Pattern 1821 Light Cavalry Trooper's Sword, 1838 (c)

Made by W L and H Sargant, Birmingham.

A lighter version of the heavy cavalry sword but with three-bar guard, this sword bore the brunt of the cavalry's criticism of the 'cut and thrust' blade. Most cavalrymen and many experts thought it inferior to the Pattern 1796 Sword. In 1828 a committee recommended several improvements to the sword but in the 'long peace' nothing appears to have been done. Further complaints were investigated in the mid-1830s but again little was done. This sword, manufactured in Birmingham in 1838, was of the type carried by many troopers during the Crimean War (1854-1856).