Louis Froelich was a tough man to keep down. A skilled “mechanic,” he emigrated from Bavaria in early 1861, settled in Wilmington, NC, ran a button factory and then set to making edged weapons for the Confederacy. He was swindled by a business partner, had his operation shut down by a yellow fever epidemic, had has reopened factory burn to the ground, moved his operation to Kenansville for safety, where that factory was burned by a federal raiding party, and then set up business again, making more sabers, sword bayonets, bayonets, pikes, knives, axes, accouterments and other vital supplies for the southern war effort right up to the end of the war. He is thought to have produced close to 12,000 cavalry sabers, so if there is a “typical” Confederate cavalry saber, it is likely a Kenansville.

This is the quintessential Froelich-made enlisted cavalry saber, loosely patterned on a US 1840, but with flaring conical pommel, a guard that features two branches coming from the knucklebow at two different spots, and a brown leather wrapped grip that is bound with a single wire strand.  The brass has nice mellow, untouched age patina. The branches are round in cross-section, with no breaks, but showing some bends from use and hard knocks. About 20-30percent of the leather wrap remains, mostly on the upper grip. The underlying wood is good, with a couple of narrow age or shrinkage gaps, a little rubbing at middle and nice patina lower down. The wire binding stands a little proud from the surface, but is all there and anchored. The blade has the typical Kenansville rounded back and single unstopped fuller. The good edge and point are good, as is the surface: generally gray in color mixed with darker gray spots, some salt-and-peppering, and a little brown at the upper end of the fuller, but with no deep pitting or corrosion. There is no scabbard, but the blade shows well.

Confederate swords combine history with a wonderful variety of craftsmanship ranging from the crude to the high-art that makes them a collecting field of their own. This is a nice example of an enlisted Confederate cavalryman’s saber by well recognized Confederate maker.  [sr]

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