5/25/2021 – Arms and Armor

21″ spear point, semi wasp-waisted blade, 26.25″ overall length. 5.25″ sand cast brass hilt with fish scale patterned grip without rivets and US “drooped wing” Eagle motif cast into the pommel cap on both sides. Blade secured to the hilt with a simple peen at the top of the pommel cap. Sheet brass half-basket guard with rolled edge reinforcement and separately applied brass quillon at top of guard. Blade marked on the reverse in two lines THOMAS GRISWOLD & Co in an arc over NEW-ORLEANS and with the number 8 stamped on the blade at the guard. This scarce Confederate naval cutlass was based upon the US Model 1841 Ames naval cutlass and was produced by the New Orleans firm of Thomas, Griswold & Co which had been the long time fancy goods & military equipment dealers Hyde & Goodrich before the war. Thomas, Griswold & Co produced a wide variety of edged weapons for the Confederate south during their short time in business from the summer of 1861 through the fall of New Orleans on May 1, 1862. Most of the edged weapons, including the naval cutlasses are marked “T.G & Co / N.O” rather than with the full name of the company and the city spelled out. These fully marked examples are quite scarce and desirable.