M1852 naval officer's sword. Chicopee, Mass.: Ames Mfg. Co., ca. 1863.

Complete in leather scabbard. 28 13/16 in. single-edged, slightly curved spear-point blade with a 19 1/4 in. stopped median fuller and a second, narrow fuller within the first along its top edge, approx. 15 3/8 in. Sword overall approximately 35 1/4 in. Pattern hilt with a clearly struck eagle to the pommel cap and a dolphin finial. White shagreen grip with 14 wraps of braided wire. Blade acid-etched  to obverse, "Ames Mfg. Co. / Chicopee / Mass," with a fouled anchor superimposed with a federal shield, a ring of 25 stars, and a stand of arms with a "U.S.N." flag; to reverse, with an eagle atop a carronade, a fouled anchor, a "U.S.N." ribband, and a fouled line with oak leaves and acorns. Scabbard drag with a dolphin. A pattern knot appears to each mount.

The topmount is inscribed to a "Lieut. E. C. Gardner / U.S.R.S. / from his Friends / March 1863." Edward C. Gardner (1814-1889) is listed in Register of All Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in The Service of the United States on the Thirtieth September, 1863 as a third lieutenant with the Revenue-Marine, having been appointed that year (1864, p. 47). He would be rapidly promoted, by 1865 serving as a First Lieutenant, before resigning from the service in 1873 (1866, p. 68). 

The now-defunct Revenue-Marine, later Revenue Cutter Service, was one of two branches which merged to form the extant United States Coast Guard in 1915. Though the Revenue-Marine existed for over a century, the service recruited far fewer than the other United States military branches. During the Civil War, officers of the Revenue-Marine were required to use m1852 Naval Officers' swords in lieu of the m1843 Revenue-Marine Officers' swords. This sword, per the markings to the blade, was evidently intended for use by a naval officer and was co-opted by the friends of Gardner.

Resources:

Register of All Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in The Service of the United States on the Thirtieth September, 1863. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1864. 

Register of All Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in The Service of the United States on the Thirtieth September, 1865. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1866. 

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Swords, Knives, Bowie Knives, Knife, Blades] [Navy, Naval History] [Revenue-Marine, Revenue Marine, Revenue Marines, Revenue Cutter Service] [Coast Guard]