Tag Archives: civil war swords

Kraft, Goldschmidt & Kraft Cavalry Saber – Lewis L. & T.R Moore Wooden Scabbard

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Henry Kraft, brother Peter Kraft and Maurice Goldschmidt are the name sakes of “Kraft, Goldschmidt & Kraft” formed in 1861 as military outfitters in Columbia South Carolina. Henry a jeweler and Peter a gunsmith complimented each other’s skills by making some of the South’s finest engraved swords but they also made standard issue enlisted men’s calvary sabers.

Little is known about the wooden scabbards these Cavalry Sabers are housed in. It’s believed they were made by Lewis L. and T.R. Moore of Atlanta Georgia. In Gordon Jone’s book “Confederate Odyssey” he writes that 556 “wooden saber scabbards”were delivered to the C.S. Arsenal at Charleston South Carolina in 1863. So it’s assumed this is one of those wooden scabbards made by the Moore brothers and yes there may have been additional deliveries to the 556 mentioned earlier.

This highly desirable cavalry saber and wooden scabbard serves as testament to the South’s inequality to the North’s industrial revolution, wooden scabbards may have owed as much to practicality as to desperation, thin inferior wrapped leather, small gauge single wire used on the grip, casting flaws on knucklebow and forging flaws throughout the blade. All the qualities that collectors of Confederate weapons love to study.

My new saber and scabbard is just one of my recent acquisitions, it’s been on my wish list for a while and I was able to negotiate a fair price with the seller. The saber measures a total of 39 ½” from pommel to the blade tip with the blade length of 34 ¼”. The blade has a large fuller approximately 27” long with many forging flaws. The brass knucklebow, branches and pommel all have casting flaws and the finest aged patina.

The scabbard measures a total of 36 ¾” from the throat to the bottom of the drag. It’s a testament to the craftsman who made these scabbards, that more then 150 years later they still serve the purpose they were designed for. The wooden scabbard has lots of aged patina only complimenting its history, however it does have some cracks towards the bottom half and I believe the boot style drag has been professionally replaced which does not distract from its character. The scabbard is two pieces of hollowed out carved wood held together with wrapped tin. The throat, ring bands and drag are brass with the darkest hues of brown, red and gold.

This sword and scabbard is typical of so many Southern Weapons that tell a side story of ingenuity, practicality and even desperation……maybe that’s just one of the things that fascinates me and other collectors. I’m thrilled to be the keeper of this piece of American history even if it’s only for a short while.

I’m always looking for new to the market Confederate artifacts, if you have any and are considering selling them maybe we can make a deal. Thanks for stopping by the Civil War Arsenal if you have any questions or thoughts about this posting feel free to contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West

Ames Enlisted Model 1860 Cavalry Saber

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Troopers in the field were unhappy with the model 1840 commonly referred to as the “old wrist breaker” they wanted a lighter and more maneuverable Saber. The new model 1860 Saber as the Ordnance Department response. The light Cavalry Saber had a blade that was shorter, not as thick or wide, and came with a scaled down scabbard to fit the new blade. The center of balance was moved back more toward the hilt by slimming the overall blade and the tip from the hatchet type tip to more of a sharp point.

So in 1857 the Ames Sword Company received a request from the US Government to provide sample patterns of a new light Cavalry Saber made after the French model of 1822 and referred to in the Ordnance Department records as the “new pattern”.

Pre War US Government procurements were as follows.

Prewar 1859-1860
Made by Ames
1856-57 – 1000
1858 – 1800
1859 – 5000
Total. 7800

Wartime 1861-1865
Made by Ames
1861 – 10000
1862 – ——–
1863 – 23500
1864 – 31000
1865 – 10000
Total. 74500

The sword you see here is stamped U.S. ADK, 1862 on one side of the ricasso and Ames Mfg. Co, Chicopee Massachusetts on the other side. One of the branches on the knuckle-bow has an inventory # 18320…..the drag plate on the scabbard is also marked ADK, these initials are of the weapons inspectors who’s name was King.

The blade measures 34” long and the handle is 5.5” for a total length of 39.5” with a small and a large fuller. The leather grip is in excellent condition and has 13 rows of brass wrappings. Overall this is a nice example of a Ames Enlisted Model 1860 Calvary Sword, in my opinion it’s a early version probably from the 1856-57 Government procurements.

If you have any questions about this sword or any of the other items in the Civil War Arsenal feel free to contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West

Confederate Light Artillery Saber

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Some of the most sought after edged weapons in collectors collections are Confederate swords. Most commonly they are Cavalry Sabers and Staff & Field Swords however occasionally Southern Artillery Swords become available.

Confederate Artillery Swords are rare, no reason is known for this but the fact remains that three to four officers swords show up for every Artillery sword. So when this sword became available I negotiated the best deal I could to make it apart of my collection.

My new acquired Confederate Enlisted Man’s Artillery Sword is a copy of the Model 1840, Type 1 U.S. Artillery Saber. The Saber has a typical Southern scabbard with a crude lapped seam and brass mounts. The grip retains about 90% of the original leather with the iron wire. The blade is unmarked and has the classic unstopped fuller with very visible fault lines typically found on Confederate swords. The overall length of the sword is 36” with the blade measuring approximately 31” the scabbard measures a total of 34” from the throats to the bottom of the drag. The blade is 1 ¼” at its widest point with a 24” fuller on either side. The sword has what I believe to be many of the characteristics of swords manufactured by the Haiman Brothers of Columbus Georgia.

If you have any questions about this sword or any of the other weapons in my Arsenal contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com Attn: Gene West….thanks for stopping by.

Civil War Guns

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Sitting around the house today not knowing what to do, outside the snow is coming down and there calling this the storm of the century with up to 2 feet of snow and 50 MPH winds expected, sounds cold to me….

Anyway I decided to take some photos of my history room, a.k.a. the “Civil War Arsenal”. As you can see many of my antique weapons are displayed throughout the room. I recently had a carpenter build the racks that the rifles are mounted on, all in all I think the racks came out pretty nice and compliment the rifles and corresponding bayonets.

You’ll also notice some D-Handle, Side Knives, Pikes and Artillery Swords displayed as well. Its my opinion that these weapons should be displayed so friends and family can see and handle them. I don’t quite get the fun in collecting antique guns and swords then putting them in the safe or some out of the way place where no one can appreciate them. But thats just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.

Also scattered throughout the room are a number of paintings, historical photos, bronze castings and dozens of other historical items. You’ll notice that I am a big “John Paul Strain” fan he is perhaps one of the best artist in his field I have a bunch of his paintings. I also have some of “Karl Anderson’s” sculptures, he’s a less know artist then John however just as good and I believe the best in his field, especially when it comes to historical accuracy.

Well there you have it, another story that no one will read. Just Kidding…. If you have any questions about this post or any of the weapons in the “Civil War Arsenal” feel free to contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West