The Civil War allowed the Army to test weapons. It would seem that ny the end of the Civil War the US Army would know how well swords and sabers performed and what improvements might need to be made to sabers and swords.
I am not sure that the US Army was disappointed with swords and sabers during the War. Perhaps a bit disappointing with the older artillery swords. But things like musicians swords were not really intended for heavy use in combat.
It might
seem so, but that fails to take into account factors like pork-barrel political patronage! My favorite relevant turn-of-the-century example involves the venerable
Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Mass., long-time producer of swords and sabers for the U.S. Government. By 1900 it was obvious that sabers were no longer necessary for the cavalry, yet Massachusetts politicians were able to get for their constituents at Ames a contract for the
M.1906 saber, which was NOTHING but a
M.1860 with a blackened STEEL semi-basket hilt instead of the 1860's brass hilt; in all other respects (other than moving the lower scabbard ring a couple of inches) they were IDENTICAL in appearance. (It's easily arguable that when the
M.1913 Patton was adopted it was equally unnecessary.) Ironically, though Ames profited from the contract, they were unable to fulfill it, because they had sold off all their sword-making machinery in the 1880's to the so-called
Henderson Ames Mfg. Co. of Kalamazoo, Michigan, which subsequently used it to manufacture fraternal swords. Ames' "solution" was to subcontract the blades from a company in Solingen, Germany! Upon delivery they were all stamped
U.S. over the Ordnance Dept. flaming bomb on one side and
A. S. C. and
1906 on the other. Incidentally, when the new swords arrived at the regiments to which they had been assigned,
M.1860's remaining in service were
painted black over their brass hilts in order so they would match the newcomers.