Tag Archives: Louis Haiman

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.

Louis Haiman & Brother Enlisted Man’s Cavalry Saber

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Columbus, Georgia was home to perhaps the Confederacies largest sword factory. Prussian born brothers Louis and Elias Haiman were owner/operators of the Columbus Iron Works which at the outbreak of the war was turned into a sword factory where a variety of edged weapons were forged and cast.

It’s thought approximately 8000 Cavalry swords were manufactured under Confederate contracts. Patterned after the U.S. Model 1840 Cavalry Saber, the Haiman Brothers version was not quite the quality of the Union counterpart. Having casting flaws on the ricasso near the tang, grip wrapped with painted cloth (rather then leather) with a single strand of iron wire and crude seams on the backs of there scabbards.

Most existing examples are unmarked however there are a few that are marked at the ricasso “Haiman & Bro”, the scabbards throats are always iron as well as most drags, ring mounts are always brass with iron rings and some surviving examples have a reddish shade on there hilts due to a high copper content which was the result of periodic shortages of zinc.

The Haiman Brothers operated there factory throughout the war but on April 16, 1865 Union Cavalrymen under Major General James Wilson captured Columbus and torched the factory.

The example before you is one I acquired a while back which I would consider to be in excellent condition. The scabbard has the crude seam running up its back with brass mounts, iron rings, drag and throat. I see no signs of paint on the scabbard and it’s free from dents and damage.

The swords hilt has a great patina and is wrapped with painted cloth with a single strand of iron wire which seems to be original to the sword. If you look closely at the images above you will see the castings flaws on either side of the blade, most near the tang just below the hilt which undeniably identifies the sword as a Haiman Brothers Enlisted Man’s Sword. However there are many flaws throughout the length of the blade, which add to its character and beauty.

The overall length of the sword is 42” with the blade measuring 36” long and the scabbard measuring 38” from the top of the throats to the bottom of the drag. The Haiman Brothers sword measures a total of 43 ¾” when sword is set in scabbard compared to its Union counterpart (Model 1840 Calvary Sword) which measures 42”.

If you have questions about this sword or any of the other weapons in the Civil War Arsenal email me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West.