Model 1834 Officer's Sword

[bobinwmass]

I know this one well predates the ACW, but since I already had the 1840 Foot Officer, the 1850 Foot Officer and 1850 Staff and Field, and the 1860 Staff Officer, I figured this would round out the progression. Besides, I like the look the hilt with the contrasting brass and silver simulated wire grip. What class of officer the sword was used by can be determined by the scabbard. General Officer's swords had engraved brass or steel scabbards. General Staff Officer's swords had bright steel scabbards. The more common officers of Infantry, Artillery, and Ordnance had black leather scabbards with brass trim.

In 1833 Ames and the Ordnance Department entered into an agreement for Ames to manufacture this new pattern sword, which was to be inspected by and then shipped to the Ordnance Department, who would then supply the swords to individual officers at cost by having deductions taken from their pay until the sword was paid off. Up until this time Ames did not make complete swords, but were more involved in making machinery, tools, and sword blades only. Samuel Huse of Newburyport was their main supplier of brass parts like the hilts for the Model 1832 Foot Artillery sword. As Ames took on the project, there were reportedly many difficulties in tooling up, making machinery, and hiring the appropriate people to make entire swords in-house. In the meantime, Secretary of War Lewis Cass did not approve of the agreement to have the Ordnance Department take possession of and supply the swords to army personnel. Instead he ordered that Ames sell the swords to individual officers directly. This decision almost bankrupt the fledgling sword company. Not only would they not get the immediate lump sum payments to defray the costs of tooling up and manufacturing the swords, they would also have to take on the timely and more burdensome task of individual sales. This allowed other assemblers the opportunity to import/assemble their own versions of the sword to sell directly to officers, taking away from Ames intended customers. In fact, some copies of the sword imported from Europe by other retailers are reported to have fake Ames and Ordnance markings.
I believe this sword may be one of those European imports. While the scabbard appears to be identical to the Ames scabbard on page 68 of Thillmann's book, and the blade tang has "ORD" Ordnance markings and an inspector initial "M" like the Ames blade shown on page 65, there are no Ames markings on the blade. In addition, the tuft of feathers on the back of the eagles' heads look like those on many imported blades.

 

[Bonedaddy]

Very nice sword and great information.

 

[UCVRelics]

Nice looking sword and the blade etching is awesome. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Glen_C]

Brave to take it apart. I have one of the generics as well and the etches differ from the Ames in some distinct details. There is an article of those years showing the influx of copies and Ames expressing displeasure. I'll dig it up. One of the most obvious clues on mine is the star on the pommel end. Also the feathers on the pommel not being as distinct.

Cheers
GC

 

[Glen_C]

Here was the article with reference to copies (1836)

EARLY REFERENCES TO THE N.P. AMES SWORD FACTORY

 

[bobinwmass]

Brave to take it apart. I have one of the generics as well and the etches differ from the Ames in some distinct details. There is an article of those years showing the influx of copies and Ames expressing displeasure. I'll dig it up. One of the most obvious clues on mine is the star on the pommel end. Also the feathers on the pommel not being as distinct.

View attachment 429043View attachment 429044
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Cheers
GC

Another nice sword. Looks like the pommel cap on mine has the same decoration.

 

[bobinwmass]

Here was the article with reference to copies (1836)

EARLY REFERENCES TO THE N.P. AMES SWORD FACTORY

Interesting read. Enjoyed the subsequent paragraphs also. I didn't realize Ames was making so many speciality and presentation swords at such an early date.

 

[Glen_C]

Brand new old stock of the Ames Sword Company by Hamilton is a book that shows the etching traits and shows a lot of detail on the growth of the company. Selling at the original retail, these may be the last of the last printing we will see at a nominal cost. Six left as I post this.

Simpson Limited | Antique & Modern Firearms

Simpson Limited: A trusted family-owned store since 1962, specializing in antique and modern firearms, unique collectibles, and premium accessories.

simpsonltd.com

Cheers
GC

 

[bobinwmass]

Brand new old stock of the Ames Sword Company by Hamilton is a book that shows the etching traits and shows a lot of detail on the growth of the company. Selling at the original retail, these may be the last of the last printing we will see at a nominal cost. Six left as I post this.

Simpson Limited | Antique & Modern Firearms

Simpson Limited: A trusted family-owned store since 1962, specializing in antique and modern firearms, unique collectibles, and premium accessories.

simpsonltd.com

Cheers
GC

Coincidentally, I recently purchased a copy on Ebay that has not arrived yet. $5 more, but free shipping so probably evens out.

 

[Glen_C]

It is a great volume to have. The Thillman chapter is a fairly exhaustive look at these that still yet leaves questions. These generics seem to be like the Horstmann marked swords. The Ames book has several pages covering the timeline of some of the more common etches.

Cheers
GC

 

[R. Porter]

Two very attractive swords of a type not often seen! While the discussion about them is interesting and informative, what caught my attention the most was the mention of the "M" inspection mark. U.S. Military Arms Inspector Marks buy Anthony C. Daum and Charles W. Pate does not include an entry for just "M." Why do I find this of interest? Because an inspector mark of just "M" is found on every J.B.A. sword that I have examined. It is also found on swords without J.B.A. that do not seem to have other inspection marks except for the marks that would be found on J.B.A. swords with the exception of "T." From what I have seen, the "M" mark is confined to enlisted cavalry swords of model 1840 (sort of), model 1860, and model 1840 NCO swords. I do have a Starr model 1826 cutlass that appears to have an "M" stamp on the blade.

My impression is that swords with the "M" stamp have been repaired or rehilted or for some reason have spent time in an armory recuperating from their last assignment. This seems to include polishing the original maker's mark, inspection marks and U.S. off the blade, although there is a "US" on one blade ricasso that looks like it was stamped at the same time as the J.B.A. While a number of pommels have the "AGM" inspector mark, none of the grips are wound all the way to the top of the grip as would be the case with a Roby sword (it's been suggested that the AGM mark is only found on Roby swords). What I am getting at is that to me the M mark shows up on swords that have been repaired or put together from parts. This is the sort of thing that might happen at an armory. Is M a particular inspector or is it some sort of approval for a reconditioned sword?

What would that mean for the General Officer's Sword? Is the M on the tang of the General Officer's Sword the same M on other swords? The General Officer's Sword had been around for a while when the Civil War began, could individual examples have been refurbished for use during the war? Since a number were sent to Ames for repair and AGM started his career as a polisher for AMES, could there be a connection with the M stamp?

I am not that knowledgeable about swords, their manufacture and repair so if any of my rambling discussion seems way off base I apologize.

 

[bobinwmass]

Two very attractive swords of a type not often seen! While the discussion about them is interesting and informative, what caught my attention the most was the mention of the "M" inspection mark. U.S. Military Arms Inspector Marks buy Anthony C. Daum and Charles W. Pate does not include an entry for just "M." Why do I find this of interest? Because an inspector mark of just "M" is found on every J.B.A. sword that I have examined. It is also found on swords without J.B.A. that do not seem to have other inspection marks except for the marks that would be found on J.B.A. swords with the exception of "T." From what I have seen, the "M" mark is confined to enlisted cavalry swords of model 1840 (sort of), model 1860, and model 1840 NCO swords. I do have a Starr model 1826 cutlass that appears to have an "M" stamp on the blade.

My impression is that swords with the "M" stamp have been repaired or rehilted or for some reason have spent time in an armory recuperating from their last assignment. This seems to include polishing the original maker's mark, inspection marks and U.S. off the blade, although there is a "US" on one blade ricasso that looks like it was stamped at the same time as the J.B.A. While a number of pommels have the "AGM" inspector mark, none of the grips are wound all the way to the top of the grip as would be the case with a Roby sword (it's been suggested that the AGM mark is only found on Roby swords). What I am getting at is that to me the M mark shows up on swords that have been repaired or put together from parts. This is the sort of thing that might happen at an armory. Is M a particular inspector or is it some sort of approval for a reconditioned sword?

What would that mean for the General Officer's Sword? Is the M on the tang of the General Officer's Sword the same M on other swords? The General Officer's Sword had been around for a while when the Civil War began, could individual examples have been refurbished for use during the war? Since a number were sent to Ames for repair and AGM started his career as a polisher for AMES, could there be a connection with the M stamp?

I am not that knowledgeable about swords, their manufacture and repair so if any of my rambling discussion seems way off base I apologize.

Since officer swords were owned by the individual officer, and not the government, I wouldn't think they would be getting sent back for refurbishment and reissue to another assignment. I could see this happening with the government owned enlisted weapons.

 

[R. Porter]

Since officer swords were owned by the individual officer, and not the government, I wouldn't think they would be getting sent back for refurbishment and reissue to another assignment. I could see this happening with the government owned enlisted weapons.

Were enlisted swords ever sent to Ames for repair? It would have to be 1863 or later and they would have been working on non-Ames swords. Is there a reason that high ranking officer's swords would have been repaired at an armory? Which can be boiled down to was M a government inspector, a private inspector, or coincidental use of a symbol for two different things or people?

 

[bobinwmass]

Were enlisted swords ever sent to Ames for repair? It would have to be 1863 or later and they would have been working on non-Ames swords. Is there a reason that high ranking officer's swords would have been repaired at an armory? Which can be boiled down to was M a government inspector, a private inspector, or coincidental use of a symbol for two different things or people?

I think the M on the 1834 officer sword and the M on Roby sabers are just a coincidence. I think it likely that the M on the Roby sabers may be the initial of a subinspector given additional responsibilities, as is also postulated by Thillmann. It appears that M marking is only found on Roby 1863 cavalry blades with the circular maker mark. Thillmann believes these sabers were likely produced for Roby's first cavalry contract. What Thillmann apparently didn't know was that Massachusetts ordered and received 1208 cavalry sabers from Roby in 1863. I believe those 1863 sabers with the circular maker mark and the M on the blade are those sabers. Since they were not for the Federal government, they were not stamped with the 2 or 3 initials of a government inspector we would recognize, though Massachusetts likely required that they be proofed the same way.

 

[Glen_C]

The ordnance books for officers lists sword parts as part of the supply chain.

The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army

www.google.com

Page 177 onward for small arms, a free read or download. Page 226 for a list per 1,000 swords for one year, no extra blades.

Cheers
GC