Tag Archives: Brass Scabbard

Thomas, Griswold & Co. Artillery Saber

Posted on by
3

The partnership of Henry Thomas Jr. and A.B. Griswold was a welcome combination for the Confederacy in the spring of 1861. New Orleans was the largest city in the South with a population of over 170,000 and there was much money to be made as aggressive entrepreneurs.

Thomas, Griswold & Co. we’re not only manufactures of military goods but importers as well and the large port of New Orleans would give them access to trade ships from Europe filled with many of the supplies the South needed.

Unfortunately there success only lasted a short while, Union Naval forces captured New Orleans April 25, 1862 putting an end to there brisk business and seizing South’s largest port.

For sometime now I’ve been searching for a Thomas, Griswold Artillery Saber……with its brass/bronze scabbard, makers mark ricasso and fine attention to detail, one can make the argument there was hardly a finer sword made South of the Mason Dixon Line.

My new saber & scabbard is in excellent condition, with an almost perfectly straight scabbard that has a sweet mustard patina and the lap seam is almost unnoticeable unlike most other Confederate scabbards.

As for the saber, where do I start….hmmmmmm. The leather grip on the artillery saber is about 75% intact with all its brass wire wrapping in place, the pommel, knucklebow and quillon all have a pleasant patina with some casting imperfections. The blade, fuller and edge are about as nice as any you will see, with its leather insulator still in place and a fine makers mark stamp this saber would rival any Northern made saber/sword.

I have many new pieces in my collection that I’ve yet to post at the Civil War Arsenal, I hope to photograph and write about them soon. In the mean while if you have any questions about this Artillery Saber or any of the other weapon in my arsenal feel free to contact me at civlwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West………oh, and if you have any Southern Weapons for sale maybe we can strike a deal…..I’m always in the market to buy. Thanks for stopping by, hope to see y’all soon.

C.S.A Arms Factory, Kenansville Enlisted Men’s Cavalry Sword

Posted on by
2

The newest addition to my collection is an 2nd Model Enlisted Men’s Cavalry Sword made at the C.S.A Arms Factory in Kenansville, North Carolina. The interesting thing about this Confederate sword is its copper scabbard, which happens to be in very good condition. Not really certain if this scabbard is original to the sword, however it fits the scabbard well and just looks really cool.

Most Kenansville Cavalry Swords are marked with Roman numerals on the edge of the knucklebow (this example is marked with RN # XXVIIII or 29) and most scabbards are marked with a Matching RN # on the top of the throat (this example is not) leaving one to believe that this scabbard is not original to the sword. I’m also told by the experts that this scabbard is an earlier version, considered to be the 1st Model scabbard. So maybe, just maybe they made the sword at the factory and they had a 1st Model scabbard lying around which just happen to fit the sword……don’t really know, because I wasn’t there…..one things for sure it’s a really neat sword and scabbard.

The blade on this sword has some pitting and is very dark but is not damaged in any way and the brass guard has great color, color that takes 150 plus years to create. The grip has been rewrapped at one time or another, which is a bummer but there’s worse things in life.

The Scabbard is just about as pretty as it gets (my opinion) when it comes to Confederate Scabbards. The 150 year old copper color is just over the top and its crude soldering on the back just reeks of the Confederacy, and I say that in a loving way…..you can see traces of red paint throughout suggesting that it was originally painted. This is not unusual for Confederate Scabbards to be painted either red or black.

If you have any questions about this sword and scabbard or any of the other weapons in my arsenal feel free to ask, if you have any Confederate Weapons you’d like to sell let me know maybe we can work out a deal. Contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn Gene West….thanks for stopping by the Civil War Arsenal.