CIVIL WAR MILITIA SWORD

Antebellum period, C. 1840-50. Type carried by Non Commissioned Officers in both the North and South. See The American Sword, Peterson, #11.  25 3/4” double edged blade. Brass hilt with reeded bone grip (no chips). State militias comprised the majority of combatants at the outbreak of the Civil War. As this sword survived the war and later, it can surely be assumed to have served. The absence of the stars and bars logo as found on the langets of many of these including this one, may indicate Southern use, as the prospect of war was festering by the 1830’s. The doctrine of nullification was made law in South Carolina and in 1832, resulted in President Andrew Johnson threatening to send Federal troops to enforce the tariff laws. South Carolina’s militias were called up and the state prepared for war. From the famous Frank Barnyak collection.