THROUGH A STUDY OF swords and written evidence this article suggests that the British Pattern 1796 Light Cavalry sword was designed to complement a specific combat system. Both sword and system were developed by the same man, seemingly through a process of the sword's “form” following his “thoughts” on cavalry swordsmanship. The sword's development and form, and how this related to its use and effect are considered; followed by its variants, successors and legacy.

The Pattern 1796 Light Cavalry sword is one of the most iconic military swords ever produced. In widespread service for over twenty-five years of almost continual war, vast numbers of the sword were produced and issued. Extensively exported to, and even copied by, Britain’s allies this sword was amongst the most common pattern of combat sword in use throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Excellent information is already available on this weapon, which this paper will, as far as possible, try to avoid repeating. Instead it will attempt to look at the sword in a slightly different light, through the relationship of “thought and form”, to understand how its design came about and how this related to its intended method of use.

THE SOURCES

The British Pattern 1796 Light Cavalry sword lends itself to this kind of analysis as documentation exists that reveals the “thoughts” on swords and swordsmanship of the man that devised the sword; and numerous original examples survive of what “form” these swords took in practice. The man credited with designing the sword was the serving British cavalry officer John Gaspard Le Marchant. The evidence which gives us insight to the “thought” of the designer are:

• 1. The Memoirs of the late Major-General Le Marchant, compiled by his son in 1841 and containing information from Le Marchant's earlier, pre-1796 career.

• 2. Le Marchant's 1796 Rules and Regulations for the Sword Exercise of the Cavalry.

• 3. An 1809 letter from Le Marchant titled Remarks on the construction of swords adapted to the use of Cavalry.

In addition to these written sources are the thousands of swords that were produced from 1796 to 1821, which provide an abundance of evidence of the “form” these swords took. There also exist several first-hand accounts from those that used, and faced, the sword in combat; which have been substantiated by recent test cutting experiments at the Royal Armouries.