Men of the 110^th Ohio must have thought well of Surgeon Robert R. McCandliss for they presented him with a very nice example of the 1860 Staff Officer’s Sword that includes open work scabbard mounts by Schuyler, Hartley and Graham of New York. (Collectors still sometimes use Peterson’s old nomenclature of “Staff and Field Officer’s Sword, but see Thillmann for the correct terminology.) Schuyler, Hartley and Graham need no introduction to Civil War collectors. The New York military goods firm offered for sale a wide variety of material to Civil War officers and their catalogs are key references for modern students and collectors. This is a very nice example of a US 1860 pattern staff sword made (or assembled) in France by F. Delecour, a Paris dealer, whose logo (FBD with helmet and sword) appears stamped on the underside of the folding inner counterguard.

The blade, about 31 inches long, is diamond (or arris) shaped. It has an excellent edge and point and a mirror finish with very visible etching set off by a thin frosting. On the obverse a short foliate section leads to the SH&G firm name and address etched in block letters in three lines, leading to another foliate section, then a panoply of arms, cannon and flags, ending with and open wreath and another foliate scroll. The reverse has scrolling foliate sections at either extreme and between them a panoply of arms with wreath overhead.

The steel scabbard body has very pretty, full coverage of purplish blue with a narrow brass throat and upper, middle, and lower gilt brass mounts that are solid on the reverse and show beautiful openwork floral scrolls on the obverse that preserve some of their gilding. The bottom portion of the lower mount is solid on the obverse like the reverse, but cast and engraved with floral designs.

The hilt has a standard pommel with leaf decoration on top and an eagle with shield on its face, a knuckleguard with floral elements top and bottom in short pointed panels on either side of a central band. The counterguard has a deeply cast eagle with spread wings, a US shield on its chest, and clutching arrows and olive branch superimposed on flags with spearhead shafts that jut out from behind. Unusually, the grip is wire wrapped and has a nicely banded and crosshatched brass ferrule. The red cloth washer is in place on the underside of the guard.

Engraved in script on the folding guard is, “To / Dr. McCandliss / Surgeon 110 O.V.I. / by the Regt.” Robert R. McCandliss enlisted in the regiment at age 35 and was mustered in as an Assistant Surgeon on 8/25/62. He was promoted to Surgeon to date 5/1/63. He was taken prisoner on 6/15/63 at Winchester, Va., where he had remained behind at the hospital with the Chaplain to care for the sick and wounded as the remnants of Milroy’s command tried to fight their way through to Harpers Ferry. He was exchanged on 11/24/63, returned to the regiment, and eventually mustered out 6/25/65 at Washington. His determination to stay with hospital to care for the men at the imminent risk of capture may well have played a part in the gift of this sword.

The regiment had organized in Piqua, Ohio, in October 1862 and was stationed at Winchester, Va., from January 1863 to Milroy’s defeat in June. Some 200 were captured there, but 300 managed to get to Harpers Ferry and in July they were assigned to the Army of the Potomac, serving first in the Third Corps and then in the Sixth from the Spring of 1864 to muster out. They suffered ten officers and one hundred-seven enlisted men killed or mortally wounded during their service, fighting at Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Monocacy, Opequan, Fisher’s Hill, Cedar Creek, and Sailor’s Creek.

This is a very pretty sword presented by a fighting regiment to an officer who had earned their respect.  [sr]

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