The Pattern 1796 British infantry officer's sword was carried by officers of the line infantry in the British Army between 1796 and the time of its official replacement with the gothic hilted sword in 1822. This period encompassed the whole of the Napoleonic Wars.
The sword was introduced by General Order in 1796, replacing the previous Pattern 1786 sword. It was similar to its predecessor in having a spadroon blade, i.e. one straight, flat backed and single edged with a single fuller on each side. The hilt was of gilt brass or gunmetal, with a knucklebow, vestigial quillon and a twin-shell guard somewhat similar in appearance to that of the smallswords which had been common civilian wear until shortly before this period. The pommel was urn shaped and, in many later examples, the inner guard was hinged to allow the sword to sit against the body more comfortably and reduce wear to the officer's uniform. Blades were commonly quite extensively decorated, often blued and gilt.
Criticismedit
The 1796 Pattern Sword was not renowned as a great fighting sword. The blade was weak and the hilt gave very little protection to the hand.[1] General Cavalie Mercer of the Royal Artillery, who wore the same sword stated that:
"Nothing could be more useless or ridiculous than the old infantry regulation [sword]; it was good for neither cut nor thrust and was a perfect encumberance. In the Foot Artillery, when away from headquarters, we generally wore dirks instead of it".[2]
Influence on United States Army swordsedit
Regardless of its weaknesses as a fighting weapon, according to Robson, a nearly identical sword was carried by the Army Corps of Engineers in the early nineteenth century and in turn similar swords were adopted by the United States Army in 1840 for foot officers and (with a simpler, unhinged guard) for NCOs.
^Withers, Harvey J.S: British Military Swords 1786-12912 The Regulation Patterns, The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914, First Edition 2003, Studio Jupitor Military Publishing ISBN0-9545910-0-3
^Robson, Brian: Swords of the British Army, The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914, Revised Edition 1996, National Army Museum ISBN0-901721-33-6
External linksedit
Detailed images of 1796 British Infantry Officer's Sword with appropriate Sword Knot replica
This article relating to swords is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
pattern, 1796, infantry, officer, sword, pattern, 1796, british, infantry, officer, sword, carried, officers, line, infantry, british, army, between, 1796, time, official, replacement, with, gothic, hilted, sword, 1822, this, period, encompassed, whole, napole. The Pattern 1796 British infantry officer s sword was carried by officers of the line infantry in the British Army between 1796 and the time of its official replacement with the gothic hilted sword in 1822 This period encompassed the whole of the Napoleonic Wars Sword with scabbard in Auckland War Memorial Museum Contents 1 Design 2 Criticism 3 Influence on United States Army swords 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksDesign editThe sword was introduced by General Order in 1796 replacing the previous Pattern 1786 sword It was similar to its predecessor in having a spadroon blade i e one straight flat backed and single edged with a single fuller on each side The hilt was of gilt brass or gunmetal with a knucklebow vestigial quillon and a twin shell guard somewhat similar in appearance to that of the smallswords which had been common civilian wear until shortly before this period The pommel was urn shaped and in many later examples the inner guard was hinged to allow the sword to sit against the body more comfortably and reduce wear to the officer s uniform Blades were commonly quite extensively decorated often blued and gilt nbsp Hilt of the 1796 PatternCriticism editThe 1796 Pattern Sword was not renowned as a great fighting sword The blade was weak and the hilt gave very little protection to the hand 1 General Cavalie Mercer of the Royal Artillery who wore the same sword stated that Nothing could be more useless or ridiculous than the old infantry regulation sword it was good for neither cut nor thrust and was a perfect encumberance In the Foot Artillery when away from headquarters we generally wore dirks instead of it 2 Influence on United States Army swords editRegardless of its weaknesses as a fighting weapon according to Robson a nearly identical sword was carried by the Army Corps of Engineers in the early nineteenth century and in turn similar swords were adopted by the United States Army in 1840 for foot officers and with a simpler unhinged guard for NCOs See also editPattern 1796 light cavalry sabre Pattern 1796 heavy cavalry swordReferences edit Withers Harvey J S British Military Swords 1786 12912 The Regulation Patterns The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914 First Edition 2003 Studio Jupitor Military Publishing ISBN 0 9545910 0 3 Robson Brian Swords of the British Army The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914 Revised Edition 1996 National Army Museum ISBN 0 901721 33 6External links editDetailed images of 1796 British Infantry Officer s Sword with appropriate Sword Knot replica nbsp This article relating to swords is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article about the period of the Napoleonic Wars 1803 1815 is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pattern 1796 infantry officer 27s sword amp oldid 1166958910, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,