French - Cavalry Sword
French model 1822 light cavalry pattern
This is a post Civil War area sword manufactured in March of 1872 by Chatellerault. It has been in my family’s estate since the early 1900s.
The US Board of Ordnance bought about 500 of these swords for trial testing during the 1830s and decided to pattern the US model 1840 cavalry sword on the this French design, hence the similarity with the US swords used during the Civil War.
This sword is a French model 1822 light cavalry pattern. This pattern had an extremely long lifetime in the French army and is still used today in the horse squadron of the Garde Republicaine for honour escord at the Elysee.
The wire and leather wrapping is intact. Some slight pitting of blade. Blade length is 36 inches. Scabbard has surface rust commensurate with age.
The engraved writing on the top of the blade (pic. #3) near the hilt is the abbreviation for: Manufacture d' armes de Chatellerault, Mars 1872, Cavalerie legere modele 1822 (Arms manufactory of Chatellerault, March 1872 (fabrication date), light cavalry model 1822)
Information and identification of the
arsenal markings on this sword was obtained from Mr. Jean Binck. He is an expert
from
