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587

GENERAL HENRY B. CARRINGTON'S BROKEN SWORD.

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
GENERAL HENRY B. CARRINGTON'S BROKEN SWORD.
GENERAL HENRY B. CARRINGTON'S BROKEN SWORD. Ames presentation-grade militia officer's sword with cast full bodied eagle pommel, with silver grips and cast spread winged eagles as guards, blade acid etched with martial motifs. Scabbard, brass and marked "Ames Mft Co. Chicopee, Mass" at throat, with highly decorative relief-cast hanger trappings, between which is engraved in flowing script: "Presented to H.B. Carrington, Adt. Genl of Ohio on behalf of the Commissioned Officers of the Volunteer Militia of Ohio at Cincinnati December 6th, 1859." In a bracket marked "Committee" on the opposite site of the scabbard are the engraved names: "Major Genl J(esse) Hildebrand, (later Colonel of the 77th Ohio) Major Genl. J. Rowe and Maj. Genl. W.H. Lytle." The sword is snapped neatly in half, and the scabbard crimped to fit the shortened blade. Henry Beebee Carrington, a Connecticut native, moved to Ohio after graduating from Yale Law School in 1848 and established a practice in Columbus. In 1857 Carrington was called upon by Governor Salmon P. Chase's to reorganize the state militia, and was later appointed Adjutant General. In honor of this accomplishment he was awarded this sword at a military convention held in Cincinnati in 1859. In 1861 he was commissioned a Colonel in the regular army as a reward for his efforts in organizing and dispatching nine regiments of Ohio militia to aid McClellan in the West Virginia campaign. In 1862 he was promoted to Brigadier and spent much of the remainder of the war organizing tens of thousands of men for the Union, and suppressing the disloyal Sons of Liberty in Ohio and Indiana. After the War, Carrington served in the West, and gained the greatest notoriety of his career. In 1866 he assigned to Indian duty in Nebraska. Leaving Ft. Kearny in May, he established Ft. Phil Kearny on the Bozeman Trail in Wyoming that July, as well as garrisoning Forts Reno and C.F. Smith. Fort Phil Kearny immediately became a magnet for Indian attacks, particularly by the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. By December of 1866 -- only five months after the post had been established -- some 91 enlisted men, five officers and 58 civilians had been killed, 20 more men were listed as wounded, and the Indians had captured around 750 head of livestock. This carnage was capped on December 21 with the so-called "Fetterman Massacre" when more than 80 officers and men were ambushed and killed when they went to assist a wood-cutting detail from the Fort. As commanding officer, Carrington took the blame (backed up by and earlier correspondence to superiors by Fetterman accusing Carrington of incompetence). The disaster effectively ended his military career. Fetterman retired in 1870 and spent the rest of his civilian career writing, largely about the Indian Wars. While Carrington was not cashiered from service, it is tempting to suggest that this presentation sword -- one that he would have held in great esteem -- was broken as a result of his frustration over the Fetterman disaster. That it was intentionally broken there can be little doubt. The fact that the scabbard has been crimped to fit the broken sword indicates that Carrington wished to retained the sword as an heirloom of his service. In spite of its condition, a historic relic belonging to a major figure of the Civil and Indian Wars. Sword and scabbard snapped cleanly at about mid-length. The snapped end of the blade is age-darkened, suggesting the break took place long ago; the scabbard end at the break is crimped to accommodate the length of the broken blade. Much of original gold wash from the pommel and scabbard is missing. PLEASE NOTE: THIS LOT WILL BE SOLD ON EBAY LIVE AUCTIONS BETWEEN 6:00-7:00pm EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME ON MAY 10, 2002. REGISTER NOW TO BID LIVE ONLINE THE DAY OF THE SALE! (EST 10000-15000)
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