Sword Presented to Frank Wheaton
date: label: date made
content: 1862
label: date presented
content: 1862-12-13
name: label: recipient
content: Wheaton, Frank
label: maker
content: W. Clauberg
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Presented to General Frank Wheaton by the Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates of the 2d Regt R.I. Volunteers on Dec. 13th 1862.
label: Description
content: Frank (Francis) Wheaton started his military career on the frontier in the 1850s. When the Civil War began he was commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel in the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry. By war’s end he was a brevet Major General in the volunteer Army.
label: Description
content: The blade is long, slightly curved, and double edged. It is decorated with military trophies and floral and scroll designs in gilt and silver chasing. The obverse features an eagle holding an "E PLURIBUS / UNUM" banner, and the reverse bears a "US" monogram. The grip of the nickel plated with a piece of gilded wire that wraps around it in a spiral approximately ten times. The pommel bears the cast of an eagle surrounded by scroll designs on the side. The pommel cap is missing. The knuckle guard is a thin strip of gold metal with floral sprays at the top. There are a number of red jewels on the counterguard. Six of these jewels are found between scrolls, and five of them form a flower between two scrolls. The quillon is shaped like the head of a dragon, and extends down towards the blade.
label: Description
content: The scabbard bears four gold mounts. The first two mounts are almost identical. Both bear two sets of floral sprays in a diamond shape. The top mount features seven red jewels, and the middle mount features six. There is a casting of an anchor between the second mount and the drag. The drag bears a cluster of military trophies and nine red stones. The obverse of the scabbard is inscribed ” Malvern Hill. / BULL RUN. / WILLIAMSBURGH. / Seven Pines.. / ANTIETAM. / FREDRICKSBURGH.” The reverse is inscribed “Presented to / Genl. Frank Wheaton, / by the Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates / of the 2d Regt R.W. Volunteers. / As a token of Regard and Esteem. while their Colonel/ Dec. 13th 1862.” between the top two mounts. There are two carrying rings on the piece, one on the right side of the top two mounts.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Germany: North Rhine-Westphalia, Solingen
topic: label: Subject
content: Edged Weapons
label: web subject
content: Civil War
label: related event
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: See more items in
content: Civil War Presentation Swords
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Maria B. Wheaton
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AF.34844
label: catalog number
content: 34844
label: accession number
content: 84827
objectType: label: Object Name
content: sword
label: Other Terms
content: Edged Weapons; Presentation
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: steel (blade material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal, gilt (scabbard material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (hilt material)
label: Measurements
content: blade: 32 1/4 in x 1 1/8 in; 81.915 cm x 2.8575 cm
label: Measurements
content: scabbard: 34 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 86.995 cm x 8.255 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 37 3/4 in x 4 1/2 in; 95.885 cm x 11.43 cm