, it's French.

17th-18th century French soldiers, whether they be troupes de terre or troupes de la marine, were issued swords from roughly 1680-1763 of a style called épée du soldat (soldier's sword). This style was the French answer to the Walloon style sword, sometimes referred to as the Mortuary Hilt style sword. These were basket-hilted broadswords that were popular in England, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and elsewhere in Europe. I believe Oakeshott was of the opinion that the Mortuary style English sword came first and was emulated on the continent thereafter. In any case, the French wanted a similar style that they could mass-produce on the cheap. So they took the smallsword style hilts "à la mousquetaire" they were inordinately fond of and produced one piece brass hilts from lost-wax castings. This process was easy to replicate and was cheap. They could also produce hilts that were thicker and more robust than smallsword hilts. The result was a sturdy munitions grade smallsword hilt, but they did not use trefoil-style sword blades as they were too expensive and comparatively fragile to other munitions grade swords. Instead, they mounted broadsword blades onto these hilts, and voila, the épée du soldat.

In the beginning, they were hollow-ground diamond-shaped blades that were dedicated thrusters, but later swords often had flat blades quite reminiscient of later English style spadroons; they were essentially slim broadsword blades. They were stiff enough to administer good thrusts (stiffer than most spadroons), but could hold an edge to produce light draw cuts.

THAT is, in a nutshell, the sword replica I purchased: a late period épée du soldat with a slim broadsword blade: www.theroyalsword.com/english-american-swords/english-munition-hanger-swor-01.html

The sword was made in India. The hilt is cast brass, the grip is a wood core wrapped with twisted copper wire, the blade is 1075 high carbon steel. The price was $185 USD, shipping was $20 and it came from New Jersey.

Here are the measurements I took:

Overall length: 37"

Hilt length: 7"

Blade length: 30"

Blade width: 15/16"

Blade thickness: 4.6mm, mostly uniform in thickness, tapers to 4.3mm in last third of the blade, 2.5mm at the tip.

Overall weight: 1.5 pounds (711g)

Blade type: Flat, lenticular cross-section

Flexibility: Stiff, somewhat pliant

Point of Balance: 6" from hilt.

Scabbard is thick veg-tan leather, white brass fittings. Quite nice.

The first thing that caught my eye was that the brass hilt and copper wire I was promised was uniformly plated with NICKEL! Fortunately, this came as a pleasant surprise as I do like the appearance of nickel as a substitute for silver. Historically, the silver would have been deposited or rolled onto the fittings, and silver wire would have been used in place of copper wire coated in nickel. In any case, the quality of the casting is quite good.

I especially like the "dancing man" motif displayed prominently in the hilt. It's a nice touch, but I am unsure of the ethnic origin of this motif. I assume it was popular on the continent, but I could be wrong.

The blade is rather stiff, which I did not expect. I was somewhat concerned that the blade would be too flimsy, but I was proved wrong. The point of balance is far too blade heavy for a proper smallsword, but when you contextualize this sword as a smallsword-hilted broadsword, you begin to have second thoughts about the martial capabilities or usefulness of this sword. I have considered whether removing some material from the blade would be useful, but I wonder whether it would render the blade more flexible and therefore less capable in the thrust. Ultimately, this is not a dueling sword, it's a decorative hanger that was intended to be used, if necessary, as a soldier's sword. This sword has to be able to withstand a blow from rifle or a cutlass or a sabre, and it definitely feels sturdy enough to withstand that kind of abuse. The quality of the blade is actually rather good.

Here is the sword in hand:

Sword and scabbard together:

Overall, I am quite pleased with my transaction and with the sword I received. It's a curious little thing, and, I think is fairly representative of how amorphous and fluid sword design is. English, French, smallsword, hanger, backsword blade, whatever you wish to call this object, it's a rather good sword and was a good bargain.