Upside Down Sabres

[peacefulanimalguy7]

 

[Rhea Cole]

View attachment 506598

What "upside down sabers" are you referring to?

Until 1861 dragoons wore their crossed saber badges edge down. In that year, the dragoons & cavalry were combined & wore their crossed saber badges edge up.

In this image the style of hat also would seem to indicate early war, as well.

History of U.S. Cavalry Insignia

Evolution of U.S. Cavalry Insignia

hglanham.tripod.com

Errata: in my earlier post I repeated an erroneous citation. Enlisted men did not wear badges with edges down.

An interesting discussion of Civil War heraldry:

The Beginnings of Heraldry in the Civil War– Symbols Rally the Spirit - Army Quartermaster Foundation, Inc.

Colonel Ralph R. BurrArmy Information Digest - August 1961 A mistake in identification by a general early in the Civil War started the system of shoulder patches that now is common in the U. S. Army. The use of these distinctive unit emblems to identify soldiers as members of organizations with...

www.quartermasterfoundation.org

 

[John Hartwell]

Hat insignia. Two crossed sabers in scabbards, cutting edge up, was adopted in 1851.