Superb 95th, 1803 British Light Infantry Officer's Sabre of the Napoleonic Wars, The Peninsular War Campaign, The War of the Hundred Days Culminating in Quatre Bras, and Waterloo

Used in the Peninsular War, Waterloo & The War of 1812 by a British Officer of a light infantry such as the 95th, or flank company of a regiment. A singularly beautiful sword that was designed for battle but was superbly serviceable for full dress. It has a carved slotted hilt with the pierced cypher of King George IIIrd as the inner design within the knuckle bow and adorned with a wonderfully detailed lion's head pommel, with fine triple wire binding around the spiral sharkskin grip. This is the pattern of British Officer's sword carried by gentlemen who relished the idea of combat, but found the standard 1796 Infantry pattern sword too light for good combat. The light infantry regiments were made up of officers exactly of that mettle. The purpose of the rifles light infantry regiments was to work as skirmishers. The riflemen and officers were trained to work in open order and be able to think for themselves. They were to operate in pairs and make best use of natural cover from which to harass the enemy with accurately aimed shots as opposed to releasing a mass volley, which was the orthodoxy of the day. The riflemen of the 95th were dressed in distinctive dark green uniforms, as opposed to the bright red coats of the British Line Infantry regiments. This tradition lives on today in the regiment’s modern equivalent, The Royal Green Jackets.

This sabre was likely combat battle sharpened by the regimental armourer in the field, with his sharpening wheel, likely the very night before Quatre Bras or Waterloo, as it is still very sharp. You may have seen this represented in a few old historical films where the regimental armoured is labouring the day before the battle was to start, rotating his spinning grind wheel with his feet with a rotating belt arrangement, while a line of troopers, or officers batmen, queue outside his tent in order to have their blades combat sharpened.

The standard British infantry and light infantry regiments fought in all campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars, seeing sea-service at the Battle of Copenhagen, engaging in most major battles during the Peninsular War in Spain, forming the rearguard for the British armies retreat to Corunna, serving as an expeditionary force to America in the War of 1812, With the return of Napoleon from exile, all of the companies in England crossed the channel and landed in Belgium in May 1815, joining with those already present, so that the entire regiment, bar the five companies still in America, became part of Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army. The first battalion went on to fight at the Battle of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815, while all three battalions would fight at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815

During the battle of Waterloo the 95th Rifles held "The Sandpit" near La Haie Sainte, near the centre of the fighting. From this covered position they could target the French columns marching to both sides & the attackers on the chateau.

In 'Burke at Waterloo', by Tom Williams, Burke’s sergeant, William Brown, is fighting alongside the riflemen, and the account accords well with real accounts of the battle for the farm.

"At last the drummers started to beat amongst the ranks of blue-uniformed warriors and the columns began to bear down on La Haye Sainte. They advanced at a quick step with loud cries of ‘Vive l’Empereur!’ From the heights behind William came a murderous artillery fire that struck down dozens of the advancing soldiers, but they came on regardless.

Now they had reached the beginning of the slope. As they approached La Haye Sainte, skirmishers broke out from the head of each of the columns. Finally, the 95th had something to shoot at. The sound of their rifles was almost lost in the din of artillery as French and British guns duelled across the battlefield.

The farm ahead of them was now the scene of desperate fighting. The French had the place surrounded on three sides, pouring fire into the farmyard. A French brigade moved towards the north of the farm to complete its encirclement. As they did so, they came within range of the sandpit and the Rifles opened up on them. William fired, reloaded and fired again. There was no careful wrapping of the balls now. He rammed home his ammunition as fast as he could. With the enemy so close, it was speed, not accuracy, that was needed. There were so many that it seemed almost impossible not to hit them. The French dropped by the score, but as fast as the men of the 95th killed them, more blue-coated figures moved to replace the dead. Outnumbered as they were, it could only be a matter of time before the Rifles were overrun.

Then, to William’s amazement, the brigade swung away, as if unwilling to face the men in the sandpit. If they were trying to escape the Green Jackets, though, this manoeuvre went horribly wrong, for their change in direction took them straight towards the company that were hidden in the hedge. Once again, their ranks were decimated by British rifle fire.

For a moment, William thought that their three companies of Rifles might achieve the impossible and beat back the French brigade, but, even as the French hesitated, an outburst of firing and cheers drew everyone’s attention to the east. There, through the chaos of smoke, he could see men in the dark blue of the Belgian infantry breaking back towards the main Allied lines while the lighter blue of the French pursued them.

Their captain saw it too, cursed, briefly but fluently, and then turned to his sergeant. ‘The Belgians have broken. We’re too exposed. We have to withdraw.’

William already had his rifle at his shoulder, so he pulled the trigger and took down one more Frenchman. Then, with the rest of the men of the 95th, he started heading back to their own lines.
and holding their positions against tremendous odds at the Battle of Waterloo."

The 1803 Sabre has frequently described as one of the most beautiful swords ever carried, and it was used, in combat, in some of the greatest and most formidable battles ever fought by the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars in Europe the Peninsular Campaign and Waterloo. This is a very attractive sword indeed and highly desirable, especially for devotees of the earliest era of the British Rifle Regiments, such as the 95th and the 60th. As a footnote, in Bernard Cornwall's books of 'Sharpe of the 95th', this is the Sabre Major Sharpe would and should have carried if he hadn't used the heavy cavalry pattern troopers sword, given to him in the story in the first Bernard Cornwall novel. Overall this battle cum dress sword is in very good order and quite stunning. Overall in very nice order,and condition. No scabbard

Code: 25624