British 1796 Light Cavalry Saber

British 1796 Light Cavalry Saber

The British pattern 1796 Cavalry Saber was used by the Hussars, Light Dragoons and King’s German Legion Light Cavalry of the Napoleonic Era. The sword was designed by John Gaspard Le Marchant, one of the finest cavalrymen of his day who bemoaned the long and heavy swords then in use by his expeditionary force during their experience in France during its Revolutionary War. His design became one of the most lauded of cavalry sabers.

Unlike its predecessor, the 1796 saber had a more pronounced curve, making slashing easier and deadly. The saber, somewhat unusually among its peers, also widened at its tip, putting weight and heft at the tip making its slashes more vicious.

This simply adorned and elegant sword was wholeheartedly adopted by the Prussians, Portuguese, Spanish. The US adopted it as the Dragoon Saber used in the War of 1812.

This reproduction British 1796 Cavalry Saber is made with an unsharpened, tempered high carbon steel blade. The hilt is of steel and the grip is of tightly molded, ribbed black leather. The scabbard is of steel with two suspension rings. A leather washer at the base of the blade protects the crossguard from colliding into the steel throat of the scabbard.

British 1796 Light Cavalry Saber features

Steel: Tempered EN9 High Carbon Steel.
Overall Length: 37 5/8".
Blade: 32 5/8".
P.O.B.: 8 3/8".
Grip Length: 4 1/8".
Weight: 2 lb 4.7 oz.

British military swords and sabers.