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Nathan Starr Cavalry Saber, Contract of 1812-1813 (HLP 29)
This ugly saber was manufactured by N. Starr of Middleton, Conn. The saber is marked “HHP (Henry H. Perkin) / P (Proved) / N. Starr”, on the obverse side of the blade. The Federal Government let contracts for the first swords made for enlisted men to Nathan Starr. These swords are called “Starr Sabers” and are very rare. Henry H. Perkin proved many of the Starr sabers. The sabers of 1812-1813 are recognized by the sharper curve of the blade and the pronounced angle of the hilt. The hilt has an iron knuckle-bow with a backstrap, and is marked with a “P”. The wooden grips are carved with circular grooves. The scabbard is iron, japanned black, with two carrying rings and a rounded tip. The scabbard has the appearance of having been rust covered, but the surface is uniformly rough. Probably, this was to prevent light from reflecting from the surface.
A story has been told to explain why so few of these sabers have survived. “They say” that many of the swords were cut short after the fall of the Alamo. Jim Bowie became a national hero and there was a great demand for
Bowie knives like the large fighting knife carried by Jim Bowie. The sabers were cut and changed.
Nathan Starr served this country well. Harold L. Peterson, in his book, “The American Sword 1775-1945”, page 268, wrote:
Nathan S. Starr was born in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1755 and died in 1821. In 1776 he was appointed armorer to Colonel Sage’s regiment of Connecticut militia. He also did other armorer’s work for the state. In 1798 he received his first contract for swords from the Federal Government. He produced these swords in partnership with Francis Sage and his son Wilbert under the firm name of N. Starr Sc Co. The 1798 saber was the only sword produced by this firm. All others were made by Starr with the help of his son, Nathan, Jr., who was born in 1784. The Starrs made sabers for the United States in 1798, 1812-1813, and 1818, cutlasses in 1799, 1808, 1816 and 1826, and noncommissioned officers’ swords in 1813 and 1818. They also made boarding pikes in 1808.
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