Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of an Ames Model 1832 Artillery Short sword, dated 1838. This design of foot artillery sword has a straight, heavy double-edged steel blade. There are two side-by-side fullers, starting just below the hilt. Then, after a space of 11/16", there is a single center fuller that extends toward the blade's spear shaped point. The overall blade length is approximately 19 1/4''.
The blade is stamped on the reverse, near the hilt:

UNITED
STATES
1834

On the obverse, near the hilt stamped under a partially struck American Eagle, is:

N. P. AMES
SPRINGFIELD

The hilt and cross guard are cast and partly machined brass, contract made and marked on the top of the crossguard: S. HUSE / NEWBURYPORT. There is also an inspector's stamp on top of one side. The grips have been molded in a scalloped eagle feather design. Three transverse iron rivets secure it to the tang of the blade. The pommel is decorated on each side with a heavily incised American eagle, with shield, holding arrows in his left talon and an olive branch in his right talon. The eagle's head faces towards its right. The straight cross quillons terminate in disk shaped finials.

The blade on this example is one of the best we have ever seen. It does have some staining, but a lot of the original factory machining marks can still be seen. It also does appear to have been sharpened at some point. There is a little bit of rust peppering in places, but nothing major.

The black leather scabbard is in wonderful condition. There is minor wear to it and the black leather finish does have some minor crazing present, but this is the best example we have seen of this scabbard. There is some minor denting on the brass drag, but nothing too extensive. This was a sword that saw service but was cared for.

Comes more than ready for display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 19 1/4"
Blade Style: Double Edged "Gladius" style
Overall length: 25 1/4“
Crossguard: 4 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 20"

Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword
The U.S. Model 1832 foot artillery short-sword has a 6-inch (15 cm) solid brass hilt, a 4-inch (10 cm) crossguard, and a blade usually 19 inches (48 cm) in length. This model was the first sword contracted by the U.S. with the Ames Manufacturing Company of Springfield (later Chicopee), Massachusetts, with production starting in 1832. In later years, it was also imported and supplied by W.H. Horstmann & Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a personal side arm, it was intended for use by the regular or foot artillery regiments of the United States Army and remained in service until 1872 for use by foot artillerymen. It was the issued sword for sergeants and musicians of infantry regiments from 1832 until 1840. As most artillery regiments were trained and equipped as infantry prior to 1861 a single weapon for both types of troops made sense. It replaced the earlier Starr pattern sword used throughout the 1820s. While the design was impractical for actual combat, it is believed that artillerymen put this weapon to other uses, such as clearing brush or creating trails. It was an effective tool for cutting paths through the Florida swamps during the Second Seminole War, which occurred during the time it was issued to infantry sergeants, drummers and fifers. This is somewhat corroborated by the French nickname for their version of the sword, coupe choux (cabbage cutter). The last Ames contract for this sword was completed in 1862, although as a stock item it continued to be listed in company catalogs for decades afterwards.

The design was based on the French foot artillery short sword of 1816, which with minor changes was basically repeated in 1831. The French model was based on the Roman gladius, the standard sword of the Roman legionaries.

French versions can be distinguished from American versions by the hilt design, manufacturers' marks (French manufacturers include Châtellerault, St. Etienne, Talabot, and Thiebaut), and the lack of U.S. markings. Swords supplied by Ames typically bore an eagle on the blade until the Mexican–American War, whereas those made during the civil war by Confederate arsenals were typically unmarked. The Ames Model 1832 has a hilt with an eagle cast into the pommel and a scaled grip surface. French versions have either textured grips (model 1816) or ringed grips (model 1831), and like later English models a plain or smooth pommel on the hilt.