Tag Archives: Confederate Swords

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.

Kraft, Goldschmidt & Kraft Cavalry Saber – Lewis L. & T.R Moore Wooden Scabbard

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Henry Kraft, brother Peter Kraft and Maurice Goldschmidt are the name sakes of “Kraft, Goldschmidt & Kraft” formed in 1861 as military outfitters in Columbia South Carolina. Henry a jeweler and Peter a gunsmith complimented each other’s skills by making some of the South’s finest engraved swords but they also made standard issue enlisted men’s calvary sabers.

Little is known about the wooden scabbards these Cavalry Sabers are housed in. It’s believed they were made by Lewis L. and T.R. Moore of Atlanta Georgia. In Gordon Jone’s book “Confederate Odyssey” he writes that 556 “wooden saber scabbards”were delivered to the C.S. Arsenal at Charleston South Carolina in 1863. So it’s assumed this is one of those wooden scabbards made by the Moore brothers and yes there may have been additional deliveries to the 556 mentioned earlier.

This highly desirable cavalry saber and wooden scabbard serves as testament to the South’s inequality to the North’s industrial revolution, wooden scabbards may have owed as much to practicality as to desperation, thin inferior wrapped leather, small gauge single wire used on the grip, casting flaws on knucklebow and forging flaws throughout the blade. All the qualities that collectors of Confederate weapons love to study.

My new saber and scabbard is just one of my recent acquisitions, it’s been on my wish list for a while and I was able to negotiate a fair price with the seller. The saber measures a total of 39 ½” from pommel to the blade tip with the blade length of 34 ¼”. The blade has a large fuller approximately 27” long with many forging flaws. The brass knucklebow, branches and pommel all have casting flaws and the finest aged patina.

The scabbard measures a total of 36 ¾” from the throat to the bottom of the drag. It’s a testament to the craftsman who made these scabbards, that more then 150 years later they still serve the purpose they were designed for. The wooden scabbard has lots of aged patina only complimenting its history, however it does have some cracks towards the bottom half and I believe the boot style drag has been professionally replaced which does not distract from its character. The scabbard is two pieces of hollowed out carved wood held together with wrapped tin. The throat, ring bands and drag are brass with the darkest hues of brown, red and gold.

This sword and scabbard is typical of so many Southern Weapons that tell a side story of ingenuity, practicality and even desperation……maybe that’s just one of the things that fascinates me and other collectors. I’m thrilled to be the keeper of this piece of American history even if it’s only for a short while.

I’m always looking for new to the market Confederate artifacts, if you have any and are considering selling them maybe we can make a deal. Thanks for stopping by the Civil War Arsenal if you have any questions or thoughts about this posting feel free to contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West

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.

Louis Haiman & Brother Enlisted Man’s Cavalry Saber

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Columbus, Georgia was home to perhaps the Confederacies largest sword factory. Prussian born brothers Louis and Elias Haiman were owner/operators of the Columbus Iron Works which at the outbreak of the war was turned into a sword factory where a variety of edged weapons were forged and cast.

It’s thought approximately 8000 Cavalry swords were manufactured under Confederate contracts. Patterned after the U.S. Model 1840 Cavalry Saber, the Haiman Brothers version was not quite the quality of the Union counterpart. Having casting flaws on the ricasso near the tang, grip wrapped with painted cloth (rather then leather) with a single strand of iron wire and crude seams on the backs of there scabbards.

Most existing examples are unmarked however there are a few that are marked at the ricasso “Haiman & Bro”, the scabbards throats are always iron as well as most drags, ring mounts are always brass with iron rings and some surviving examples have a reddish shade on there hilts due to a high copper content which was the result of periodic shortages of zinc.

The Haiman Brothers operated there factory throughout the war but on April 16, 1865 Union Cavalrymen under Major General James Wilson captured Columbus and torched the factory.

The example before you is one I acquired a while back which I would consider to be in excellent condition. The scabbard has the crude seam running up its back with brass mounts, iron rings, drag and throat. I see no signs of paint on the scabbard and it’s free from dents and damage.

The swords hilt has a great patina and is wrapped with painted cloth with a single strand of iron wire which seems to be original to the sword. If you look closely at the images above you will see the castings flaws on either side of the blade, most near the tang just below the hilt which undeniably identifies the sword as a Haiman Brothers Enlisted Man’s Sword. However there are many flaws throughout the length of the blade, which add to its character and beauty.

The overall length of the sword is 42” with the blade measuring 36” long and the scabbard measuring 38” from the top of the throats to the bottom of the drag. The Haiman Brothers sword measures a total of 43 ¾” when sword is set in scabbard compared to its Union counterpart (Model 1840 Calvary Sword) which measures 42”.

If you have questions about this sword or any of the other weapons in the Civil War Arsenal email me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West.