US M1850 Foot Officer or M1859 USMC Sword Maker?

[SARGE]

Gents,

I picked up a variation of the Civil War period US Model 1850 Foot Officer sword at the Kansas City MVACA show last weekend that has an unknown maker marking. The sword is a standard regulation M1850 Foot Officer sword with the exception of having a leather wrapped grip with a single twisted brass wire wrap. It also has a plain un-etched blade that was originally bright finished. I would like to think that it might have been one of the elusive USMC Officer swords carried during the Civil War prior to the introduction of the USMC Officer Mameluke in 1875 but it is just as likely simply a low cost variation offered for sale to any Army or Marine Corps Officer during this period of time.

At any rate, the only marking is a die stamped logo on the obverse ricasso of the blade that I have not seen before. If anyone is familiar with this logo I would be grateful for any information.

Thanks for looking,

 

[Spathologist]

McWatter's site just notes the keystone as a common mark on Horstmann swords from an unknown maker.



Page 176 of Thillman's Civil War Cavalry and Artillery Sabers posits that the Horstmann sabers with a keystone mark were supplied by Emerson and Silver, which was also known apparently as the Keystone Works...

 

[sundance]

Very nice looking sword. Congrats on your find.

[SARGE]

Varangian,

 

I can't see the angelfire image that you posted. Is this die stamp of a keystone found on Horstmann blades? I notice in Bezdeck that he lists "Keystone" as a Horstmann publication.

 

Frankly, I thought the sword looked like a Horstmann product but I did not want to say that to prejudice any opinions. I thought the smooth leather grip and single twisted brass wire look similar to the Horstmann CW contract USMC NCO swords. The oak leaf decoration on the pommel and the cloth washer all look rather Horstmann product like to me as well.

[Spathologist]

The pic is off of McWatter's site, so you can go there to see it. Don't know if it's on a Horstmann blade, it's just a picture of a keystone very similar to yours.

[SARGE]

Thanks Varangian!

 

I appreciate the information. It seems that this is the keystone marking for blades made by Emerson & Silver at their "Keystone Works" in Philadelphia, Pa. Emerson & SIlver were engaged in sword making until 1866 so the blade/sword is Civil War period production. Emerson & Silver sold blade blanks to Horstmann who cast, manufactured, and assembled most of their sword parts except the blades. The sword itself seems to be a Horstmann product made in the same manner as wartime USMC Sergeant's swords with plain blades. Could be a Marine Corps sword or could have been sold to any USMC or Army officer by Horstmann it seems.

 

At any rate it is a Civil War period variation that I did not have so I am a happy camper.

[SARGE]

As a followup to this discussion I measured the un-etched blade of my sword and it is 32" long. This seems to match the criteria of 104 USMC Sergeant's swords delivered by Horstmann under a wartime contract to the Marine Corps. These swords were specified to have 28.5" and 31.5" plain un-etched blades. As Horstmann sub-contracted for the blades with Emerson & SIlver this wide blade seems to be within the manufacturing tolerance of the time. It also seems that sometime after circa 1875 Marine Corps Senior Sergeants were authorized to wear their Sergeant's swords with slings instead of in a frog. Other enlisted men continued to wear their swords (with USMC etched blades if manufactured after 1875) in frogs. This seems to meet the known criteria of the Marine Corps purchasing replacement scabbards for these CW period swords from Horstmann. So, this wartime sword meets the requirements for the later Staff Sergeant swords worn in scabbards with two suspension bands and rings.

 

It appears that this is most likely a CW period USMC sword that had a new scabbard added to fit new requirements after c. 1875. Waste not... want not!

[reschenk]

I agree this is most likely at Horstmann sword from the early CW or immediate pre-CW years. Most Horstmann swords with E&S keystone-marked blades are from the 1859-1861 timeframe. (Don't challenge me to prove it - I really don't have the hard info to do so.) I also note the use of oak leaves for the pommel decoration. This is also a Horstmann wartime feature. Sometime after the end of the war and before adoption of the USMC M1859/75 sergeant's swords, Horstmann changed to laurel leaves similar to those used by Ames.

 

The question is whether this is a Marine sergeant's sword or a M1850 foot officer's sword. Although most officer swords had sharkskin grips and etched blades, some basic "bargain basement" versions were made with leather grips and plain blades. The easiest way to differentiate the two is by the scabbard since all wartime Marine sergeants' swords had the distinctive Marine frog stud mounts. As you point out however, this could well be a wartime sword with a later replacement scabbard for use by a senior staff NCO. Other than the scabbard, the other distinction was that USMC M1859s had plain brass hilts and scabbard mounts whereas the officer swords were gilt. Of course the gilt on the cheap officers' swords could be thin and easily worn off. From your pictures it does not appear your sword's hilt was ever gilt. Given the almost mint condition of the blade, you would expect to see at least some signs of gilt on the hilt, but it does not appear to have any, even in protected crevices. On the other hand, all other early unetched blades I have seen were stamped with the Horstmann name on the ricasso, and were otherwise either unmarked or stamped with the Weyersburg king's head mark. Given all this, however, my bet would be this is, as you suggest, a CW-period USMC sergeant's sword in a replacement SNCO scabbard.

[Bob Hudson]

Here's an older thread showing an Emerson and Silver CW contract sword: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/154010-civil-war-sword-emerson-silver-dated-1865/