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- Selecting the Best Military Sword Accessories
A Marine Corps Tradition: the Military Sword
Posted by Bryan on 1/31/2013
to U.S. Military Swords
The first regulation of swords by the Corps began in 1826. Officers carried the Mameluke, a cross hilted sword with a curved, scimitar-like blade. NCOs, enlisted men, and musicians carried swords with only a slightly curved blade and a handguard which encircled the hand. Because musicians were often boys, swords with a 24 inch blade were available, though the standard blade length was 32 inches. As the swords were not made to order, but bought from stocks on hand, most are indistinguishable from militia swords of the period.
The 1840 and 1859 regulations for enlisted men stated they were to carry the same swords as the Army, and in 1850 officers of all ranks carried the same sword. The major differences between the swords of officers and enlisted men at this time had to do with the amount of ornamentation on the sword. In 1875, officers readopted the Mameluke sword while NCOs retained the Army 1850 model. Following the First World War, the enlisted men’s swords were redesigned. The blade was shortened to 27 ¾ inches, narrowed at the hilt, and etched with “United States Marines” on one side, with the Marine Corps insignia on the other.
