Original U.S. Civil War MOH-Recipient John C. Curtis Attributed M1850 Army Staff & Field Officer Sword by Wilhelm Clauberg of Solingen & Retailed by Virgil Price of New York with Iron Scabbard & 200+ Pages of Research
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Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. John Calvin Curtis (April 17, 1845 – January 17, 1917) was a Lieutenant of the Ninth Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in the American Civil War, and a Medal of Honor recipient. Curtis first enlisted in the 9th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry on August 17th, 1861 at the age of 16. This outstanding M1850 Field Officer Sword comes with a handwritten tag by Norm Flayderan, one of the world's best-known antique arms dealers and authorities, an auction tag, and auction listing from when the sword was auctioned off in the 1960s. Also included is a great folder with 150+ pages of printed research on Curtis! On Curtis' gravestone is a photo of him carrying a sword much like this one, but we cannot say for certain if it's this exact example.
On August 5, 1862, as a Sergeant-Major at age 17, Curtis became instrumental in repulsing a Confederate attack aimed at recapturing Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On August 2nd, he was sent out on a lone patrol behind enemy lines to get information about the location and identity of the rebel units. He succeeded in locating a rebel scout patrol and in bringing back alive two members of this patrol with much of the information needed. His Medal of Honor Citation reads:
Voluntarily sought the line of battle and alone and unaided captured two prisoners, driving them before him to regimental headquarters at the point of the bayonet.
For this act, Curtis received the Medal of Honor on December 16, 1896, the only soldier from the Ninth to be so honored, and one of the youngest MOH recipients of the war. Curtis was later promoted to First Lieutenant. He died on January 17, 1917 at the age of 71, and was buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport.
This is a lovely model 1850 Foot Officer’s Sword with half basket brass hilt decorated with pierced floral decorations, and a custom ordered etched blade. As used by all officers below the rank of major between 1851-1865. This sword was used by both Union and Confederate officers during the American Civil War.
The slightly curved blade of 32 inches is in good shape, with some lovely etching on the lower two thirds, with glorious patriotic motifs that are now heavily oxidized and difficult to discern. The blade has a heavily aged dark patina and some signs of rust. The etching is still mostly present, but it must be viewed in the light to visualize it completely. It is marked in the etching near the ricasso:
VIRGIL PRICE
NEW YORK
This is the marking of the retailer, Virgil Price of New York. It is marked on one side of the ricasso with:
W. CLAUBERG
SOLINGEN
The other side of the ricasso is marked with the “standing knight” trademark used by Clauberg during this period. There are some small edge nicks to the blade with some heavily nicks toward the tip, but nothing terribly serious. The leather blade buffer is still retained, but much of it has worn away and what is left is cracking heavily.
The perforated hilt guard is in very good condition, but any remnant of the gilt finish wore away long ago. The grip is wrapped in leather bound with twisted brass wire, which is still tight and now has a lovely aged patina. The blade, grip, and guard, have a slight wobble. The brass guard and pommel have developed a very pleasant rich patina over the years.
The sword comes complete in its original iron scabbard, which did at one point have leather covering the crude iron shell, but the leather is now entirely worn away. The mounts have also lost all of their gilt finish, and there is a bit of denting to the body. The mounts have gorgeous engraving on both sides with US etched on one side of the throat, but they are a bit hard to see now. Also, the wooden insert pieces which allowed for the sword to fit tightly are now disconnected and many will fall out of the scabbard if held upside down. This is to be expected for a sword in this condition.
This is an outstanding Medal of Honor Recipient-attributed M1850 Officer’s Sword with good provenance and an outstanding folder with 150+ pages of printed research on the recipient. Comes ready for further research and display!
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