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Old 2nd July 2020, 05:08 AM   #1
CSinTX
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Default Basket Hilt help?

A good friend contacted me today about an old sword that was in the possession of a family member. Its not often that truly old items popup here in the US. Almost everything here has been purchased and imported from Europe in recent years. I expected to get pictures of a KofC sword or something similar. I was pleasantly surprised in what I saw. Recent rust from sitting in an unoccupied home in the Mississippi humidity. Oral family history reports that it was "taken from a dead French soldier in Canada during the French and Indian war."

While it being on a French soldier seems odd, does the age/time match?

Can anyone tell us anything about it? Age? Origin? Etc?

Thanks!
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Old 2nd July 2020, 10:01 AM   #2
mariusgmioc
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Wow, very interesting find!

To me, it looks like an English broadsword from the early 19th century.

Unfortunately, it is badly in need of major restauration work.
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Old 2nd July 2020, 11:54 AM   #3
NeilUK
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Definitely an interesting sword. I would say Scots or English basket hilt broadsword from mid 18th century. Could easily have changed hands several times in the wars!
Neil
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Old 2nd July 2020, 12:47 PM   #4
Will M
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I agree with Neil for age of the sword. Many basket hilts that now are in the white once looked like this one.
The blade appears long have you measured it?
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Old 2nd July 2020, 02:30 PM   #5
ulfberth
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What a find ! a true sleeper , one should ask himself to clean/restore it or not.
Once taken of the patina is gone forever.
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Old 2nd July 2020, 04:34 PM   #6
Jim McDougall
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Absolutely mid 18th or slightly earlier, Glasgow style hilt Beautiful!!!
French were not only in Canada then but all through upper midwest and the northeast.......French Indian wars 1740s, mostly due to English concerns over French encroachment into territories etc.
The Scots were of course part of English military forces after Culloden (1746) but in many cases before.

Scottish settlers in Canada through 18th into 19th ....my grandparents were among them.
Story could be right.............regardless, magnificent basket hilt.
PLEASE clean with restraint, stablilize any corrosion.................this is breathtaking,

Another note on potential French element in the provenance, France had a profound Jacobite presence, in fact Prince Charlie was in France preCulloden.
The Jacobite presence continued there after Culloden, and Charles returned there for a time. It would be hard to say exactly how the sword was in Canada, but it is not surprising, these were widely present in America and probably Canada through the latter 18th c. after Culloden.

These also saw extensive use in the American Revolution, see "Swords and Blades of the American Revolution" George Nuemann, 1973.

Last edited by Jim McDougall; 2nd July 2020 at 07:26 PM.
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Old 2nd July 2020, 06:43 PM   #7
Jim McDougall
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ulfberth
What a find ! a true sleeper , one should ask himself to clean/restore it or not.
Once taken of the patina is gone forever.
Well said!!!
It is history and signals the well earned veneration of the weapon. It is about respect for history, something that seems to be slipping away.
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Old 4th July 2020, 06:54 PM   #8
Norman McCormick
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Hi,
This article may give more insight on the Garde Ecossaise or Scottish Guard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garde_Écossaise and https://www.warhistoryonline.com/ins...rs-helped.html

Regards,
Norman.
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