Images(6)

French Naval Cutlass

Dateca.1776-1783

Maker Royal Manufactory at Klingenthal

OriginEurope, France, Klingenthal

MediumIron, steel and brass

DimensionsLength; 30" Blade: 24 1/4" x 1 7/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Mitchell Arms and Military Accoutrements Fund

Object number2018-256

DescriptionRegulation cutlass of the "Sartines" type with a cast brass hilt and a broad, slightly curved, single-edge blade having a narrow fuller along its spine. One-piece ribbed grip, backstrap and capstan-topped pommel. Heart-shaped counterguard with two outboard branches and five-lobed quillon.
Label TextStanding in contrast to the drab cutlasses of the British are the attractive, brass-hilted “sabres de bord” of the French Navy. Two branches and a broad counterguard protect the users hand, and its sturdy cast brass grip is identical to those used on the hangers made in France for Virginia. Datable to the Revolutionary War by the “Crown R” on the blade, many of these cutlasses would have been present in the Chesapeake in 1781 on French men-o-war, and likely American ships too.
MarkingsSmall "Crown R" within an oval cartouche struck on ricasso of the blade and top of guard near quillon.

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