Tulwar sword carried by Thomas H Kavanagh VC, Assistant Commissioner, Bengal Civil Service, 1857 (c)

Tulwars, curved swords with a blade for cutting, were more popular with the East India Company's armies than the thrusting blade. Kavanagh was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859) at the siege of Lucknow on 9 November 1857, when he passed through the siege lines of mutineers, disguised as an Indian, and guided the relief force into the city.