Sword Presented to Frank Wheaton

Sword Presented to Frank Wheaton

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Description (Brief)
Presented to General Frank Wheaton by the Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates of the 2d Regt R.I. Volunteers on Dec. 13th 1862.
Description
Frank (Francis) Wheaton started his military career on the frontier in the 1850s. When the Civil War began he was commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel in the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry. By war’s end he was a brevet Major General in the volunteer Army.
The blade is long, slightly curved, and double edged. It is decorated with military trophies and floral and scroll designs in gilt and silver chasing. The obverse features an eagle holding an "E PLURIBUS / UNUM" banner, and the reverse bears a "US" monogram. The grip of the nickel plated with a piece of gilded wire that wraps around it in a spiral approximately ten times. The pommel bears the cast of an eagle surrounded by scroll designs on the side. The pommel cap is missing. The knuckle guard is a thin strip of gold metal with floral sprays at the top. There are a number of red jewels on the counterguard. Six of these jewels are found between scrolls, and five of them form a flower between two scrolls. The quillon is shaped like the head of a dragon, and extends down towards the blade.
The scabbard bears four gold mounts. The first two mounts are almost identical. Both bear two sets of floral sprays in a diamond shape. The top mount features seven red jewels, and the middle mount features six. There is a casting of an anchor between the second mount and the drag. The drag bears a cluster of military trophies and nine red stones. The obverse of the scabbard is inscribed ” Malvern Hill. / BULL RUN. / WILLIAMSBURGH. / Seven Pines.. / ANTIETAM. / FREDRICKSBURGH.” The reverse is inscribed “Presented to / Genl. Frank Wheaton, / by the Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates / of the 2d Regt R.W. Volunteers. / As a token of Regard and Esteem. while their Colonel/ Dec. 13th 1862.” between the top two mounts. There are two carrying rings on the piece, one on the right side of the top two mounts.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
sword
Other Terms
Edged Weapons; Presentation
date made
1862
date presented
1862-12-13
recipient
Wheaton, Frank
maker
W. Clauberg
place made
Germany: North Rhine-Westphalia, Solingen
Physical Description
steel (blade material)
metal, gilt (scabbard material)
metal (hilt material)
Measurements
blade: 32 1/4 in x 1 1/8 in; 81.915 cm x 2.8575 cm
scabbard: 34 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 86.995 cm x 8.255 cm
overall: 37 3/4 in x 4 1/2 in; 95.885 cm x 11.43 cm
ID Number
AF.34844
catalog number
34844
accession number
84827
Credit Line
Maria B. Wheaton
subject
Edged Weapons
Civil War
related event
Civil War
See more items in
Political and Military History: Armed Forces History, Military
Military
Civil War Presentation Swords
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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Comments

A small detail. I can't tell form the photographs online, but I expect the inscription on the obverse of the scabbard reads "Seven Pines" rather than "Seven Ringes". A reference to the battle of 31 May - 1 June 1862 in Henrico County, VA.

Brian Downey

Tue, 2020-11-10 09:28

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