While the training of the saber is difficult, and sharpening is a pain, there is nothing as terrifying as being charged down by a man on horse with a saber!

The efficacy of the sword was irrefutably demonstrted - believe it or not - in WWI in Palestine. The Desert Mounted Corps [the DMC] of the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force grew to be one of the largest mounted forces ever assembled by the western powers. Depending on your source and during which part of the war, the numbers could be 12,000, 40,000 or 60,000. The important part however is that the Australian Lighthorse made up some 7/16th of the DMC. By the spring of 1918, 13 of the 14 ALH regiments had requested to be armed with, had been so armed and trained in the use of the British M1908 straight thrusting saber - a weapon they put to good use over the following 6 months. They conducted by my count a dozen mounted charges with it - all successful. At one point an ALH Brigade of 3 regiments attacked some 4,000 Turks and Germans with at least a dozen machineguns defending a rocky ridge. Charging over open ground nearly 3 miles, 2 of the regiments swept in with the sword while the center regiment dismounted about 100 yards out and went in with the rifle and bayonet. That regiment took more casualties than the 2 that went in mounted with the sword. Overall the attack was entirely successul. Indeed, British AARs noted that “machineguns alone are insufficient to stop a mounted charge.” [page 113 Australia's Palestine Campaign by Jean Bou - #7 in the Australian Army Series published by the Australian Army Historical Division. I note that this was a combined arms attack with the Royal Horse Artillery and a Machingun Battalion firing in direct support to suppress the Turks and Germans. Indeed, America’s greatest horseman, Harry D. Chamberlin - an officer highly respected by George Catlett Marshall and a personal friend of George S. Patton and Lucian Truscott - along with Patton and Truscott argued for maintaining a mounted force in the Army because of its speed over ground not trafficable by wheeled or tracked vehicles. [The 1941 Louisianna War Games were designed to prove horse mounted cavalry was obsolete. It rather proved the opposite]. General Chamberlin died of cancer on 29 Sept 1944. 57 years and 24 days after Chamberlin passed from this veil of tears, on 23 October 2001, American Special Forces Soldiers entered combat in Afghanistan mounted on horses alongside the cavalrymen of General Abdul Rashid Dostum of the Northern Alliance who conducted mounted charge after mounted charge to take first Mazar-e-Sherif and then Kabul. They moved faster than infantry could move across terrain impassable to armor and where other motorized transport could not go - exactly as Chamberlin and his friends Patton and Truscott argued for more than half a century earlier. I am aware I drifted off sabers so I conclude with the truism that sharp cold steel scares people.

As a Firearms guy I will tell you that the officers argument for Sabres vs pistols is probably correct. Trying to hit a moving man-sized Target with a 1 handed pistol from the back of a galloping horse would be dicy at best. Landing a hit in a vital enough area to put the man out of action before he's cut you even morso.

I have a Reproduction 1st century Roman Gladius. While it is primarily a show piece and sits in its scabbard on display, I have it sharpened to a razors edge. One time one of my friends grabbed it and playfully started swinging it around, to which I quickly grabbed it from her and then showed her it was a real sword with a live blade. People ask me why have it sharpened and my mindset is, it’s a sword. If it was blunt then that’s just a sword “shaped” piece of metal

What is interesting I found out recently, is the US Navy taught saber use until the early 20th century, which you can see in the original Blue Jackets Manual.

The 1st Vermont Cavalry made quite a number of saber charges and there's actually record of them grinding sabers--page 569 Vermont in the Civil War "On the 13th, the regiment went into camp at "Camp Hatch," two miles from Winchester, where it remained for ten days, and the men ground sabres." There's even an account of a supporting charge by Colonel Preston on foot with sabers and, I'm assuming, pistols (?) at Gettysburg. This would in support of Farnsworth's doomed charge--page 599 Vermont in the Civil War "Preston accordingly followed Farnsworth and Wells over the stone fence, and into the open field, where he encountered an infantry regiment which had moved in to intercept the retreat of the second battalion, and a sharp contest followed. Checked by the fire in his front, Preston obliqued to the right and charged the flank of the opposing line. "The Contest," he says in his report, "became a hand to hand one, in which our sabres were effectually used. The enemy being completely cut up, surrendered in squads and were sent to the rear. Had I had two companies of carbineers at my command, I think I could have held the position and removed my wounded; but being exposed to the fire of the enemy's batteries and sharpshooters I was obliged to fall back." Here's another account at Hagerstown--page 607, Vermont in the Civil War "The latter part of the afternoon Major Wells's battalion, now reduced to less than 60 men, was ordered to charge down the Hagerstown road. The charge was made with spirit, and sabre cuts were freely given and taken, but the force was not large enough to hold the ground gained, and Wells retired, having inflicted serious injury on the enemy. In this melee Major Wells crossed sabres with a Confederate officer and received a glancing thrust in the side which passed through his clothes and scratched his skin. While so engaged in front he was attacked from behind by a trooper, received a blow across the back, and was in serious danger, when Sergeant Jerome B. Hatch, who was lying pinned to the ground by his horse which had fallen on him, disabled one of Wells's assailants by a shot from his revolver, and Wells beat off the other." And here is another charge of the 1st Vermont at Tom's Brook while under Custer's command--page 662 VCW "It is related that before he ordered the grand charge of his division, Custer rode out alone, in advance of his staff, and taking off his broad sombrero hat swept it to his knee in a knightly salute to his foe; and that Rosser from the crest beyond pointed him out to his staff, saying: "That's Custer; and I am going to give him the best whipping to-day that he ever got." Instead Rosser got the worst whipping he ever had. As soon as his brigades were fairly in position Custer attacked in one sweeping charge. It was first a walk to the skirmish line, then a trot, then a gallop, then a wild rush of shouting troopers with waving sabres and frantic horses. The charge was so sudden and rapid that the enemy's fire of artillery and small arms took little effect, and before Rosser knew what had happened, his position was carried."

Outstanding video. Just goes to show that well developed basics often carry the day: sharpen your sword and know how to use it

Great to have someone knowledgeable cite sources. I've often argued over the premise that the civil somehow proves that sabers were obsolete.... aside from the fact that swords were used in Europe up into (and even past) 1900. The US never really had a cavalry tradition of swordsmen, we had dragoons, and then called then cavalry, never fostering a swordsmanship culture. Men taking ineffective pot shots with each other with revolvers whether mounted or not, flies in the face of effective closing home with bayonet and blade in wars across the world in the same period. The Victorian British officer carried an Adam's AND an 1845 Wilkinson precisely bc the firearm didn't fully render anything but a knife in grappling obsolete until detachable box magazine fed repeating weapons.

That explains why my gr. gr. great uncles sword was never even sharpened!!! He never fought in the war as he died of camp fever literally just weeks before their first battle in the fall on ‘62. (if memory serves me correctly) I always wondered if the sword was used, or how it was used (since it’s duller than a butter knife) and watching your very informative video, it sounds like it was basically tossed aside from the moment he received it… probably why it survived and made it into my hands! Who knows!

9:07 Every army of 1914 and onwards "laughs in machinegun."

Nice fellas, looks very sharp, no pun intended.

Also, to be pointed out, in the video there is references to how "US cavalry" would beat european armies and how they were most effective in a dismounted skirmish line. To put that into context, the US Civil War was about at the same time as the Second Schleswig War and the Austro-Prussian war. So these "US cavalry" would have been up against something like prussian Jägers armed with Dreyse needle-rifles.

The British (officers at least) were fantastic with military saber. Too bad they never caught on in America.

It may have been the last sword ever used significantly in war but it certainly wasn't a new one. Horse the entire time: "OK so what're we doing?" \ __~__ /

This is fascinating as a piece of history. As opposed to the Europeans who came over to teach saber exercises to our boys in our revolutionary war, this is an interesting perspective leading up to the 20th century, where George Patton critically taught his men to practice saber exercises.

Excellent video thank you. If you happen to look back at new comments on your old videos - can I ask, have you handled a French 1822 light cavarly sabre that the US one is based on? Quite different handling characteristics (as originals) you might be intetested to feel the difference, might add to the subject vis-a-vis sabre usage at the time. Always enjoy your videos 👍.

Sergeant Ewart at Waterloo showed what even a well-sharpened straight blade could do, cleaving through the skulls of 3 opponents in one fight.

I teach historical military sabre use from around the civil war period. I mostly use British sources, but of course when i started i tried to find some American period sources. About all they showed was how to salute and carry the sabre at parade.

Very interesting.

Maybe also talk about choices of saber I know some men north and south privately purchased German made British style 1821 and 1845 swords mainly because of the steel guards

Thanks for another great video. Def a needed reprieve right about now!

Nathan Bedford Forrest understood this, he kept his M1860 light sharp as he could get it the entirety of the war, he killed 31 in hand to hand combat as a General. Much respect

True observations for sure⚔🐎

Great video bro! I am really interested in saber combat especially during the American Civil and Indian Wars. There aren’t too many stories of their use in combat during those times, but the ones that exist are amazing. Hard to believe we still fought with sabers even when firearms were prevalent

The Ames saber, especially the 1861, was ground with egregiously bad primary bevels, making it impossible to sharpen it effectively wit field equipment.

You deserve a raise

hi uncle steven this is brooklyn and me and ella’s channel

I am an old time fencer/ pre HEMA sword fighter ! And it had always confounded me as to why 1860s back . That there where not more sword dueling / fights . After all the blades where there . From former wars(1812- Mexican war) along with the number of hunting swords that had been carried from the pre rev war threw 1830s 🤔 !

I picked up a gorgeous private purchase sabre blade very much along the 1796 pattern but with a slightly heftier blade and the hand guard of the 1821 sabres with the 3 bars in front . Its become my favorite out of the collection so far as cutting goes. Im not by all means a ninja, but ive played with blades all my life and am quite good at cutting in general and il back up that guy in saying i could very easily cut a man in half with a medium to strong swing, arms and legs would offer zero resistance. Its quite an effective means to dispatch another man. Great video man, thank you

Great video. You should make some wooden sabers to practice the skill.

did anyone have files? I have a replica sword, (a windlass 1840 nco sword), and I sharpened it with a file,, it didn't take very long, and windlass are REALLY blunt if you buy them unsharpened. The front of the blade is almost as thick as the spine, there is no edge. I bought a new file, and spent about an hour, and then it was ready to be finished up in a few minutes with a new file. (really to make it fast I needed 2 brand new files, but really it would have taken about twice that if I did the whole thing with an old file, but had some filing skills)

Thanks. I've always been curious whether Hungarian officers who came over to serve as cavalry trainers did anything to teach troopers the use of the sabre in the process, as it was a weapon they of course knew very well. Got any idea where I might start to research that? TYIA.

What about Nathan Bedford Forrest? He sharpened his sword.

Oh my god. We were the Tau of the cavalry world

If you want an example of the efficacy of a sword armed cavalry charge, pressed home with determination, look no further than the charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava. 300 against 2000, charging uphill - so more of a trot.

Where is this filmed? Fort Robinson? This has got to be out West.

Union cavalryman Henry Calvert gives a different reason for having a "moderate degree of sharpness" in chapter 9 of his memoir. He wrote that "razor-like sharpness is not resorted to by civilized nations like Great Britain and the United States." He said that Admiral Napier's order to "sharpen your cutlasses" (Crimean War) was a brutal order and had no excuse, and that in the Civil War, "a captive who had a sharpened weapon in his possession was in danger of being killed on the spot like a captive wolf." Calvert's regiment (Scott's Nine Hundred/11th NY Cavalry) was primarily sabre cavalry, so his opinion is worth considering.

In classic cavalry vs cavalry yes but, in close quarters fighting with infantry armed with muskets and fixed bayonets, not so good (try it) and as the war went on, fewer charges managed to breach the lines.

11th OVC. Have you read the account of the 4th Ohio's saber charge against the 8th Texas at Murfreesboro? Major Milliken's (sp?) greatest wish was to lead a saber charge. It was his last wish--literally.

I disagree with the idea of issuing paper-cutting sharp sabers (it becomes an issue when in transport, storage etc, although proper bevelling would be a nice improvement lol), however whetstones or even simple sharpening irons are so crucial it's baffling to me they ignored this issue

Enjoyed the primary source history OVC. If practical can you comment how infantry would have used the sword or saber. LT

Even if a pistol would would be more likely to be instantly fatal a large, deep cut from a saber will incapacitate & has a different psychological effect on those who witness it than pistols. Even in modern times many people are terrified of being cut by an attacker more than they fear being shot. Perhaps this is because people get cut but likely have been or seen anyone get shot. Regardless there was certainly a fear generated by men on horses charging with long, sharp swords!

As a historical military saber fencer, this makes me very sad.

One big differance between Northern and Southern Calvary is the South Sharpened their Sabers and Yankees didn't. A Dull Saber is useless.

I own a saber dated 1864 and I can attest that it’s never had an edge.

11th OVC, it looks like you really opened a can of worms with this one!

Late in the Civil War the cavalry had no use for sabers other than in parade. The pistol was the preferred weapon.

👍👍👍

One wonders if the officers have no training and therefore not confidence in the use of a saber it is because with the quick growth of the US Army at the start of the war they were men who had no formal military training. Where did these officers come from, just civilians that joined the military. Learning the trade of war as they went. Handguns and rifles being more familiar than swords, therefore more useful. The British until the Napoleonic era had no formal training for swords either and were outclassed with them by the french. Then they came up with a training manual and got better. I wonder if you can even find a saber use manual for combat and training for the US Army?

Well presented, except for the times he says "cow-valry," but the picture it creates is amusing.

Just like the phase goes. blame the user, not the tool.

I dont understand this, the saber is so easy to learn! Maybe my years of training made it easy for me but dang bro, saber is way easy!

Where is Saber Combat: Part 2 ?

Wow, even back then the big hats did not pay attention to anything that the soldiers were saying. They just kept on throwing money at the problem until it eventually worked

I do not dispute Whitaker's comment wholesale, but these are the observations of one man. I have read many other's from the Civil War who attested the opposite conclusions. In fact, all attestations of the Battle of Brandy Station in 1863 (the largest cavalry battle in the history of North America) state that the vast majority of cavalrymen fought each other with sabers and n'er heard a shot fired.

LoL 😅 The way you said... If a force of : American (light) Cavalry, which you admitted fulfilled the role of scouts, skirmishers and mounted infantry. And a force of: French Cuirassiers, heavy cavalry that tactically fulfilled the role of shock troops and could (and had) decisively win large scale battles by charging forward after an artillery barrage, braking enemy lines and turning enemy flanks. Meet on a so called "even playing field..." the American cavalry would unfortunately lose... Honestly made me laugh because It's almost like you were gently braking this fact to an audience that never before heard of any kind of American military weakness... What makes it even more hilarious is that what you said is kinda like the military equivalent of saying. "If a pack mule and a thoroughbred racehorse meet to race on an "even played field" the pack mule would probably lose... Shocking I know... LoL 😂

Find this surprising. I mean you had six shots in your pistol. Why would you charge with so limited tools? But then Civil war cavalry were really just mounted infantry by all accounts

I have a sabre that I want to get sharpened or sharpen myself, but I want to do it right. Do you know of any sources to learn from on this?

That really is disappointing, tho gives hope for putting on a serious edge if itll drop an elephant or rhino

European cavalry with all their experience..would win in a head on.. A fight between a European power and 🇺🇸 in 1870's warfare would have be intresting..

A Sabre doesn't cut? What?

Ironic, as the saber was used to great effect by the US less than 20 years ago in the Mexican war.

i heard the south was better swordsmen then the northerners during the start of the war

A dull saber makes me sad.

Col. Mosby forbad his men to carry a saber

While I have no doubt that a lot of this is true (American settlers were never great adopters of sword fighting) this narrative has a distinct odor that you get from a lot of nineteenth century "advocacy" publications. The cited author Captain Nolan was no doubt seeking to introduce pro-sabre training reforms into the army, and we can expect that writing and publishing this book was also a career move: he was establishing himself as a professional expert in the field. Both motivations should make us treat claims like "federals never sharpened their sabres" with a very big grain of salt.

Studying the ACW is a waste of Time Generalfieldmarshall Helmuth von Moltke Chief of Staff Prussian Army What he describes Trencks pandours did with the army of Frederik II of Prussia in the 7 Years war Marching around Impressive Try to move through enemy corps

The real problem is that Americans don't know what cavalry is. Which is amply evidenced by the "effective US cavalry" being most effective when in a dismounted skirmish line. That's not cavalry. That's dragoons. Mounted infantry. And yes, European cavalry would have lost a gunnery duel with US dragoons, because European cavalry didn't do dismounted combat, they fought mounted because that's what defines cavalry. This also explains why USA today has armored cavalry and air cav. Which have no horses and fought on foot. Like infantry do, and which is what defines infantry.

horse isnt having fun

If you have a gun, use a gun. YW.

Um I'm sorry but you saying calvary over and over is driving me nuts. It's CAVALRY

Sorry, but I had to stop after a few minutes. I wouldn't trust a baker's expert knowledge if he kept calling bread "beard", and it is the same with you calling cavalry "calvary". In fact it's arguably worse, because at least the baker might have a literacy problem and still be good at baking because you can learn that from watching others do it. But if you speak of a historical subject, as you do here, your knowledge must necessarily come from books, and so not even knowing the correct name of the subject you're talking about is even more of a warning sign.

Begin saber is USA or Sweden or Russia or Italy or another.