Civil War Sword

[gigmaster]

Had a good hunt yesterday. Started off slow with 2 golf balls and 2 bullets! Then i got a signal and dug a rusted sword! I also found a small knife which i believe is civil war era. I like retirement!

 

[muddpuppy]

AWESOME!!! Keep Swinging!!

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

Great finds on your hunt .

 

[DownNDirty]

Outstanding find!

 

[ivan salis]

the sword is actually a " cavalry saber" -- the 1840 model was commonly nicknamed "the wristbreaker" the wrist guard is the tip off as to its model , the model 1860 is fairly similar but a bit different

 

[ivan salis]

its either a US model 1860 light cavalry saber or a 1840 "heavy" cavalry saber --if the handle has grooving in the wood its a 1860 --if it has wire wrap over leather over wood its a 1840 model ..great find ...both models were used during the war ...Jeb Stuart and Custer both used the model 1860 --while Sheridan used the model 1840

 

[RJ55]

Nice finds and cool sword.

 

[Steve in PA]

Congrats on the CW Saber!

 

[creade]

WOW,what else can be said

 

[ivan salis]

ah with its oversided large deeply swept back type guard its a model 1840 "wrist breaker" heavy cavalry type model ==the "lighter" model 1860 "light" cavalry model brass guard handle did not go as far back as the model 1840 did ...if there is any ID left it will be "stamped on the blade" right by the brass hilt on the iron blade ... by the numbers made % wise its a good chance it was made by AMES ... big time military contractor for the US military .

 

[gigmaster]

Thanks for the input on the type of sword! I am clueless! I don't see any markings on the brass part. The blade is too rusted to see any markings. The wood that is left where the handle was did have some wire wrapping around it.

 

[ivan salis]

odds are excellent that you have a AMEs made model 1840 heavy cavalry saber ... being that they were made for 20 years before the civil broke out ... many southern cavalry units and officer had these types of swords at the start of the war --as did the union side as well ...so the sword could be from either side..confederate or union ...the blade being busted might be action related ..if there was fighting close by ...I see some CW era looking bullets as well...

 

[pepperj]

Now that one great looking find, congrats!

 

[Davers]

An Awesome Find You got there.
Another reason I want to get into Water Hunting Someday.

Also the Dropped/ wet Cleaners would have made my day.

What do you do with all that 'tackle' ? I have a-lot myself from lake Shoreline Hunts.
Davers

 

[ivan salis]

looking at it a bit closer --yep looks to be a 1840 model "wrist breaker" heavy cavalry saber ...since it was made for 20 year before the civil war broke out mainly by AMES for the US Military .....both sides cavalry units had this type of sword (saber) on hand since it was the standard issue weapon for all US cavalry units ....so this sword could easily have belonged to either side ... I noticed some CW era type bullets ...figgering out if these were confederate or union type of bullets might help you( if its a camp site type area that is ) as to wither its a union or confederate used sword .... I see it busted often cavalry mens swords were busted by striking a unyielding object or if fighting saber iupon saber and a bad b;low was struck breaking it --several stories exist where the cavalry man's sword was broken while it the sheath by a bullet strike and the cavalry man unaware of it having occurred and later on trying to pull his sword only to get a useless "nub'

 

[Scrappy]

Amazing! If the tip wasn't in the immediate area I would think it's battle damaged. My reason being, if my sword broke during battle, a nub is better than nothing at all. Once a (I), soldier, got away and/or received a replacement I would toss it aside. It's just a guess based upon my assumed behavior so it could be very right, or very wrong.

Congrats on a col find and one that makes you think those are always the best ones.

Steve

 

[gigmaster]

Davers - I got a bucket of sinkers, i guess i will sell for scrap one day!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Awesome find Gig! Certainly don't see those turn up everyday. Looks like you're from just down the road. Maybe we'll bump into each other sometime.

 

[metalev4]

What a find!! Excellent recovery!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Wow, outstanding recovery! Congratulation.