British Infantry Officers Battle Swords in the 19th C...and up to 1914

[Peter Hudson]

Originally Posted by Will M

Here is a Scinde cavalry sword, a Wilkinson made in 1856. Maj W.T. Johnson. He used this sword while charging a rebel gun. The first photo the sword is over a 1796 trooper sword to compare blade curvature that looks to be the same.

Hello Will,
Interesting seeing it lined up with the`1796 and I imagine how that would have been used against Tulvars and the like. The floral design looks amazing and was apparently from Icanthus leaf designs. This was a great Officer and the Sword and battle Honours you present with it are great to see...
Regards,
Peter Hudson.

[toaster5sqn]

The cut vs thrust debate raged for a century until they attempted to settle it scientifically.
Consulting military doctors it was noted that men arriving in field hospitals with stab wounds most often perished of them while those with cuts could usually be saved. This led to the obvious conclusion that the thrust was deadlier than the cut and swords were designed accordingly.
All in all a classic example of survivor bias, all they proved was that those suffering fatal stab wounds were more likely to live long enough to reach hospital.

Robert