AMERICAN STATE MILITIA NCO'S SWORD

Probably Civil War. Plated hilt with plumed visored helmet form pommel and “bow tie” guard. Reeded bone grip. 25 7/8” blade of medially fullered double edged fighting form. Plated scabbard with deeply hand-chiseled figure of a semi nude “wild man” standing over a severed head, a saltire and four leaf clover. Well used with the plating well preserved throughout. Swords of this type were produced for state militias, which comprised most of the combatants during the Civil War. The use of plating was not accepted under Federal regulations, but was well established and used extensively in hand guns and other applications. The figures on the scabbard were engraved before plating and evidently custom to the order of the sword’s owner. Federal policy was that officers purchased and owned their swords. Militia policies varied and in fact, this sword may have been owned by a commissioned officer. As militias were adequately armed, as least by the end of the Civil War, a pre war or Civil War date is almost certain. After the war, there was a glut of swords and little need to produce them. Worth some research.