Scabbard

The 1796P heavy cavalry trooper's sword was a much needed replacement for the awful 1788P, which British Major John Gaspard Le Marchant, the man behind the change in pattern, was informed by British army surgeons caused many wounds to their British cavalrymen holders and mounts!

Actually a copy of the Austrian M1775 Pallasche, the 1796P HC had a straight 35 inch hatchet pointed, single broad fullered blade and a round disc guard.

Despite the fact the 1796P HC was an improvement over its predecessor, it too was widely and rightfully derided. Being a straight bladed sword, it was virtually useless for cutting / slashing. Having a hatchet point made it very poor for thrusting. During the Peninsular War, British commanders noted with horror the vast superiority of the French An XIII over the 1796P HC.

An account by an officer of the 1st Royal Dragoons just before Waterloo states that for the first time known to the British Army, the cavalry were ordered to grind the backs of their swords. In other words, they were ordered to field modify their hatchet point swords into having a spear point. This was done solely to try and improve the thrusting capabilities of the 1796P HC to make it more comparable with the superior French An XIII.

However, not all 1796P HC's were modified prior to Waterloo. This is proven as the sword of Sergeant Charles Ewart of the Royal Scots Greys who captured the Imperial Eagle at Waterloo, his sword which is held alongside the Eagle Standard at the Scots Greys museum, has a hatchet point. It should be noted that Sergeant Ewart was a big man and actually swung his massive sword from side to side, chopping down Frenchmen as he went.

Arguments reign over exactly how many swords were converted to spear point and whether each man in each regiment had either one or the other. I think it is fair to say, in all probability, 85% of the swords in the campaign were modified prior to the famous battle.

Other modifications to the 1796P were the filing down of one side of the disc hilt so it did not rub so uncomfortably and uniform wearingly against the trooper. The langets were also removed as, it is alleged, these often caused the scabbard to snag.

After Waterloo, many of these swords were cut down an used as cutlasses. Those that stayed in service often were refitted with a slightly different style of scabbard with a more bullet shaped drag.

Grateful thanks to Sword Sales EU for the photos.