Description
French Cuirassier Sword – Year XIII Pattern, Klingenthal Manufacture
This example is a French cuirassier heavy cavalry sword of the Year XIII pattern, produced at the state manufactory in Klingenthal under the direction of the Coulaux family. The Year XI (1802) and subsequent Year XIII (1804) patterns were developed during the Napoleonic period to standardize the arming of heavy cavalry regiments, and they remained in production into the post-Imperial years.
The blade is of regulation form, broad and straight, double-edged at the tip, and struck with the Klingenthal inspection and manufacture marks. Both hilt and blade were produced at Klingenthal, reflecting the centralized French system of arms production in Alsace. This pattern was manufactured in substantial numbers, with 54,640 examples produced between 1800 and 1816.
This sword retains its proper 1816 pattern scabbard, introduced following the Bourbon Restoration. The scabbard is of steel construction with twin suspension rings, showing the shift in French cavalry equipment after the fall of Napoleon. The blade itself also reflects the 1816 modification to the point, in which the tip was re-ground from the earlier “hatchet” style to a spear point, improving thrusting capability in line with contemporary doctrines.
The hilt is the regulation brass four-bar guard of the Year XIII type, with integral knuckle bow, langets, and cap pommel. Its form and weight demonstrate the emphasis placed on shock cavalry during the Napoleonic era, when cuirassiers were employed in dense formations as decisive battlefield units.
Taken as a whole, this sword illustrates both the continuity and modification of French heavy cavalry arms from the Empire through the Restoration. It is a representative and well-documented example of the Year XI/Year XIII family of cuirassier swords as standardized and produced at Klingenthal.
