This 24 inch, Confederate Short Sword is modeled after the Roman warrior’s sword of ancient times and more recently the artillery sword of the Napoleonic War era. In fact, I have seen war time billing invoices that actually refer to these short swords as "Roman Swords.”

It is commonly referred to as the CS & Star. It takes its name from the crudely cast C S in the cross guard and the star cast into the pommel.

In the Napoleonic era, cavalry were used to take batteries because of their ability to rush upon them between fires. These swords were issued to foot artillery soldiers, for the express purpose of dropping to their knees and cutting the legs out from under the enemy’s charging cavalry. While this may have occurred during the War Between the States, the rifled cannon had made these short quick dashes obsolete, just as the Minnie rifle had made the bayonet charge obsolete (even though it took three years to recognize it). This obsolescence relegated the foot artillery sword to service clearing fields of fire and beating into submission recalcitrant swine. However as a symbol of the brutality and close nature of War Between the States era combat, it has few equals.

This pattern was originally sheathed in two different scabbards, one wooden with tin mounts, and one made of leather and having brass mounts like the one shown here. The original leather scabbards are much rarer; to some degree perhaps because less were made, but primarily because leather did not survive the intervening years nearly as well as wood.

The hilt remains as tight as the day it was made. The throat washer is missing. The blade is in beautiful condition. Its original scabbard has some surface scrapes and crazing on the bottom third. Due to natural leather shrinkage the top mount has had to be raised from its original position to close the gap to the hilt. This has been done, leaving only a 1/8 inch gap when sheathed between the scabbard’s top mount and the hilt. Also due to the natural leather shrinkage, the top third of the rear stitched seam has been forced apart due to pressure from the blade. At the base of the hilt, desirable casting flaws in the brass are extremely obvious; having been crudely filled by the manufacturer with lead. Finding one of these short swords with an intact leather scabbard and its blade in such beautiful condition is very rare. I have only owned a few in my 30 plus years of collecting Confederate antiques.

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