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MODEL 1840 HEAVY CAVALRY SABER w/ SCABBARD – 1845
dated AMES –IDENTIFIED TO LTC ROBERT H. GRAY, 22ND
NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY – VERY NICE CONFEDERATE USED
SABRE FRESH FROM THE FAMILY:
This Model 1840 Heavy
Cavalry Saber not only bears the very desirable early
date of 1845, a rare survivor of the lot of only 600
Model 1840 Sabres delivered by Ames that year, but more
significantly, this sabre belonged to Lieutenant Colonel
Robert H. Gray, commanding officer of the 22ND
North Carolina Infantry, Confederate States of America.
This sabre was recently purchased directly from a
descendant of LTC Gray, an elderly gentleman living in
East Texas who sadly has no heirs to whom the sabre
would pass, and he decided to sell it while he was still
alive to attest to the sabre’s provenance. The
gentleman stated that this Model 1840 Heavy Cavalry
Sabre belonged to LTC Gray, commanding officer of the 22ND
North Carolina Infantry, CSA, and that he carried the
sabre during the American Civil War. After the war the
colonel moved his family to Missouri where he was
employed by the University of Missouri. The sabre had
passed down through his family from direct descendant to
direct descendant, until it came into his possession.
As with so many family oral histories, details have a
tendency to become confused or blended, and are found to
differ from the historical record. While such is the
case with the history which accompanied this sabre,
fortunately having the right person conducting the
research who knew where to look and what to look for, a
compelling story of Col. Gray and his family emerged and
led to the discovery of period documentation which
traced the sabre as well.
In fact, LTC Gray was indeed the commanding officer of
the 22ND North Carolina Infantry Regiment.
In June of 1861, Gray raised a company of Randolph
County volunteers named the “Uwharrie Grays”, (aka the
Uwharrie Rifles) which became Company L of the 12TH
North Carolina Infantry and shortly thereafter Gray was
elected as the commanding Captain of the company.
Between August and November of 1861 the 12TH
Regiment was reorganized as the 22ND North
Carolina Infantry.
The 22ND was
assigned to Seales Brigade, Wilcox’s Division, A.P.
Hill’s Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
Soon
after the Battle of Seven Pines, James Connor of South
Carolina was elected colonel of the regiment and Gray
was elected as lieutenant-colonel, the promotions dated
June 14, 1862. Conner was severely wounded at
Mechanicsville on June 26TH and Gray assumed
command of the regiment.
Gray distinguished
himself in a number of battles, to include Ellison’s
Mill, Cold Harbor and Gaines Mill, with his conduct and
successes on the field being specifically noted by
Generals Pender and A.P. Hill in after action reports,
and later in post war unit histories.
Gray was suffering from a persistent infection of
typhoid fever, and in the late summer of 1862 he was
sent home to Randolph County on convalescence leave.
Absent for less than sixty days, he returned to his
regiment before he was completely recovered and was
present for the Battle of Fredericksburg in December.
The ensuing battle and the hardships of the winter
encampment took its toll, with Gray’s condition
continuously worsening and on the March 16, 1863 he
succumbed to the disease at Camp Gregg, Virginia. His
remains were transported to North Carolina and he was
interred at the Hopewell United Methodist Church
cemetery in Randolph Co.
Gray was a native of North Carolina, born in Randolph
County in 1831 to General Alexander Gray and his second
wife, Sarah Harper. The colonel’s willingness to serve
his state during the war, and his evident courage and
leadership in the field were well founded in his
family’s heritage. His father’s rank of general
originated with the elder’s command of North Carolina
militia during the War of 1812, and his maternal
grandfather, Jeduthan Harper’s service as a colonel
during the American Revolution.
After graduating from Davidson College in 1851, Gray
returned home to assume a leadership role on his
family’s plantation. He married Martha E. Horney, also
of Randolph County, in 1858, and to the couple were born
two sons – Alexander Horney Gray in 1858 or 1859, and
Robert Harper Gray on June 14, 1861.
Many of the Civil War casualties were interred where
they fell, immediately after their death.
Uncharacteristically the colonel’s remains were not only
returned home to his family, but this was arranged
immediately following his passing, which undoubtedly
served to allay some of his family’s grief, and also
served to preserve his personal effects.
As a result of an extensive research effort, two key
documents were located which explain how the colonel’s
sabre survived to be passed to his heirs. The
colonel’s brother, Julius A. Gray, served as the
executor of his will and the guardian of his two sons.
Included in the will (in excess of 90 pages long), is a
statement written by Julius that he received from the
colonel’s executive officer (and the regiment’s new
commanding officer), Major Christopher C. Cole, an
accounting of the colonel’s property which had been
secured at Camp Gregg. This accounting included a
horse, two saddles and a “military bridle”, indicating
the colonel was mounted while commanding the 22ND.
That Maj. Cole transmitted this inventory to Julius
indicates a concerted effort was made to preserve the
colonel’s personal campaign equipment for his family.
In the process of executing the colonel’s will and
settling the estate, Julius prepared an extensive and
detailed inventory. While there were the various
accountings of holdings, property, debts and liabilities
paid, there is a specific document titled, “Inventory of
the Real and Personal property of Alexander and Robert
H. Gray, Minors…”, listing the property which was
inherited by the two sons upon the passing of their
father. In addition to a 300 acre tract and several
slaves, the list includes the entry, “one sword”.
This is the only “sword” listed in the colonel’s
property.
The colonel’s military experience was limited to his
service with the 22ND and his need for a
sword, or sabre, would have been limited to his war
service. That only the one sword was listed in his
estate is fairly compelling evidence that this Heavy
Cavalry Sabre was that very “sword”.
In 1868, the colonel’s widow, Martha E. H. Gray, married
J.A.C. Brown, a physician, and in the 1870 U.S. Census,
the family, including Alexander and Robert H. Gray
(Jr.), were recorded living in Dresden, Pettis County,
Missouri. The 1880 census lists the family in Sedalia,
Missouri, with the two sons still residing with their
mother and step father.
Martha had three more children with Dr. Brown, continued
to live in Pettis County, Missouri, and passed away in
1893. While not much is known of Alexander H. Gray’s
life, he apparently remained in Pettis Co. and died
there in 1912 at the age of 54. Both mother and son,
having preceded the younger son Robert, were interred in
the local South Fork Cemetery.
Robert H. Gray (Jr.) lived a considerably longer life
and left a more detailed record of his accomplishments –
some of which account for the family history associated
with this sabre.
Completing his education at local seminaries and
colleges, Robert was gainfully employed as the Pettis
County Clerk, in banking in Centralia, Mo., as the
manager of at least two manufacturing firms – one in
Dallas, Texas and one in Mexico, served as the
Postmaster of Boone County, Mo., and was a manager for
an insurance company. By 1896, Robert had returned to
Columbia, Mo. and married Exie Mitchell of Boone
County. It is during this period of Robert’s life that
the final piece of the family history of the sabre falls
into place. In 1909 Robert became the auditor and
accountant for the University of Missouri.
As the last living heir to his father’s estate, it is
almost a certainty that the sabre had passed to Robert.
That he bore the same name as his father explains how
the family history combined the elder Robert’s Civil War
record with his son’s employment at the university, and
the descendants began to believe they were one in the
same.
Robert (Jr.) and his wife Exie had two daughters who
survived them – Mrs. Thomas W. Parry, Jr., and Francis
Mitchell Duvall, both of Missouri. Both women appear to
have spent their lives in Missouri. A son, Robert
Mitchell Gray was born in 1900, but only lived for six
months. How the sabre descended to the family member
here in Texas with the history of its origin intact is
not known, however there are a number of Duvall’s in
that immediate area of Texas and therein may lie the
family link.
That this sabre was designed for, and intended for use
by dragoons does not alone preclude its use by an
infantry officer. As with all of the other pieces of
uniform, equipment, and weapons, the officers were
expected to outfit themselves at their own expense.
While there were conventions dictated by the regulations
of the period, a considerable amount of latitude was
afforded the officer and his preferences and financial
situation dictated his choices as much as (if not more
so) the regulations. When the war began, the southern
states had a considerable amount of military equipment
stored in federal arsenals, and the state militias had
been receiving regular issues of equipment from federal
stocks under the various Militia Acts, so this sabre
could very well have been in North Carolina at the
outbreak of hostilities. Finally, while the pre-war
1850 regulations called for company grade officers to
carry the Foot Officers Sword and Field and Regimental
Staff officers were to carry the General Staff Sword, by
1861 Col. H.L. Scott, Inspector General of the Army,
observed that mounted officers of Artillery and Infantry
were carrying the Mounted Artillery Sabre. The
“Instructions for Making Quarterly Returns of Ordnance
and Ordnance Stores” dated 1863 included “Sabres, Staff
and Field Officers” in the list, indicating sabres were
being carried by senior infantry officers.
The Confederacy - be it the government or the individual
officers - did not have the finances to support the
array of sabre options available to the federal
officers, but the practicality of carrying a heavy sabre
when mounted no doubt occurred to the southern officers
as it had to their northern counterparts. For that
matter, mounted or afoot, the Heavy Cavalry Sabre would
be a far more substantial weapon than the lighter Foot
Officer’s Sword.
Manufactured by the Ames Sword Company and so marked on
the ricasso of the blade with legible stampings as clear
as the day they were struck, “N.P. Ames, Cabotville,
1845” and on the reverse. “US" and the inspector's
initials "NWP”.
The pommel cap is legibly
inspected, “WAT” for Capt. William Anderson Thornton and
“NWP” for Nahum Patch.
The blade surface is very smooth and overall bright and
clean, with minor, light scattered discoloration
commensurate with the age of this sabre. The edge has
two minor nicks on the upper third of the blade, again
in character with the age and long service life of this
sabre. The nicks are shown below in the photographs –
typical of the edge wear that occurred in service and
not the result of abuse or mishandling, nor do they
detract from the overall appearance of the blade. The
tip of the blade has retained the original profile and
length.
The guard has a very nice naturally aged patina, and is
full form with no misshaping or breaks.
The grip shows the most
wear of any feature of this sabre, suggesting wear and
exposure in the field. The majority of the leather
covering on the grip is intact, missing a section, two
grooves in width on the left side and five grooves on
the right side, and confined to the top of the grip
where the thumb would rest. The remaining leather is
solid and tight on the grip and is lightly crazed. The
wire wrap is missing on the majority of the grip, with
the last four wraps leading under the pommel cap still
intact. The leather washer is present between the blade
and the guard. The grip could be easily restored, but
in light of the association to LTC Gray and the sabre’s
probable use during the war, that decision will be left
to a future owner.
The scabbard is full form, with a complete throat, both
carrying rings, a solid seam with no splits, a drag in
the original shape with no excessive wear, and has an
overall naturally aged smooth brown color.
The upper ring is struck
with an inspector's initial signifying the scabbard had
been accepted. The surface of the scabbard has a
consistent surface with very light pitting, but no heavy
corrosion.
In its own right - that this Ames Model 1840 Heavy
Cavalry Sabre bears the first year of production date
and that it was manufactured in the year immediately
before the onset of the Mexican War - this scarce sabre
is very evocative of the early expansion era, the active
campaigning of the Mounted Rifles and Dragoons on the
Frontier, and the occupation of the areas of the
Southwest then recently ceded to the United States. The
additional value that attaches from the identification
to a Confederate officer who commanded his regiment
during a number of key battles, and perished during the
war makes this a very special sabre. Not a “hothouse
rose” that waited out the conflicts of our Nation’s
growth in a supply depot, this blade is one that
certainly witnessed history of a scope than we can only
imagine. The desirable maker, the early date of
manufacture and the provenance to Colonel Gray all
combine to present this saber as a very historic and
desirable acquisition. These identified sabres do not
surface often, and once retired from the market into a
collection, it will lie quietly for many years to come.
SOLD
NOTE: The research and
supporting documentation for the above described
biographical information on LTC Gray and his family will
accompany the sale of his sabre, to include:
* Copies of LTC Gray’s service
and pension records;
* Historical accounts of the
22ND North Carolina Infantry Regiment which
include information on LTC Gray;
* Transcription of a letter
written by LTC Gray to his father in July of 1862;
* Photographs of LTC Gray, his
wife and sons;
* Photograph of LTC Gray’s
tombstone;
* Photocopies of portions of
LTC Gray’s will, estate property listings and documents
related to the history of this sabre;
* Obituary published December,
1863 reporting the death of LTC Gray;
* Burial records and images of
the tombstones of the colonel’s wife and two sons;
* Obituary reporting the
passing of Robert H. Gray (Jr.) detailing his life;
* US Census Records
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