Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very scarce original leather frog intended for use with the U.S. Model 1832 Foot Artillery Short Sword, popularly known among collectors as “America’s Gladius.” The frog is constructed from heavy black leather with two integral belt loops and a broad scalloped front section designed to support the sword scabbard when worn from the waist belt. It measures approximately 9 1/2 x 6 1/8 inches and remains complete with both belt loops intact.

The U.S. Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword was one of the most distinctive American military edged weapons of the 19th century. Patterned generally after the short swords of antiquity, it featured a solid brass hilt approximately 6 inches long, a crossguard approximately 4 inches wide, and a broad double-edged blade usually measuring about 19 inches. The sword was adopted for foot artillery personnel and was also issued for a period to infantry sergeants and musicians. Smithsonian collection examples identify the weapon as the Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword, with Ames Manufacturing Company examples surviving from both the antebellum period and as late as 1862.

Production began with N.P. Ames and later Ames Manufacturing Company, one of the most important American military edged-weapon contractors of the period. The Model 1832 remained in service through the Mexican-American War era and into the Civil War period, which explains why surviving frogs and scabbards can show considerable variation in construction, age, and wear. W.H. Horstmann & Sons of Philadelphia also supplied imported examples of the sword during the 19th century.

This frog is constructed from black leather and incorporates two large belt loops on the reverse, allowing it to be suspended from the soldier’s waist belt. The broad front section is cut with a distinctive scalloped profile and would have supported the upper portion of the Model 1832 scabbard. Both belt loops remain intact, an important feature on a piece of leather equipment that was subjected to considerable strain during use.

The frog measures approximately 9 1/2 x 6 1/8 inches. Please note that your 1832 scabbard must have a frog button to fit inside this frog, not the crossbar found on some examples.

The leather shows age-related crazing and scattered finish loss throughout. Despite this wear, there are no complete breaks through the principal leather components and the frog remains structurally intact. The leather is now aged and should be handled carefully, particularly around the belt loops and folded areas where repeated flexing could cause additional damage.

The Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword was intended primarily as a sidearm for foot artillerymen, although it also saw issue to infantry sergeants, drummers, and fifers during part of its service life. Its short, broad blade made it more compact than a conventional saber, and period and later accounts have also associated it with practical camp duties such as cutting brush and clearing vegetation. The sword remained in military inventories long enough to span the Second Seminole War, Mexican-American War, and Civil War eras.

This frog is especially appealing because the leather suspension equipment for the Model 1832 is considerably more vulnerable than the brass-hilted swords themselves. Its complete pair of belt loops, scalloped front construction, and substantial surviving leather make it a useful surviving accessory for a Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword, whether displayed independently or paired with an appropriate scabbard and sword.