Tag Archives: Civil War Artillery Sword

Thomas, Griswold & Co. Artillery Saber

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The partnership of Henry Thomas Jr. and A.B. Griswold was a welcome combination for the Confederacy in the spring of 1861. New Orleans was the largest city in the South with a population of over 170,000 and there was much money to be made as aggressive entrepreneurs.

Thomas, Griswold & Co. we’re not only manufactures of military goods but importers as well and the large port of New Orleans would give them access to trade ships from Europe filled with many of the supplies the South needed.

Unfortunately there success only lasted a short while, Union Naval forces captured New Orleans April 25, 1862 putting an end to there brisk business and seizing South’s largest port.

For sometime now I’ve been searching for a Thomas, Griswold Artillery Saber……with its brass/bronze scabbard, makers mark ricasso and fine attention to detail, one can make the argument there was hardly a finer sword made South of the Mason Dixon Line.

My new saber & scabbard is in excellent condition, with an almost perfectly straight scabbard that has a sweet mustard patina and the lap seam is almost unnoticeable unlike most other Confederate scabbards.

As for the saber, where do I start….hmmmmmm. The leather grip on the artillery saber is about 75% intact with all its brass wire wrapping in place, the pommel, knucklebow and quillon all have a pleasant patina with some casting imperfections. The blade, fuller and edge are about as nice as any you will see, with its leather insulator still in place and a fine makers mark stamp this saber would rival any Northern made saber/sword.

I have many new pieces in my collection that I’ve yet to post at the Civil War Arsenal, I hope to photograph and write about them soon. In the mean while if you have any questions about this Artillery Saber or any of the other weapon in my arsenal feel free to contact me at civlwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West………oh, and if you have any Southern Weapons for sale maybe we can strike a deal…..I’m always in the market to buy. Thanks for stopping by, hope to see y’all soon.

Confederate Light Artillery Saber

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Some of the most sought after edged weapons in collectors collections are Confederate swords. Most commonly they are Cavalry Sabers and Staff & Field Swords however occasionally Southern Artillery Swords become available.

Confederate Artillery Swords are rare, no reason is known for this but the fact remains that three to four officers swords show up for every Artillery sword. So when this sword became available I negotiated the best deal I could to make it apart of my collection.

My new acquired Confederate Enlisted Man’s Artillery Sword is a copy of the Model 1840, Type 1 U.S. Artillery Saber. The Saber has a typical Southern scabbard with a crude lapped seam and brass mounts. The grip retains about 90% of the original leather with the iron wire. The blade is unmarked and has the classic unstopped fuller with very visible fault lines typically found on Confederate swords. The overall length of the sword is 36” with the blade measuring approximately 31” the scabbard measures a total of 34” from the throats to the bottom of the drag. The blade is 1 ¼” at its widest point with a 24” fuller on either side. The sword has what I believe to be many of the characteristics of swords manufactured by the Haiman Brothers of Columbus Georgia.

If you have any questions about this sword or any of the other weapons in my Arsenal contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com Attn: Gene West….thanks for stopping by.

CS Star, Confederate Artillery Short Sword

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Even though considered scarce this type Short Sword is one of the more common Confederate edged weapons.

These Short Sword are often reproduced so the buyer needs to beware, however there are many ways of identifying an authentic sword versus a reproduction. If you look closely at the handle you will clearly see the casting flaws. The star at the top of the pommel rarely has the five points you would normally see if it were perfect and even if one side did the other side wouldn’t. The CS on the guard at the base of the handle are barely readable. The handle is hollow and many have holes in them, some were even filled with lead. You’ll also see where the mechanics filed the rough edges.

The brass handles have a high copper content that’s often very noticeable. The blades are crude but cleaner in appearance then the handles, but all still have there flaws. There is a single nonstop fuller that’s about 13” long which is never straight. Believed by many to have been manufactured in Selma Alabama or Macon Georgia.

So that brings me to the next example in the Civil War Arsenal. The overall length of this Short Sword is 24 ½” long with a handle of 5 ½” and blade 19”. It weighs 2 ¾ lbs which would make it cumbersome to carry, especially on a long march with all the gear a foot soldier would have to carry.

Typical of many Confederate weapons you will never find two alike, but I believe that’s the beauty in them. Thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions about this Short Sword or any of the other weapons in the Civil War Arsenal email me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West

Confederate and Union Artillery Swords

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Some of the neatest edged weapons produced were made during the Civil War. The Artillery Sword which was obsolete at the outbreak of the war is arguably the neatest of all, even though most were made before and during the Mexican American War. Which leads me to my next example of Civil War Arsenal Weapons.

The first example is of the M-1832 Foot Artillery Short Sword. This is the most common U.S. example of the artillery sword. Manufactured by Ames in Springfield Mass. and stamped U.S, makers mark, date and inspector. These swords have a fish scale handle with an Eagle on each side of the pommel and have 3 fullers on each side of the blade. The overall length is 25″and the blade is 19”long. This sword would have been used by artillery men to swipe at the bodies of horses rushing them, but this was a very Napoleonic type of fighting and like I said earlier by the outbreak of the Civil War this was an obsolete way of warring. However obsolete I still love these swords.

My next example is of a Confederate Foot Artillery Sword (Maker Unknown). Because of the star in the pommel this sword was originally thought to be of Texas background and others claimed it was carried by the Louisiana Tigers the assumption was based on Lord knows what logic (William A. Albaugh III Quote). This sword is the most common of all Confederate Edged Weapons, yet its maker remains unknown. The hilt is brass, very poorly made cast, so much so that the C.S. in the cross guard can barely be identified and the Star in the pommel lacks the points. The blade is 18 ½ long, double edged with an unstopped fuller on each side. No makers mark appear. If you’re lucky enough to have a scabbard it would be made of wood with tin mounts, but I have also seen ones made completely of tin but I’m not sure if these were Civil War accurate. Most Civil War Historians believe these were made somewhere in Georgia or possible South Carolina, but we’ll probably never know for sure. William A. Ablaugh wrote in his Confederate Edged Weapons Book (The Bible of CW Edged Weapons) It is for sure that the Star in the pommel has no Texas connotation and I am sure that the Louisiana Tigers would have turned up their noses at such a weapon due to the lack of quality.

A side story about this Confederate Sword is that I bought it from a Rock Island Auction with 4 other swords. I paid about $1300.00 for all 5 pieces 2 of which were World War 2 era so I sold them on ebay for about $450.00 another sword is 1840 Persian which has an etched blade and a leather scabbard in good condition and yet another sword is Civil War Calvary S.K. Solingen with no scabbard. So I guess I did pretty good at that auction. You might say I got this Confederate Sword for little or no money, NOT BAD if I do say so my self