U.S. Civil War NCO Sword.........

[Walkwolf]

Picked up this nice NCO sword at a show a couple of weeks ago. It's marked
'US' and '1864' - the 4 being very lightly struck - and 'Ames Mfg. Co.
Chicopee Mass.' ( Other markings are inspectors initials ) There is
minimal rusting and it still has most of it's leather buffer pad.

These swords are not sharpened as they were designed
for thrusting.........

[SteveR]

That is a very nicely marked Ames blade. The model 1840 nco sword is a fine fighting weapon. One of my favorite CW blades.

[Wagriff]

A long time ago, I used to collect CW swords and knives. The NCO's always reminded me of the Army Musician's swords! This one is in great shape! Hopefully, it didn't come originally from Joe Walters House of Swords and Militaria. That thief and his superbly made fake swords almost single-handedly ruined the hobby for years. His stuff is Still confounding collectors to this day! Was there a scabbard for it?

[SteveR]

Joe Walters.
He ripped off the wrong guy and got capped for his indiscretion. I thought it was funny.
The sword is a good one.

[colt45]

nice sword, I still have a artillery short AMES sword

[Walkwolf]

Yes, it's a good one - the markings were enough for me to know that at least,
and the condition is not bad compared to some I've seen. No scabbard
unfortunately. Hard to find CW stuff up here as it is. I was originally
intending to buy a musicians sword, and as these NCO's are very
close in appearance, it will be fine, but I'll be hunting for others.

We are into the 150th anniversary of the US Civil War so my thinking is,
if I can't make it down South any time soon, I'd at least find a few
original and yet still affordable pieces - I used to own a Colt 1860,
and a Remington New Model, many moons ago.........

[Wagriff]

If you buy Any CW sword, I would very much recommend the classic 1860 Cavalry. It is So iconic-it is just the Picture of what one thinks of when you say "Civil War saber". (Although the Heavy Cavalry-the 1840 is great too! They're tougher and more pricey to find, though-unless you don't mind the German imports, etc-I always stuck to the US made pieces). The feel of 1860 Cavalry in the hand immediately brings up images of charging horsemen and cannon smoke. But, avoid the Confederate stuff-it's absurdly over priced and hugely faked these days. I used to specialize in CSA edged weapons and when I think today of what I could have gotten Now for what I sold back Then, it's enough to makes the knees weak! That NCO has a great feel to it too, btw, and they weren't just ornamental as so many of them were-these guys were made to be Used, and most of them Were!

So many scabbards are missing in many cases because people used to like to hang the swords on the walls to display them. They would take them out of the scabbards to show the blades and over time, the scabbards would end up getting lost or trashed. (This is what the CW guy in the Milwaukee Museum told me 30 years ago or so)

[Walkwolf]

I agree William - a random empty scabbard will eventually be
tossed out - and old, dry leather is very fragile.........