This is a translation into English of the original article about this sword that can be found here: https://mylittlearsenal.blogspot.com/2020/05/espada-de-cenir-para-oficial-de.html
Infantry Officers Dress Sword, Model of 1867 -Spain-
1. Description
The Infantry Officers Dress Sword, Model of 1867 has a straight blade (75 cm,), with a rounded edge in the first third and a sharp double edge along the rest of the blade. It weighs 675 gr. (without the scabbard) and the overall lenght is 905 mm.
The blade in this paticular example is marked "Toledo" on one side and "1868" on the other. The scabbard is only partially conserved, having lost a third of it's original lenght. It is possible that this is not the original scabbard for this particular sword, since the coat of arms appears not to match the coat of arms on the swords guard (Kingdom of Amadeo de Saboya).
The coat of arms on the scabbard does not show the fleur de lys in the center (Kingdom of Isabel II and Alfonso XII) nor the cross of Saboya, which could mean that it is from the time of General Serranos regency or the Spanish First Republic. Nevertheless this is doubtfull because the crown on the coat of arms is the royal crown and not the mural crown used during both those times.
The guard is made of three separte pieces of solid brass. The bowl, with a handguard up to the pommel, and the handle. The blades tang is peened at the end of the pommel. On the outside of the bowl the Spanish coat of arms is engraved. This particular coat of arms with royal crown and a cross in the center is the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Amadeo de Saboya (1871-1873).
This is interesting and gives us an idea of the manufacturing process of theese swords. According to the coat of arms on the guard, this sword has to date back to 1871-1873, but the date on the Toledo blade is 1868. It appears that the blades where produced in Toledo and then sold to outfitters who, in turn, comissioned the guards and scabbards to be made and the swords to be assembled for sale.
There is further evidence that this was the case in the Spanish Infantry Officers Saber, Model of 1887 that we have written about here: https://mylittlearsenal.blogspot.com/2021/05/infantry-officers-saber-model-of-1887.html. This saber has also a Toledo made blade as per regulations, but the guard and scabbard are only "regulation" in appearence, since they should be made out of steel, but are actually made out of German Silver, so it weighs less and does not rust, but is obviously less suited for combat.
2.1. Smallswords and Dress-swords. Theese type of swords, not very suited for combat, appear in the Spanish military circles in the 18th Century, since the sword was no longer used as an actual weapon of war. In this timeperiod the regular soldiers would use rifles with a bayonet, officers were armed with a short lance or pike (known as "espontón" and used from 1704 to 1768) and sergeants with a halberd until 1787 when they also transitioned to carrying a rifle and Bayonet. In this timeperiod the term "Spadroon" appears in the United Kingdom to refer to a weapon with a smallsword guard but a more substantial cutting blade that was beeing used since the end of the 17th century.
In this historical context, the sword was relegated to a ceremonial item (in combat sabers were preferred) and evolved into designs more oriented to beeing confortable (little weight and small dimensions) and a status simbol. Military swords became similar to the dressswords used at Court, defined by ALMIRANTE as "harmless skewer that was carried by everyone in the last century".
It went so far that swords became rather jewelry than actual weapons. See this examples from the Military Museum in Barcelona:
Seeing as all sense had been lost in the matter of swords, at least in the military circles (let civilians carry what they please, it is after all a free country) in 1785 new regulations appeared that, as CLONARD explains, was to tackle the "luxury introduced to officers. Since it was not possible that military men could afford ornaments unfit for their profession without incuring in debts they could not pay, it was ordered that every officer up to brigadier (it seems generals lobbied to be able to carry whatever they wanted) used the uniform that was regulated, not being alowed to alter it in any way. Abandoned were the dress-swords (meaning the weaponly aberrations we saw above)".
In other words, with what officers were paid they could not afford any luxury (nothing has changed), but as proper Spaniards, there was no way they would be less than others, so they would incurr debts if necessary, for honor, of course, so their neighbour would not outdo them and, if possible, to outdo their neighbour.
Similar misseries are narrated by C.S. FORRESTER in his novels, where Royal Navy officer, Mr. Hornblower, can only afford a dubious cuality sword but that at least appears proper (as long as the guard is golden who cares about the tempering of the blade) that he intelligently discards in favor of a Navy Cutlass as soon as his ship goes into action.
In the same sense, CALVÓ tells us that in the 1793 regulations it was stated that "the use of other type of swords and buckles that the golden ones prescribed in the Navy and Army for the uniform is forbidden ... and furthermore, the use of watches and diamonds, even in the badges of Military Orders is also forbidden".
Presumably, until the Dress-sword for Generals (Regulation of 30 may 1840) there was no official model for the different army corps, but there were unofficial models. It is possible that there was a model of swords used by officers prior to the model of 1867. DEL FRAXNO y DE BOULIGNY tell us of a Infantry Officers Sword very similar to the Artillery Officers Sword of the time, which is the Artillery Officers Sword, Model of 1843:
We do not know if there really was such a model specifically for Infantry Officers, but there seems to be evidence that this type of sword was, indeed, used by infantry officers of the time. CALVÓ refers, for instance, to a sword in this design, dated aproximately 1860, with no emblem to any particular army corps whose owner was, apparentrly, a known infantry officer.
2.2. Infantry Officers Sword, Model of 1867. This sword is adopted by Royal Decree of the 30th of January, 1867 and is described in the Uniform Regulations for the Infantry Corps aproved by Royal Decree of the 18th of August, 1877 with the characteristics that we saw at the beginning o this article. There is also a variant for Officers in the Military Administrative Corps with the guard made in German Silver.
Due to the long period of time this model was used, there are at least three distinct variants that differ in the coat of arms engraved int the bowl (there are five relevant time periods):
- Kingdom of Isabel II (until 1869): Coat of arms of Spain with royal crown and fleur de lys in the center.
- Regency of General Serrano (1869 to 1871): Coat of arms of Spain with mural crown and nothing in the center.
- Kingdom of Amadeo de Saboya (1870 to 1873): Coat of arms of Spain with royal crown and the cross of Saboya in the center.
- First Republic (1873 to 1874): Coat of arms of Spain with mural crown and nothing in the center.
- Kingdom of Alfonso XII (since 1874): Coat of arms of Spain with royal crown and fleur de lys in the center.
3. Change to the Saber, Model of 1887
By Royal decree of 27 may 1887 the Infantry Officers Saber, Model of 1887 was approved (https://mylittlearsenal.blogspot.com/2021/05/infantry-officers-saber-model-of-1887.html).
The regulation stated that the saber was to be used for events on horseback and the sword on foot. Nevertheless, it seems that the cunning officers saw that the bloody saber was heavy and due to the size, got tangled up everywere when one went to have some beers at Court and was, in general, a nuisance in the social battlefield. They therefore continued to use the dress-sword for everything pleading that "they were very bussy and had not yet had a minute to go purchase the saber". The officers procrastination in the purchasing of the saber did not do, and on the 15th of october 1889 a Royal Decree dictated that in the term of one year Officers were to purchase the saber and, after that term, the use of the dress-sword was forbidden.
4. Bibliography
ALMIRANTE José, "Diccionario Militar", Madrid 1989 (reedicción), citado por L. CALVÓ en "Espadines y Espadas de Ceñir (I)", Enero 2006.
BARCELÓ RUBÍ Bernardo, “Armamento Portátil Español (1764 – 1939), una labor artillera”, Editorial San Martín, Madrid, 1976, ISBN 84-7140-138-X
CALVÓ Juan L., “Espadines y Espadas de Ceñir (I a IX)”, Enero a Abril 2006 (http://www.catalogacionarmas.com)
CLONARD Conde de, "Historia Orgánica de las Armas de Infantería y Caballería Española", Madrid, 1851-1859. Citado por L. CALVÓ en "Espadines y Espadas de Ceñir (I)", Enero 2006.
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