Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Here we have a lovely British Georgian P1796 Infantry Officers sword, with a straight single edged blade of 32 1/4 inches in length. It features a brass double shell guard, folding rear guard, twisted silver wire covered grip, and urn-shaped pommel.
The inside of the guard section that does not fold down has the named and dated presentation engraving:
Honorary Reward
Cadet Company
Barraset 21st July 1809
J.G. Drummond Cadet
We would guess that this cadet was given the award for some type of competition, or possibly for some type of exemplary service while in training. We unfortunately have not been able to find out anything else about the reason the sword was awarded, or about the cadet it was awarded to.
Condition is very nice, though the twisted silver wire around the grip has come loose at one end, and could be easily repaired. The sword also does show significant use and cleaning of the blade, which originally would usually have been engraved and possibly fire blued. We can see traces of the original engraving by the ricasso, but nowhere else on the blade due to years of cleaning and polishing.
A nice example of the pattern 1796 officer’s sword with loads of research potential. Ready to display!
Specifications:
Overall length: 38 1/2”
Blade length: 32 1/4”
Blade Style: Straight Single Edged Spear Point