Scarce Civil War Ames Model 1840 Light Horse Artillery Saber, c. 1864

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Scarce Civil War Ames Model 1840 Light Horse Artillery Saber, c. 1864:
$900.00

Scarce Civil War Ames Manufacturing Company Model 1840 Light Horse Artillery Saber, 1864

The is very good and quite scarce Civil War Model 1840 Light Horse Artillery Saber manufactured for the Union Army, horse mounted artillery by the Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts in 1864. The Model 1840 Light Artillery Saber was used from its adoption in 1840 and was manufactured by Ames, the U.S. Government\'s primary contractor, from 1844 through 1865. The Model 1840 Light Artillery Saber is one of the scarcest of all Civil War bladed weapons because the mounted artillery, who were issued this saber, was a very small branch of service.

Although the US first adopted the Light Artillery Saber for horse-mounted troops in 1840, the Ordnance Department requested in 1832 that sample mounted artillery swords be purchased in Europe to compare with those issued to US soldiers and the various state militias. Lieutenant Daniel Tyler was on Ordnance Department duty in France in 1832 when he purchased three artillery sabers, each of a different pattern. In 1839, the War Department directed the American Minister to France in Paris to purchase 300 mounted artillery sabers from the French Arsenal. Upon receipt in the United States, these sabers were sent to the western frontier and issued to the U.S. Horse Artillery units in the 1840s. Horse Artillery units at that time worked closely and traveled with the U.S. Dragoons. On August 28, 1840, the Ordnance Department issued their first contract for an artillery saber to the Schnitzler & Kirschbaum (S&K) firm for 500 \"Horse Artillery sabers,\" which were eventually delivered to the Army in the spring of 1841. On August 26, 1844, Nathan P. Ames, Jr. received his first contract with the U.S. Government for a contract to produce 500 M1840 Light (Horse) Artillery Sabers and these were delivered on August 29, 1845.

The Ames Manufacturing Company began in 1774 with a factor located in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Ames received its first U.S. Government contract for the manufacture of sabers in 1832. The Ames factory relocated to Chicopee, Massachusetts in 1847, where this saber was manufactured.

Ames made two variations of the M1840 Light (Horse) Artillery Saber. The first version was patterned after the M1829 French saber, which had no reinforced scabbard throat and, as a result, the bottom of the handguard had a recess for proper fit when the saber was carried in the scabbard. The second variation was manufactured by Ames from 1861 to 1865 and had the traditional reinforced scabbard throat with collar and the bottom of the handguard was flat with no scabbard recess. Because of the small size of the Horse Artillery in the Civil War, less than 20,000 Model 1840 Light Horse Artillery Sabers were manufactured, making this a very scarce Civil War saber.

This Model 1840 Light Horse Artillery Saber has a 32 1/4\" long blade that is in excellent condition. The blade is marked \"AMES MFG CO/CHICOPEE, MASS,\" on one side of the ricasso and \"U.S./C.E.W./1864,\" on the other side. The initials \"C.E.W.\" stand for US Government Saber Inspector Charles E. Wilson, who inspected sabers for the Ordnance Department from 1862 to 1864. The Blade has a single, wide fuller that runs from just forward of the ricasso to a point about 7 inches from the tip of the blade. The back of the blade is flat. The blade shows small areas of discoloration but it still has a sharp edge but does not have the grind marks indicative of post-war sharpening.

The handle is a relatively straight piece of wood wrapped in its original Civil War leather that is wrapped with twisted brass wire, which is still solidly in place. The Brass Hilt and Knuckle Bow exhibits a beautiful dark mustard patina. The brass pommel cap is low convex in shape and has the same mustard patina to the brass. The base of the blade where it meets the brass guard still has the original leather washer in place, which is in excellent condition.

The Iron Scabbard with Iron Mounts is in very good condition. The Scabbard has never been cleaned or polished and it retains its very old brown patina. Both Scabbard mounting rings are present. The throat of the Scabbard has the collar. There are inspection initials \"O.D.F.\" on the Saber\'s Drag. There is a small dent in one area of the Scabbard. When the Saber is mounted in the Scabbard, it is is securely in place.

As noted, Horse Artillery in the Civil War, also known as flying artillery, was a very small branch. In the Horse Artillery, all of the artillerymen were mounted on horses. The cannoneers each rode a horse and there were usually two additional mounted artillerymen with each gun to act as horse-holders when the guns were in battery. This contrasts with the regular field artillery, in which the cannons were pulled by horses but the artillerymen either walked or rode the cannon mount or the caisson if there was room. The biggest difference between Horse Artillery and regular Field Artillery was that the Horse Artillery were typically assigned to support cavalry formations. They rode with, fired their cannons in support of, and sometimes fought alongside cavalrymen. The regular field artillery typically supported infantry units in battle and, as a result, there was no need for individual artillery cannoneers to have increased mobility. Interestingly, most of the Horse Artillery units in the Union Army during the Civil War were regular U.S. Army soldiers drawn from the Regular Army\'s five artillery regiments. The preponderance of regular troops in the Horse Artillery enhanced their reputation as efficient, accurate and very disciplined troops under fire.

This is a visually pleasing and very scarce, original Civil War Model 1840 Light Horse Artillery Saber with original iron Scabbard. This would be an important piece to add to any cavalry or artillery collection or any Civil War saber collection. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like additional photos. I accept Visa and MasterCard and charge no fees. Thanks for looking! Please visit my website at: New Market Arms

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