As Ulfberth pointed out, this is the French boarding cutlass M1811 or 33 (so hard to tell those two apart!). Battara makes a good case for possible CW usage as well. If I had to guess, I'd say Civil War over War of 1812.
I am assuming by 'barn find' that it was hidden in the rafters or some such, versus just hanging on a hook? If it were in the South, I'd have laid odds on a Confederate piece. Like the American colonists before them fighting the Brits, times were tough and weapons scarce. Southern fighters often carried parts-swords or blacksmith made weapons into battle, such as the so called 'Dog River swords'. These weapons were often stashed in walls, under floors and in old barns to prevent them from being seized by Union troops as they made their way through the towns. I've seen swords from the Mexican War, French imported swords, etc, used by the Confeds. Being from PA, this logic doesn't quite hold, UNLESS it was a war trophy/seizure, which was also quite common. Being that it is the remnants of a naval sword, it very well could have been carried by a rebel blockade runner sailor.
From the look of it, the sword looks like it was still in use in its present form, meaning it isn't just a remnant with parts fallen off. Likewise, I don't think it's a post-war put-together made to whack cornstalks with. During the War of 1812, we weren't so desparate for weapons that we needed to fight the war (American contractors like Nathan Starr and Rose were putting out cutlasses in droves). The only final possibility is that it was a French used cutlass used by a French privateer. As a private purchase sword, it could have been a parts sword (to save on cost), made for the 1812 War (France vs Great Britiain with lots of French piracy going on). Well, anyway, my 2 cents...
Mark
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