Don't trip over the Saber: How Civil War Troopers Managed Their Sabers Dismounted

One of the hardest things to get used to is managing the saber while dismounted or skirmishing on foot. What did the manuals say and what were the tricks of the trade in the the real world.
For more information on civil war cavalry, drill manuals and much more, visit our website at:
www.11thOVC.com

[@kidhammer2567]

Thank you for an excellent blend of historical manual references and a visual presentation on this important topic, the dismounted saber management, where practice definitely makes perfect.

[@bobharnack9944]

Thank you, Steve. Great subject. That thing is a pain in the ....

[@danielkohli1542]

Thanks for covering this, it is greatly appreciated. I was having a hard time with a light artillery saber.

[@andrewwash8005]

And this is why I am infantry. As always good stuff. Thanks!

[@frankgaletzka8477]

Great look in the past
Thank yoz

[@joejoe36507]

you should cover what a short soldier,or smaller than average guy would wear/handle a saber.

[@franklin1995]

sheridan be like

[@thereallochnessmonster9954]

I know this comment is over a year old as I’m writing this but if I’m correct the minimum height for union cavalryman (which was 5’7 if I remember right) was in place so a soldier could walk with their saber. Any shorter troops were probably irregulars who probably wouldn’t wield sabers of this length anyways.

[@aussiepete67]

G'day from Brisbane Australia 🌞🌞👋..
I really enjoyed your video, no idea why, but i did🤣.. cheers mate

[@LadiesMan217.0]

Thank you for the video! I appreciate the information and tips you gave us to help is out!

[@odonnaghan]

Thank you.

[@deadsweetheart1]

I know it’s in the manual but seems like kneeling it would be easier with hilt towards front. I’ve also seen for staff officers at least it rolled um to the belt than hooked

[@falconmarco67]

Thanks for the great info

[@jbearmcdougall1646]

Great video..
Ironically..the best wat to manage a sabre in 1870's 'america was to leave it slung opposite like the rifle.. under the saddle side.. carry a long knife like a Bowie or Seax on the small of the back, and a hatchet...

[@spitalhelles3380]

if this man says muscle memory one more time

[@nilo70]

Coolest thing ever!

[@Firemission-qw3lj]

Great video. Where can I buy a Sabre like that.

[@chief_7999]

I noticed in some 18th century drawings where officers let their scabbards drag on the ground. Is that normal?

[@alexsacco776]

Hey man love the videos. I got a question. How would a soldier get into the cavalry instead of being put into the infantry?

[@seanassociateproductions1691]

Usually by bringing your own horse

[@danielkohli1542]

I could have missed if you have covered this. Is the ammunition for the pistol carried in a box on the belt?

[@themischeifguide]

What happened to the familiar McDowell and MSJ?

[@11thovc]

Chris, trying something "new"! LOL. I figured I should try and switch it up some!

[@justineb211]

At 2:51 I'm able to see your leather straps across your chest for the rifle and saber. Are you left or right handed? I notice from old photos the straps are opposite. Thank you.

[@isaacezekielthecolorblindg7343]

Dude you have a georgia Southern saber.

[@isaacezekielthecolorblindg7343]

Sounds like im insulting you but its meant to be a question

[@Schlachtschule]

What saber fencing manuals were used by Federal troops? Was there a standard source, or did they rely on foreign books, such as Roworth?

[@alexanonimo6876]

Henry Wayne's 1840 manual is a great contemporary source.

[@Schlachtschule]

@@alexanonimo6876 I assume you mean "The Sword Exercise, Arranged for Military Instruction" which was from 1850, not 1840, or is there an earlier work with which I am unfamiliar? Unfortunately, that book is entirely devoted to the spadroon rather than the saber, and while there is overlap (and while serjeants of infantry often carried them), it is not a saber book.

[@alexanonimo6876]

@@Schlachtschule Is it 1850? My mistake. However, while the plates for the second section do indeed show techniques with the 1840 NCO spadroon (or "cut and thrust," as Wayne calls it), that section is devoted to exercises meant for "broadsword, sabre, cut and thrust, and stick," and is itself of the same general stock in that section as Roworth's own, with but slight variance in terminology.

[@Schlachtschule]

@@alexanonimo6876 It is 1850; it was finished in 1849 and published in 1850. I must be missing part of the book, however, because all the pictures I see are of spadroons.

[@alexanonimo6876]

@@Schlachtschule It's divided into two sections: the first deals with smallswords, and the second, which I believe you're seeing, on the method of using spadroon, saber, and broadsword, "broadsword" itself often being found in American literature to describe a saber, oddly enough. As I said, the pictures show spadroons, but the method is for both. Reading 179-185, he indicates even more the similarity of style applied to either, while also implying that the methods in the narrative are not necessarily for spadroon/cut-and-thrust/espadon, but that if one uses one, how to do so effectively. He also indicates that one should utilize smallsword technique, as well, in order to affect a better method.
Regardless of the depiction in the plates, the manual's second section, as I said, is meant to be dedicated to the use of broadsword, saber, and spadroon. He dedicates a section to how one would use a spadroon, because as you said, the technique is a little different. He even has a short section on how to oppose a spadroon.
Give it another read, but stick to the words, and see how you feel.

[@markonhistory514]

What type of sword and belt do you use? If someone was interested where could they acquire such a set?

[@250sabre]

👍👍👍

[@FailureInSociety2007]

Was every us cavalry sword a curved blade?