The field and staff officer’s sword shown here was made at the Confederate States Armory in Kenansville, North Carolina by Louis Froelich. The name implies that the manufactory was a Confederate government operation, but it was privately owned and operated. Records show that Froelich made pikes, buttons, saber bayonets, navy and artillery cutlasses, belts, knapsacks, cap boxes, cartridge boxes and swords for North Carolina, the Confederate government and for private sale. The Confederate States Armory is believed to have been the second largest sword manufactory in the Confederacy. Froelich’s cavalry swords, bayonets and cutlasses are all referred to as Kenansville products, taking their name from the place of manufacture rather than the maker’s name. Only his unique field & staff sword bares his name and it is this sword that he is most remembered for.

The large CSA in the counterguard delineates this sword as a field & staff pattern, and as the name field & staff implies, only officers with the rank of major and above were authorized to carry this sword. However, such distinctions could ill be afforded in the Confederate army and this sword could have been carried by officers of some lesser rank.

The hilt remains tight, the blade bright. The grip wrap has some minor flaking, but the wood underneath has taken on the same dark patina. The grip and guard remain as tight as the day it was made. The single brass wire wrap is intact and tight. Even the original throat washer remains intact. The sword still is sheathed in its original scabbard, and the scabbard is beautiful, retaining virtually all of its original red paint, and is without a single push or dent. Both the hilt and the scabbard throat are marked with the Roman Numeral XXVI. This beautiful Froelich field & staff officer’s sword and scabbard is one of the very best surviving examples of this rare pattern.

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