1796 British Light Cavalry Sabre Sword & Scabbard – UK ONLY

DUE TO INTERNATIONAL SELLING REGULATIONS UNFORTUNATELY WE CAN ONLY SEND THIS ITEM TO CUSTOMERS WITHIN THE UK.

Guaranteed original. 1796 British Light Cavalry Sabre Sword & Scabbard for sale in the UK only.

CONDITION : The scabbard is pitted and the handle of the sabre is has had a few bits flaked off and there are some stains on the blade. However, this is an original sword and we don’t wish to clean it or restore it in any way so we will leave that up to the buyer. There is a makers mark on it as well that reads: Josh. H. Reddell & Co.

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This is an original 1796 British Light Cavalry Sabre Sword & Scabbard for sale.

The Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre is a sword that was used primarily by British light dragoons and hussars, and King’s German Legion light cavalry during the Napoleonic Wars. It was adopted by the Prussians (as the 1811 pattern or “Blücher sabre”) and used by Portuguese and Spanish cavalry. An eastern influence can be detected in the blade form, and Le Marchant is recorded as saying that the “blades of the Turks, Mamalukes, Moors and Hungarians [were] preferable to any other”; the post 1630, knuckle bow hilted, fullered, Szabla, of the Polish-Hungarian Hussars, often credited as Le Marchant’s inspiration for the pattern. The blade profile is similar to some examples of the Indian tulwar. This similarity prompted some Indian armourers to re-hilt old 1796 pattern blades as tulwars later in the 19th century. The 1796 sabre had a pronounced curve, making the kind of slashing attacks used in cavalry actions decidedly easier. Even cavalrymen trained to use the thrust, as the French were, in the confusion of a melee often reverted to instinctive hacking, which the 1796 accommodated. Its blade, unlike other European sabres of the period, widened near the point. This affected balance, but made slashes far more brutal; its action in the cut has been compared to a modern bacon slicer. It is said that this design feature prompted unofficial complaints from French officers, but this is unconfirmed. The blade of the light cavalry sabre was 32.5 to 33 inches (83 to 84 cm) long and had a single broad fuller on each side. The sabre was lighter and easier to use than its heavy cavalry counterpart, the pattern 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword, which had a less ‘scientific’ design. The hilt was of the simple ‘stirrup’ form with a single iron knucklebow and quillon, so as to be free of unnecessary weight; the intention of this was to make the sabre usable by all cavalrymen, not solely the largest and strongest. A typical trooper’s sabre would weigh nearly 2 lb 2oz (0.96 kg). In common with the contemporary heavy cavalry sword, the iron backpiece of the leather-covered wooden grip had ears which were riveted through the tang of the blade to give the hilt and blade a very secure connection. It was carried in an iron scabbard, with wooden liners, and hung from the waist via sword-belt slings attached to two loose suspension rings.

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