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Title:	SABER -  U.S. SABER MODEL 1860 CAVALRY
Maker/Manufacturer:
Date of Manufacture:	C 1863
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 6672
Measurements:	OL:104.1CM 41" BL: 87.6CM 34 1/2"

Object Description:

U.S. SABER MODEL 1860 CAVALRY
Maker unknown - Standard M1860 light cavalry saber. Curved single-edged blade with fuller running 7 1/2" from tip. Leather covered wire wound grips with 11 turns. Complete with 36 1/2" metal scabbard. Blade has been polished otherwise complete and in good condition.

Markings:
Ricasso: US/.....1 all that is legible. Hilt: 10.

Notes: Pg. 62 Bulletin 163 Beloit - U.S. Cavalry Sabers are wound with wire 11 times.

"The sabre. The most instantly recognizable symbol of the cavalryman was the sabre. It was this weapon that led to the Indian describing troopers as 'long knives' and in close combat it could prove a formidable weapon. Lt. Grummond, 2nd Cavalry, had cause to use this sabre in earnest when ambushed in the Peno Valley, Wyoming, in December 1866. Pursued by Indians intent on pulling the soldiers from their mounts, Grummond '...abandoned the use of spurs and jammed his sword into the weary beast to urge him to greater effort, followed by a Chief in full war dress with spear at his back so near that but for his good horse he would then and there met a terrible fate.' Grummond recounted that 'he shut his eyes and literally slashed his way out, as did many of the others, recalling that he heard his sabre click every time he cleaved an Indian's skull.'
A year later, Capt. A. Barnitz, 7th Cavalry, quoted another instance of its use during an action near Fort Wallace on 26 June 1867. 'A Chief mounted on a white horse...was killed by Cpl. Harris, who first engaged him was a sabre as he attempting to plunge a lance through Private Hardiman (whose carbine was empty and whose sabre had unfortunately become disengaged from the scabbard in the pursuit and been lost.)' Such accounts exaggerate the use of the sabre, however, as most troopers would prefer to place their trust in a firearm, and keep as distance as possible between themselves and the Indians, whose prowess with club, lance and bow was exceptional.
The Model 1860 Light Cavalry Sabre was a lighter and less unwieldy version of the heavy Cavalry sabre of 1840, which had been modelled on the French 1822 pattern sabre. The Model 1840 was dubbed 'Old Wristbreaker' and demanded considerable strength and expertise to wield. The Model 1860 was of very similar appearance, but of lighter construction and less blade-heavy. It weighed 3 lbs. 7 oz. and measured 41 1/2 ins. overall with a 34 5/8 in. curved single-edge blade, wire-wrapped grip, and three-bar, brass guard. Some officers elected to carry the standard Model 1860, but most chose an officer's pattern, which was of similar appearance, having a gilded brass hilt with decorative oak leaves. The steel scabbard was blued, as opposed to the browned ones of the enlisted men.
Times had changed on the plains since the introduction of the 1840 sabre. Indians had ceased to do battle armed only with lances, bows and tomahawks. By the end of the war, a large proportion of warriors (possibly as many as 80 per cent) had some form of flintlock pistol to the latest Winchesters and Sharps rifles. Close combat of the type described by Barnitz became less frequent as the years passed. The sabre was cumbersome and noisy to carry, and was rarely sharp enough to cut a cooked piece of meat, let along hack through a buffalo hide shield. Indeed, the sabres were issued blunt, and few armourers possessed any means of sharpening them. Sabre practice was almost unknown until the end of the 1870s, by which time it had been well and truly eclipsed by the firearm. On campaign most commanders ordered the swords to be packed and left behind, and from 1870 onwards, it became rare to see a cavalry regiment in the field wearing them. Prior to Little Big Horn, Custer ordered all sabres to be put into store, and the 7th went into action with only one sabre worn by an officer, Lt. De Rudio, who never unsheathed it during the combat. Despite claims after the battle that Custer and his men would have survived had they carried swords, there is no evidence to support the fact. A sabre is no use in the face of a firearms anNevertheless, despite heated debate, the sabre remained in service in one form or another until the end of the First World War. Not until 18 April 1934 was an order published declaring 'the sabre is hereby discontinued as an item of issue to the Cavalry. The sabre is completely discarded as a cavalry weapon.'" - Pegler

LOAN HISTORY:
Army #4665 - Loaned to Major Charles C. Tolbert, 1 AAA Regional Command, Ft. Totten, New York from 15 April 1957 to 20 May 1957.

References:
Pegler, Martin. WARRIOR SERIES 4: US CAVALRYMAN 1865-1890. Reed Consumer Books Ltd. London, England. 1993.