Manufactured: Chicopee mass  Maker: Ames  Year: 1852  Model: 1852 Naval Officer Sword  Size: 27.50  Condition: VG

M 1852 Naval Officer Sword - Ames dated and inspected.  Early date of 1852 on obverse ricasso. Inspection mark on reverse is P over R.B.H.  Brass guard retains original gilt.  Sharkskin grip and wire are excellent as well.  Blade is very minty with some spotting on both sides of the ricasso.  Obverse blade is etched “ 1852 / Ames Mfg. Co. Chicopee Mass / foliate - anchor / circle of 13 stars / stand of arms - ships rigging - trident – pennant” is USB dry needle etched onto same.  Reverse blade is inspected “P. R.B.H. / eagle perched on shops cannon with cannon balls with rays / fouled anchor / USN in a ribbon / rope entwined with foliate”.  Blade retains original frost and polish.  Leather scabbard has general scuffs to surface bit is sound and strong with no issues.  All brass retains a generous amount or original gilt and are also in great condition.

Inscription on pommel cap reads, “J.O. Butler / from / E. Middleton”.  We believe that E. Middleton is Edward Middleton, who entered the US Navy as a Midshipman on 7/1/1828. He rose through the ranks as follows: Passed Midshipman, 6/14/34; Lieutenant, 2/25/41; Commander, 9/14/55; Captain, 4/24/63; Commodore, 11/26/68; Retired List, 12/11/72; Rear-Admiral, Retired List, 8/15/76. Died 4/27/1883.

Middleton was born in 1810 in Charleston, SC.  He was the son of Henry Middleton, governor of South Carolina, Minister to Russia, and grandson of Arthur Middleton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was educated in England and France. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1828, and served aboard the frigate Java of the Mediterranean squadron until 1831. He next was assigned to the sloop Vandalia of the West India squadron from 1831 to 1833 and during 1833 and 1834 he was on the receiving ship at Brooklyn. On June 14, 1834 he was promoted to midshipman and his next assignment was the frigate Constitution in the Mediterranean from 1835 to 1838. Middleton was then ordered to the sloop Marion of the Brazil squadron from 1838 to 1842. While aboard the Marion he was promoted to lieutenant on Feb 25, 1841. Over the next decade he would serve on numerous ships, including the Lexington, Plymouth, Cumberland, Princeton, Erie and the Independence. In 1854 he joined the Decatur and participated in the campaign against the Indian tribes of Oregon and Washington and fought in the attack upon Seattle on January 26, 1856. That same day he was promoted to Commander and on April 24, 1863 promoted to Captain and was appointed to special duty in Washington, DC. The next two years he would be assigned to the Mare Island Navy yard in California and afterwards commanded the steam sloop Pensacola. He received his commission as Commodore on November 26, 1868 and was assigned to command the steam sloop Lackawanna in the Pacific fleet. He was commandant of the Navy yard at Pensacola, Florida in 1870 and was commissioned as Rear-Admiral on August 15, 1876. Middleton died on April 27, 1883 in Washington, D.C., and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.

No definite identification has been confirmed for J.O. Butler. He may possibly be John O. Butler, who was a USN Acting Ensign from 2/14/63 to his dismissal on 3/22/64.  Further research certainly a possibility.

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