August 18 & 19, 2020 Edged Weapons, Armor, & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/18/2020
Very rare 1840 Pattern US Engineer 1840 officer's sword. The small and elite Corps of Engineers drew top graduates from West Point. At the time of this sword's introduction there were only 39 Engineer officers in the army, who played a key role in the country's security in building forts and public projects, and mapping the country's westward expansion. This pattern was adopted for the corps shortly after the topographical department was split off into a separate organization (until 1863). The corps was small to begin with and even more so during the Civil War as Engineer officers were given command positions in other organizations, drawing 26 of 46 officers away from those serving under the Chief of Engineers, and rather than compromise the quality of his officers, the Chief Engineer only increased recruitment from the top talent at West Point rather than bring in officers from other departments. The Corps was small and elite, and its swords are correspondingly rare. SR
This sword uses a triangular epee style blade reminiscent of a European small sword, but with the quintessentially American motif on the gilt brass hilt of a coiled rattlesnake, which winds around the grip, its head at the pommel and tail with rattles at the base, resting inside the counterguard. The knuckle bow is flat, with floral motifs at top and bottom and a star at center with clouds above and below, from with Roman legion style thunderbolts dart out. Folding plain counterguard with stippled surface on reverse. Obverse with raised Engineer castle at center, 26 stars at left, large single star at right that unwinds in a floral spray along the lower edge. Black leather scabbard has gilt brass mounts with much original gilt, matching the hilt.
Blade is hollow ground, etched with military and floral motifs for twenty inches in each channel. Reverse blade channel etched "N.P. Ames / Cutler / Springfield" at base, with floral spray above, "U.S. Corps of Engineers" in oval cartouche with sunburst ends, panoply of arms with prominent liberty cap, American eagle with ribbon, stars and sunburst, terminating with leafy vine. Obverse channels with floral motifs and martial panoplies of arms.
CONDITION: Very good to excellent. Black leather scabbard body is a well made replacement, which is acceptable since the scabbards are narrow and the thin leather is often broken. Mounts are original with much gilt, matching the hilt, showing just some light rubbing on edges of upper mount. U.S. Shield frog stud is in place. Blade is bright. Thin frosting is intact, making etched motifs very visible. Just some scattered gray spots on the upper blade, well away from the etched panels. An extremely scarce sword in extremely good condition. SR
Item Dimensions: Length: 37 - 1/2".