Hi Chris,
Your very kind words are very much appreciated, and I am extremely grateful to Jeff for bringing this thread back to life, as well as his support with it when it first ran.
I agree that Frost's comments seem a bit misaligned, but it seems he was more a writer than an authority on weapons. While it has been some time since I've handled any of these, it does seem that the M1860 was indeed shorter and a bit lighter than the M1840, but would have had to be more substantial weightwise than he described.
The M1840 was always called the 'old wristbreaker' by the troopers of the time, and to me this was probably as much from improper means of use as it was its size and weight. It seems well known that the sword was actually more of an excess accoutrement by the 1860's and I have read that sword wounds were remarkably rare in the Civil War. It seems that in medical reports the few sword injuries reported were more blunt force trauma than the expected deep cut wounds. This was primarily because of lack of proper maintainance of the swords (lack of sharpening), and probably improper training.
The problem with the Custer sword was in its blade length it seems to me, as it was a dragoon type broadsword blade of a form intended for entirely different use than the techniques used by latter 19th century cavalrymen.It would be easy to see how a blade of such heft used contrary to its intended design would be unwieldy and seem extraordinarily heavy as a result.
I agree with your observations on the weight, and especially in noting that fencing techniques with the later popular sport weapons had little, if anything to do with the manner these military weapons were used. In England, the swords used for practice were typically obsolete cavalry sabres (such as the M1821 light cavalry sabre with bowl hilt and altered blades).
I think a classic example of the exception in American swordsmanship was General George Patton, who was indeed a brilliant fencer, favored the use of the sword, and designed what has always been considered a magnificent sword, the M1913 (known as the 'Patton' of course). These swords, though huge and heavy, actually were incredibly well balanced, and relatively easy to wield.
In true irony, these nearly perfectly designed swords came as the obsolescence of the sword had become firmly established, and these never saw combat. Strangely many of them were cut down to be used as trench knives during WWII.
Thank you again Chris, and for the excellent observations!
All very best regards,
Jim
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