Name/Title
Model 1840 Cavalry Saber and ScabbardEntry/Object ID
2023.2.2 A-BDescription
Iron saber marked "Columbia, S.C.” The grip is wooden and with cord wrapped in leather and bound with brass wire, matching the brass knuckle guard. The scabbard has a rounded chape end with two suspension rings for a strap on the scabbard.Context
Around 1850, industrialists William Glaze (1815-1883), Benjamin Flagg (1807-1882), and James Boatwright (1773-1857), founded Palmetto Armory. An arms manufacturer, the company was located in present-day Arsenal Hill and was operated principally by Glaze, an experienced clock, watch, weapons, and hardware merchant and mechanic. Flagg, who formerly operated Massachusetts-based arms manufacturer Benjamin Flagg & Co., would remain involved with the company until around the time Glaze repurposed it as the Palmetto Iron Works—which manufactured steam engines, boilers, cotton gins, farm implements, and sugar mills—in 1854. An experienced mechanic and manufacturer of cotton gins, mills, carriages, and wagons, Boatwright was 77 when the business was formed and was only involved with it for a short time.
In 1850, the South Carolina General Assembly passed "An Act to Provide for the Defense of the State," which appropriated $350,000 for military purposes, including munitions for the state militia. The following year, in April 1851, Glaze, Flagg, and James Trapier (1815-1865), Major of Ordnance for South Carolina, signed a contract stipulating that Palmetto Armory would manufacture 6,000 muskets with bayonets ($14.50 each), 1,000 rifles ($15.50 each), 2,000 pistols ($14.50 each), 1,000 cavalry sabers with scabbards ($6.50 each), and 1,000 artillery swords with scabbards ($6.50 each). Upon the termination of the contract in 1853, Palmetto Armory had delivered all of the muskets and rifles, 1,000 pistols, 2,000 cavalry sabers, and 526 artillery swords to the state.
This cavalry saber and scabbard is one of the 2,000 produced by Palmetto Armory in the early 1850s, although scholarship points to some components of the sabers being manufactured outside the state. Conforming closely to the standard Model 1840 pattern, the saber would have been used during the Civil War by a South Carolina soldier on horseback in melee and during cavalry charges. Model 1840 sabers were used by both the Union and the Confederacy; however, by the end of the war, mounted Union troops were more often equipped with the more nimble Model 1860 Light Cavalry Saber.Made/Created
Manufacturer
Palmetto Armory, William GlazeDate made
1852 - 1853Place
City
Columbia, South CarolinaInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
EngravingLocation
RicassoTranscription
Columbia, SCMaterial/Technique
StampedType
EngravingLocation
Top of guard under feltTranscription
SCR.W.ZMaterial/Technique
StampedDimensions
Dimension Description
2023.2.2A - SaberWidth
5-1/2 inDepth
4 inLength
42 inDimension Notes
Blade measures ~36".Dimension Description
2023.2.2B - SheathWidth
4-1/2 inDepth
1 inLength
37-1/4 inMaterial
Wood, Metal, LeatherRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Palmetto Armory
