December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
Light dragoons were established in the British Army in 1756, when a troop was authorized to be raised in each dragoon regiment, with entire regiments being converted or raised as light dragoons beginning in 1759. These light horsemen were to be armed with “a straight cutting sword, 34 in. in the blade, with a light hilt, without a basket" per the original 1756 warrant, but from period iconography of light dragoons from c.1759-1763, it can be established that most were furnished with slotted D-guards and both straight or curved blades. This fine example features the latter form, double-fullered and with a heavy, cast-brass slotted hilt with channeled wooden grip covered with shagreen and twisted wire wraps. It has "B/30" issue marks engraved on the outer face of the knuckle-bow, indicating that it was the 30th sword issued to the B or 2nd troop in a light dragoon regiment. Still surviving with its original leather scabbard with brass throat and drag, it was formerly in the Warren Moore collection and is illustrated as figure E5 on p. 132 in his book, "Weapons of the American Revolution" (1967). Approximately 1 inch of the tip was then broken off and was subsequently restored. JLK