When the American Civil War erupted, the standard cutlass in use by the United States Navy was the Model 1841 cutlass that had been produced by Ames. The Model 1841 was a naval adaptation of the US Model 1832 Heavy (Foot) Artillery Sword. The Model 1832 was essentially a modernized version of the Roman Gladius. The naval variant of the sword had a short, wide, double-edged spear point blade with a cast brass fish scale hilt with a  sheet brass half-basket guard. According to research by arms historian and author John D. McAulay, on 18 May 1861 the US Navy presented the Ames Manufacturing Company with drawings of a French naval cutlass that they desired to have manufactured for trials. The drawings were of the French Model 1833 cutlass. The French design featured a nominally 26.5” long, slightly curved single edged blade with a spear point, a jappaned iron half-basket handguard and a hexagonal grip. The French cutlass was carried in a leather scabbard with brass mounts, the throat of which had a raised staple shaped stud through which a leather strap could pass to secure the scabbard to a belt frog. 

The Ames version of the French cutlass has been known to collectors for years as the Model 1860 Naval Cutlass however Mr. McAulay’s research indicates that the more correct nomenclature would be the Model 1861. While the product that Ames produced essentially copied the basic French design, the firm modified it as well. They retained the nominally 26” long, single-edged curved, spear point blade but replaced the iron guard basket with brass. Additionally, the French cutlass’ hexagonal grip was replaced with the more conventional, cavalry style grooved oval wood grip with a palm swell and leather covering with twisted brass wire. In the style of both American and French cavalry sabers, the pommel cap was of the Phrygian helmet form. The scabbard for the Ames version followed the pattern established with the earlier Model 1841, a simple leather scabbard without throat or drag that was seamed up the center rear with copper rivets. The Model 1860 scabbard added a brass frog stud to the obverse below the throat to allow the cutlass to be secured to a belt frog. The initial order for the cutlasses was placed by the Navy on June 5, 1861; with 8,000 being contracted for at the price of $4.53 each. Two months later, Ames had already delivered 600 cutlasses with 5,000 having been delivered by the end of the year. In December the Navy increased the order to 15,000 cutlasses. By February of 1862 the order had been increased to 20,000 and in July the order was increased again, this time to a total of 25,000.

 In addition to the standard seaman’s cutlasses, the US Navy acquired a small number of cutlasses for “officers”. These differed from the standard cutlass in that the brass basket was gilt, with the letters USN die cut out of its face. The “officer’s”  version of the cutlass was further enhanced with some simple boarder line engraving around the edges of the guard, and the tip of the leather scabbard had an embossed flower-shaped decoration at its tip.

Offered here is an about FINE condition example of the US Navy Model 1860 Naval Cutlass with an equally find condition scabbard. The reverse ricasso is marked with the four-line Ames scroll pattern address and reads:

Made By

AMES Mfg. Co.

CHICOPEE

     MASS.

The mark is weak, and much of it is difficult to read, but these “scroll” marks are notoriously weak on Ames swords. The obverse ricasso is marked in three lines:

U.S.N.

D.R.

1862

The “R” in Daniel Reynolds’ inspection mark is weak and the “2” in the 1862 date is very weak and nearly impossible to see. Reynolds’ block D.R inspection mark is also found stamped upside down on the top of the pommel cap. The inner face of the guard is marked with the serial number

17M

549

This translates to serial number 17,549, as the “M” represents 10,000. This places the  cutlass slightly past the halfway point in total numbers produced, as Ames manufactured 25,000 of them. 

The cutlass is 32” in overall length, with a 26” slightly curved, single edged, spear-point blade with a nominally 19” fuller. The 6” hilt has the expected sheet brass basket guard and Phrygian helmet pommel cap. The grooved wood grip is covered with leather with no twisted brass wire present. As noted, the cutlass remains in about FINE condition. The blade is partly bright with some nice traces of polish and is dulling to a pewter patina. The blade shows moderate amounts of mottled oxidation and discoloration and a few patches of oxidized surface roughness. As noted, the Ames scroll mark on the reverse ricasso is quite weak but remains partly legible, particularly if the marking is viewed at an angle. The stamping on the obverse ricasso remains crisp and clear with the exception of the weak “R” and weak “2”. The blade shows light wear and use, and some scattered small nicks along the edge of the blade. The brass basket hilt has a rich butterscotch patina with the sheet brass showing a handful of  minor dents and dings, as would be expected from any cutlass that saw use. The grip retains much of its original leather covering. The leather shows some moderate wear with scattered finish loss and flaking, as well as some loss due to wear and age. The scabbard is in comparable condition to the cutlass and is in FINE condition as well. The leather shows scattered crazing and some light finish loss, with some scattered areas of  scuffing and scraping. The rear of the scabbard retains all 42 of the original copper closure rivets and scabbard seam remains tight and secure. The tip of the scabbard is somewhat worn and shows some creasing and bending from use and storage. The original brass button frog stud is in place about 2 ½” from the throat of the scabbard and remains securely attached. Both the base of  the frog stud and some of the closure rivets show some nice green verdigris from their long time contact with the leather scabbard.

Overall, this is a very nice, solid complete, correct and original example of a US Model 1860 Naval Cutlass. This is a very nice example with a particularly nice scabbard and a hilt with a very attractive patina. It would be a wonderful addition to any US Navy small arms or a collection of Civil War era edged weapons.

SOLD