Sword possibly from Fort Donelson?

[Chris S.]

This sword was handed down through our family and said to have been from the battle of Fort Donelson. I'm curious if anyone can tell me more about it. It is 34" in total length and the blade is 1 3/4" wide. Thank you, Chris

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

It fits in the time period! Fort Donelson is a little late for it, but it could have conceivably been there.

What you have looks to be a blacksmith made D-Guard Bowie knife. They were popular early in the war with Southerners heading off to fight for the Confederacy. I did say knife, a lot of D-Guards tended to be more short sword than Bowie knife but the name stuck.

Oh and welcome to CivilWarTalk from Texas and the Book Review Forum!

 

[UCVRelics]

Very Interesting piece. It appears to be an early blacksmith made piece. Could you post a photo of the pommel end and the other side of the blade at the hilt?

 

[Lanyard Puller]

Welcome Chris,

You have a fairly rare blacksmith made "Double D-Guard" Confederate Bowie knife. These are several variations of the hilt style, and were made by as yet, unknown makers. There appears to be a part of the hilt which is broken off, but I'd recommend not trying to repair it as there were many different shapes of the missing piece.

The photo shows the missing part of the hand guard, and although not a Double-Ds, you can see the variations in Confederate knives.

 

[Chris S.]

Thank you both for the information...I really appreciate it. Attached are the additional photos that were requested. Any additional perspective would be welcome.

 

[Chris S.]

Thanks Lanyard Puller. You are correct about the piece being broken off. I'd not noticed that before but can clearly see the break now. Would that most likely have happened in battle or just in the normal course of handling the sword during its life?

 

[Lanyard Puller]

Most likely its from kids playing with it for over 150 years. The new photos do justice to this rare blacksmith made Rebel knife.

 

[UCVRelics]

Even with the damage its a VERY RARE and VERY NICE piece. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Chris S.]

Now that you mention it, my late-father did say that he often dragged it around the house as a kid. Less romantic story to account for the damage vs. battle, but probably correct. Thanks everyone.

 

[captaindrew]

Welcome to the forum @Chris S. and thanks for sharing an interesting piece with us