Virginia Manufactory Artillery Saber
Item #: AA3027
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This is a Virginia Manufactory Artillery Saber from the Civil War period. This one comes into the shop from a large collection out of Maryland. There were only 2040 of these artillery swords manufactured during three different production runs at the Virginia Manufactory. These Artillery sabers, along with the Cavalry sabers produced at the Virginia Manufactory, were made during 1806-1810, 1813-1814 and the final production run being in 1821. This Virginia Manufactory Artillery saber has not been shortened, and still retains the original length of 30". The 5" sheet iron, Reverse P knuckle bow is secure to the blade. The peen on the pommel looks to be undisturbed. The walnut grip is still with the sword, along with the original leather wrap. The leather remains tight to the grip, but does have a couple of small areas missing on the reverse side. The double strand, twisted brass wire is still present, but broken in several places. What does remain attests to the age, as the verdigris has leeched onto the leather from the wire. The blade was made with two unstopped fullers, one narrow just below the spine of the blade that measures 22" long, and the second one wider that measures approximately 25 1/2" long. The blade itself has a black, right out of the attic patina to it. The last 7" of the blade are heavily pitted, with the remainder of the blade having a smooth appearance. The spine of the blade has a steel gray patina near the hilt. Stamped on the spine is 1, V, A REG, ART, P. This indicates that the sword designated for the 1st military district of Virginia. The stamps were placed on the blades of these sabers in accordance with the act of January 28, 1800, whereby all arms issued to the militia were to be marked with the number of the regiment, and/or the county. Part of an old tag is still applied to the obverse side of the blade, but is has turned black like the blade. The iron scabbard fits this old saber like a glove. It is missing the throat and the suspension ring for the top mount. The back side of the scabbard where the throat should be is missing a small section and split, explaining the absence of the throat. The body of the scabbard has smooth, dark appearance. It is very apparent that these two have been together for a long time. A small brass tag has been wired to the sword knot slot in the knuckle bow. Stamped into the brass disk is a cannon, eagle and 1 REGT. This is a very nice example of a Virginia Manufactory Artillery saber that has a history going back to the War of 1812, the Mexican American War and finally the Civil War.
Shipping Weight:
5 lbs
Item # AA3027
(Sold)
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