Pattern 1796 Light Cavalry Saber (Officer’s Variant)

Catalogue Number: Oc044
Late 18th C.-Early 19th C.
Steel, Iron, Copper, Wood, Leather (Possibly Shark or Ray skin)
Origin: Great Britain
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Description:

This sword is one of two Pattern 1796 Light Cavalry Saber in the Oakeshott collection. It is in very good condition, and retains its original scabbard and sword knot.

Created in an attempt to help standardize swords among British cavalry units, the form of this sword represents a departure from the previous attempt in the Pattern 1788. The sword has a heavily curved blade ending in a broad, thin tip. It was designed to mimic Hungarian Sabers at the time, in an effort to improve handling and cutting capabilities. The hilt is composed of a straight grip ending in a curved pommel, with a simple stirrup hilt.

A closer look at the grip shows it is wrapped in sharkskin, which in turn is bound with wire. The backstrap runs from the crossguard up and around the base of the pommel, where it meets the stirrup. The stirrup has a simple cut-out where a sword knot can be attached. The crossguard has one quillon protecting the thumb, as well as two rounded langets.

The blade is highly decorated, with a blued background ending in scroll work towards the first third of the blade. Over the bluing is a series of intricate gilt details, including a collection of arms, a Royal Cypher, Royal Coat of Arms, and a mounted cavalryman with his saber drawn.

The fuller ends several inches before the tip, resulting in the final section of the blade being exceptionally broad and narrow, perfect for large cutting motions. The scabbard is of a simple metal construction, with two suspension rings allowing for easy mounting of the sword.

These sabers were worn with a sword knot attached to either the front or the back of the guard. These would be a loop of cloth, cord, or leather several inches long, terminating in a weighted end. When slipped over the hand, this would help reduce the likelihood of losing the weapon in the ever-changing environment of combat.

This particular sword knot is composed of a long leather thong, weighted with a leather ball and tassel. There is also a small leather ring slipped around the thong to allow the knot to be tightened around the wrist. (1)

History:

Often considered one of the most recognizable sabers of the Napoleonic Wars, the 1796 pattern light cavalry saber was also one of the most widely produced and diversely fabricated swords of the period. Many varieties of hilt, grip, and knucklebow features can be attributed to both the widespread British and German manufacturing of these swords, as well as their popularity among the officer corps. (2) Standardized cavalry swords were first instituted with the 1788 model heavy and light cavalry sabers, though the 1796 model illustrates the first attempt to produce both a sword and a regularized system of cavalry exercises in tandem.

While serving with the 16th Queen’s Light Dragoons during the 1790s, a young officer named John Gaspard le Marchant (1766-1812), designed a new saber to address the disappointment he felt for the performance of the British cavalry in Flanders. Marchant’s son, Sir Denis le Marchant (1795-1874), recounted in the posthumous memoirs of his father how Marchant’s experience both of single combat against French cavalry sabers, as well as post-factum discussion of the wounds they inflicted with battlefield surgeons, apparently motivated his decision to suggest both new equipment and new training practices for British cavalry. (3) Marchant may have developed both from the influence of the Austrian cavalry models, but quickly recognized the need for a concise body of standard practises.

In his published training manual Rules and Regulations for the Sword Exercise of the Cavalry, he emphasized a strict hierarchy of exercise tiers teaching first the cuts and the guards from foot, followed by their use in active motion from horseback, and concluding with training the cavalryman to fight properly at various speeds. Marchant emphasized that cavalrymen must train for precision in directing both the curved edge and the point of the saber. His ideal soldier could think on his feet and act efficiently according to the situation on the battlefield, qualities often associated with light infantry.

In combat, the cavalryman was expected to keep his left hand on the bridle while keeping the sword hand forward with the sharpened edge facing slightly downwards. The dulled “bevel” of the sword’s back edge was to be keep slightly elevated so as to “receive the cuts, rather than the edge which would be spoiled, at the same time that it causes the sword hilt to give necessary protection to the wrist.” (4) Concerning the body mechanics behind good saber technique, Marchant emphasized that: “Too much attention cannot be paid to suppling the wrist…every lesson should begin with suppling the wrist, and which must be frequently repeated during the hour of the drill.” (5)

Marchant did not explicitly state that his saber design was meant to emphasize cutting over thrusting, though some contemporary soldiers made this general observation, such as the dragoon, George Farmer, serving in the Peninsular Campaign. Describing the aftermath of a skirmish near Elvas in May, 1811: “The wounds inflicted in this trifling affair were all very ghastly. Being inflicted entirely with the sword and falling, at least among the French, chiefly upon the head and face, the appearance presented by these mangled wretches was hideous…It is worthy of remark, that the French cavalry, in nine cases out of ten, make use of the point, whereas we strike with the edge, which is, in my humble opinion, far more effective.” (6)

The utility of the 1796 pattern light cavalry saber influenced the design of both the 1803 model light infantry saber, and its eventual successor, the 1821 model light cavalry saber. In two and a half decades of service, this piece was an icon of the British cavalry and of British success in the Napoleonic Wars.

References:

(1) “The sword-knot is to be made of leather, not too thick, but capable of shaping itself to the wrist; yet it is not intended ever to confine the action of the wrist, which it would do if drawn tight; but it is to be of such a length as to admit of the sword-hilt shifting in the hand, which is necessary in giving point, and indeed in almost every movement in the exercise of the sword.” John Gaspard le Marchant, Rules and Regulations for the Sword Exercise of the Cavalry, (Whitehall: Printed by the War Office and Sold by T. Edgerton, Military Library, 1796), 8.

(2) Charles Martyn, The British Cavalry Sword from 1600, (Barnesley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword Military, 2004), 63.

(3) Denis le Marchant, Memoirs of the late major-genl. [J.G.] le Marchant, (London: Printed by Samuel Bentley, Bangour House, Shoe Lane, 1841), 44.

(4) John Gaspard le Marchant, ibid., 13.

(5) Ibid., 19.

(6) George Farmer, The Light Dragoon, edited by Rev. George Gleig, (Pickle Partners Publishing, 2011), Vol. I, Chapter V.