Original American Revolutionary War Era Hessian Hanger Sword with Engraved Blade with Leather & Wire Wrapped Grip Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a wonderful, solid example of a Hessian Hanger Sword as used by the Hessian soldiers in the employ of England during the Revolutionary War. During the war, over 30,000 Hessians were hired by the British to help in the fight.

A Hanger Sword is a bladed weapon that got its name from the manner in which it was hung on the belt of the person who used it. It could be made in large quantities, is not particularly expensive to do so, and was first used as a hunting weapon before being put to use in combat.

The Hanger sword was a type of saber that was very short and mainly placed on the belts of its owners for convenience and ease of access, hence the name. It was a very simple sword that was practical and had many uses. Its versatility is the reason why there are many different types of it.

The first type of Hanger sword was the Cutting Hanger. This single-edged and slightly curved sword hung from the belts of foot soldiers as a military sidearm, mainly in 16th-century Europe and was still being used centuries later.

They were easy to create and didn’t have any decorations. They were meant to be used with hacking motions and didn’t serve as a status symbol. This example has a 24¾” blade and is 29¾” long overall. The grip is beautifully worn just enough to show its construction. The leather is still heavily retained, about 60%. The brass of the hilt has aged very well, and the crossguard has no dents. The crossguard has a small rain chappe on both sides which are retained well.

The blade is in great shape for its age and has a gorgeous patina built over the past 250 years. There’s only peppering across the blade with no heavy oxidation. The blade is still tight to the hilt, but the crossguard is a bit loose which is to be expected. There is a very small remnant of the original leather washer on the bottom of the blade, with heavy oxidation around it. The engravings on the blade are very hard to make out due to the heavy pitting and oxidation, but there appear to be depictions of mustached men.

This is a lovely example of a scarce Revolutionary War era sword, ready for further research and display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 24¾”
Blade Style: Cutting Hanger Saber with fuller & false edge
Overall length: 29¾”
Crossguard: 4⅜”