BRITISH 1796 PATTERN HEAVY CAVALRY SWORD

This desirable Napoleonic Wars British Pattern 1796 heavy cavalry trooper's sword is maker and regimentally marked. Back of the blade is stamped by T. CRAVEN.  A Birmingham contract maker to the King's Army, Thomas Craven was active under that designation ca.1798-1803. The knuckle guard is regimentally marked:

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Blade has a faint inspector's mark at the forte. Blade was period-modified from hatchet to spear point, and appears to be identical to another Thomas Craven heavy cavalry sword blade in Richard Dellar's book on British cavalry swords. Blade is in good shape, with a nice patina. A piece of wood is missing from grip, just underneath the pommel, a weak point for many of these hilts. Inner part of the disk guard was cut short, another known feature, said to have been done to prevent the disk's edge from digging into trooper's ribs. Heavy pitting and losses to the iron scabbard, with the shoe portion most affected. This veteran may have seen action at Salamanca, Corunna and Waterloo.