The Pattern 1796 British infantry officer's sword was carried by officers of the

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

in the

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between 1796 and the time of its official replacement with the gothic hilted sword in 1822. This period encompassed the whole of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Design

The sword was introduced by General Order in 1796, replacing the previous Pattern 1786 sword. It was similar to its predecessor in having a spadroon blade, i.e. one straight, flat backed and single edged with a single fuller on each side. The hilt was of gilt brass or gunmetal, with a knucklebow, vestigial quillon and a twin-shell guard somewhat similar in appearance to that of the smallswords which had been common civilian wear until shortly before this period. The pommel was urn shaped and, in many later examples, the inner guard was hinged to allow the sword to sit against the body more comfortably and reduce wear to the officer's uniform. Blades were commonly quite extensively decorated, often blued and gilt.

Criticism

The 1796 Pattern Sword was not renowned as a great fighting sword. The blade was weak and the hilt gave very little protection to the hand. General Cavalie Mercer of the Royal Artillery, who wore the same sword stated that: "Nothing could be more useless or ridiculous than the old infantry regulation

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it was good for neither cut nor thrust and was a perfect encumberance. In the Foot Artillery, when away from headquarters, we generally wore

dirk A dirk is a long-bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.); "Dagger", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729. Historically, it gained its name from the Highland dirk (Scott ...

s instead of it".Robson, Brian: Swords of the British Army, The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914, Revised Edition 1996, National Army Museum

Influence on United States Army swords

Regardless of its weaknesses as a fighting weapon, according to Robson, a nearly identical sword was carried by the Army Corps of Engineers in the early nineteenth century and in turn similar swords were adopted by the United States Army in 1840 for foot officers and (with a simpler, unhinged guard) for NCOs.

References

External links

Detailed images of 1796 British Infantry Officer's Sword with appropriate Sword Knot

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British service swords Early Modern European swords Modern European swords 19th-century military history of the United Kingdom Napoleonic Wars weapons {{NapoleonicWars-stub

Design

Criticism

Influence on United States Army swords

See also

References

External links