British Infantry Sword, ‘1742’ Model.

This was the main sidearm of the British Army in the Mid 18th Century. A sword of the ‘Hanger’ type, the short 25” blade is slightly curved, single-edged blade. The heart shaped hilt is entirely cast in brass with the grip cast in a spiral pattern. This type of weapon was used extensively by private soldiers and sergeants during the wars with France in the early 18th century and during the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion including the battle of Culloden. This model is sometimes referred to as the ‘American Sword’ as it was supplied in large quantities to the American colonies by the British Government. Due to this many of them stayed in American hands and it became widely used by the American Revolutionaries.   This was found in a garden in Auchinleck, near Cumnock and may have belonged to one of the local militia or even to a soldier from the Earl of Loudoun's Regiment who formed part of the Government forces which faced the Jacobites at Culloden.  Little more than the brass hilt survives of this particular weapon as the steel blade has fared less well over it's time spent in the ground.