Sword presented to William Allen
date: label: date made
content: ca 1860
name: label: recipient
content: Allen, William
label: maker
content: W. Clauberg
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Presented to Lieutenant William Allen by the employees of E.T. Sinker & Company
label: Description
content: William Allen served as a Second Lieutenant in the 132nd Indian Infantry Regiment, one of the 100 Days volunteer regiments organized near the end of the Civil War. The regiment was mustered in May, 1864 and served as Railroad Guard in Tennessee and Alabama. It mustered out in September, 1864. The sword was a gift to Allen from his colleagues at E.T. Sinker & Co., an Indianapolis firm that manufactured steam engines and other machinery.
label: Description
content: This Model 1850 Staff and Field Officer's Sword has a long, single-edged, slightly curved blade. The fuller extends about two thirds of the way to the top of the blade, and both sides are decorated in floral designs in a silver chasing. The obverse features an eagle with spread wings holding a banner reading "E PLURIBUS UNUM". The reverse bears the monogram "US". Both sides of the blade feature a military trophy design that includes a few flags, a liberty pole and cap, and a US shield. The grip is a cylindrical shape and bears a laurel leaf design and is wrapped in a spiral in gilt wire. The pommel features a leaf design on its edge that is similar to the grip. The rest of the pommel is plain. The knuckle guard is a brass strip that branches off twice to form the counterguard, which is a half basket shape. There are floral castings and a "US" monogram in the space between the branches. All of this terminates in a quillon that is shaped like a water drop and is covered in a palm leaf design on the top.
label: Description
content: The scabbard is metal stained brown to look like wood. It bears three gold mounts. All of the mounts feature an engraving of a flower surrounded by a very simple circle design. The throat of the scabbard bears a similar design. The first mount bears the inscription “Presented to / Lient. WmAllen / by / the / Employees / of E.T. SINKER & Co.” The sword features two carrying rings, one on the right side of each 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: Martha A. Hughes
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AF.39758
label: catalog number
content: 39758
label: accession number
content: 139429
objectType: label: Object Name
content: sword
label: Other Terms
content: Edged Weapons; Presentation
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal, gilt (scabbard material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (blade material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (hilt material)
label: Measurements
content: blade: 32 in x 1 1/8 in; 81.28 cm x 2.8575 cm
label: Measurements
content: scabbard: 33 7/8 in x 2 in; 86.0425 cm x 5.08 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 37 1/2 in x 4 3/4 in; 95.25 cm x 12.065 cm