An elegant British light cavalry officer’s 1796 saber with scabbard and sword knot, showing bright, with lots of gilt left on the brass scabbard and hilt. This has a clip point and reverse-P guard fitted with cast and chased backstrap with motifs including a rounded Maltese cross and the pommel a British lionhead. The grip is gray sharkskin with triple wire binding. The langets are square, with the reverse plain and the obverse bearing a shield surrounded by a wreath. Boths sides of the blade are etched for about one-third of its length with floral scrolls and some military motifs with a central crest with a gilt wash showing a fortress with three towers.

The gilt brass scabbard is complete and matches the hilt in condition. Both carrying rings are there and the drag has elegant open loops on the squared tip of the body. The knot is complete with strap and tassels, but what was likely silver and gold has faded to a more gray and yellow, with some red and blue around the base to the knot. The blade is medium bright with dark gray staining from below the etching to the clip point on both sides. The etching is fully visible, however, and the gold wash on the crest is slightly muted, but very evident. The hilt and scabbard are bright, with lots of gilt remaining. The grip shows some wear and is missing some of the twisted middle strand of the triple wire binding.

This is a very good looking , elegant saber and some research would likely identify the crest- our quick look around showed only its later use by the Dorset regiment. British light cavalry was renowned as a dangerous force in the Napoleonic Wars, regarded by some as superior in man-to-man or smaller unit actions, but thought likely to get out of hand from sheer enthusiasm with discipline and cohesion vanishing in larger actions from their sheer  enthusiasm for battle.  [sr][ph:L]

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