Hi all,

I have this sword, that i think might be an US Civil War sword - but i am not sure and need help identifying the sword.
I also need help identifying the inscrition on the blade.


Thanks.

Regards
Morten, Denmark[/img]

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We have to keep in mind that this is a French pattern sword used by more than France and the US.

The only possible explanation for the blade graving or etching might be the last three letters GAR for Grand Army of the Republic. A federal veterans group of the ACW. To be honest, I see MS not US preceding that. If it is MS vs US, that might be for Missouri but then not really make sense for a GAR attribution. A US before GAR doesn't make any more sense, as the US would be redundancy.

What is the provenance of the sword., where did the purchase come from?

It is in no way a standard inscription for the US and would have been privately applied, whether a direct presentation or homage. I am afraid nothing jumps out as a standard and one could spend countless (and useless) hours researching the possible name as presented in these photos. Back track to previous owners and where the sword surfaced.

If the sword surfaced in Europe and with that inscription, I would lean towards a Carl XV as ruler of Sweden. Just a hunch but I may be way off base.

Cheers
GC

It looks like it says "Carl ?.? Oscar".

Carl & Oscar are certainly the Swedish royal names of that period. Can't really be sure about the second word?
So with all likelihood it is a Swedish Sword as these name was very popular in Sweden as it was royal names.

I do not think it is American.
Perhaps the missing letters are J O B?

I drew them down while staring at a zoomed in image of the engraving.
http://imgur.com/sFnFrG8

There is another thread regarding this sword elsewhere and my occlusion from transcriptions of the text only further bolsters my thoughts as Swedish. Oscar became King after Carl.

http://www.swordforum.com/vb4/showthread.php?...-Civil-War

Cheers
GC