SECOND MODEL CALVARY PATTERN SWORD WITH SCABBARD
Marked “J. Winner Fecit” for James Winner
Possibly the Virginia Manufactory of Arms
Richmond, Virginia ~ 1806-1808
SOLD
It is not clear if this sword was made by Winner while at the Manufactory. It would have been quite unusual for him to have marked a blade made when he was an employee but equally unlikely for him to have produced an exact replica of the Second Model sword and scabbard while working elsewhere. It may be that he produced the sword when in Richmond as an example or model for consideration prior to production, crafted it for himself, or possibly while in Philadelphia as an example of his proficiency while soliciting a contract. The handful of other swords marked by Winner that have been located are not Virginia Manufactory models and are marked on the side rather than top of the blade.
James Winner, who marked this sword, was likely a native of Pennsylvania and among the many skilled artisans recruited by the Superintendent of the new Manufactory, John Clarke. Attesting to Winner’s status as a master cutler was his commissioning in 1807 to forge and complete a sword with silver wire for General Eaton. According to information compiled by C.S. Arms, “James Winner was a Richmond, VA. sword and gunsmith. He began in Richmond in 1803 forging sword hilts and blades. He made the blade for the sword presented to Lt. Presley N. O’Bannon in 1806. Winner joined Abraham Nippes and John Steinman in Philadelphia where they had a musket contract in 1808 and delivered 3,900 by the Autumn of 1812. Winner also had a six month contract in June 1810 to provide horseman’s swords but did not fulfill the contract due to intemperance. He returned to Virginia by 1814 where he worked at the Virginia Arms Manufactory as a sword cutler.”
The Virginia Manufactory of Arms was established by the General Assembly in 1798. Its history and output have been chronicled by Giles Cromwell in his comprehensive The Virginia Manufactory of Arms published in 1975 from which the majority of information in this commentary has been gleaned. The Manufactory’s founding was intended to secure a steady, reliable supply of arms of quality for the Virginia Militia, to reduce the State’s reliance on Federal contracting and to stimulate local industry. It was situated on the west end of Richmond immediately beyond the city limits on the south side of the James River Canal and would eventually consist of a significant concentration industrial buildings and specialized machinery. The Manufactory produced muskets, bayonets, rifles, swords, pistols, cannon and the accouterments necessary for these weapons.
This example is on the same pattern as the rare Second Model Sword as is the original scabbard and lacks only the leather wrapping to the handle. The rounded pommel and guard with a sword-knot distinguish it from the First Models. First and Second Model Swords were not poplar with Virginia militiamen due to their great length. With a strongly curved blade of some 40” (resembling “Turkish Scimeters”) they were not easy to handle and were replaced in 1808 by the Third Model which featured a relatively straight blade of only 36” in length. This newer, shorter sword “met with instant approval by members of the various cavalry troops” and the armory received numerous letters requesting exchange of the older swords for the new ones. Adding to the rarity of intact First and Second Model Swords is the fact that many were modified shortly after their manufacture by order of the State or at the outbreak of the Civil War in the push to arm the Confederacy.
Price: sold
