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An example of a French M. 1803 infantry sabre, which was captured during the Napoleonic Wars 1813-1815, and re-issued. Large numbers of captured French weapons were re-issued by Prussia and some of the other German states. This example is clearly of original French manufacture. The back of the blade has the typical engraving: Manufr. Royale de Klingenthal, Avril 1814 - this was during the 100 day period, when Napoleon was in exile, and the Bourbon Monarchy under Louis XVIII. temporarily restored, so therefore this weapon must have been captured in 1815. Apart from the engraving on the back of the blade, there are marks on the knucklebow of Versailles and a "B" stamp, presumably Bertrand. The scabbard is either orginal or re-worked and has a German type of frog fitting, and is stamped with a "J" under crown, being König Johann von Sachsen. The tip of the scabbard has had the ball end re-worked into a symetrical square shape with a stamped "M" to the underside. The upper scabbard fitting has just above the button an "O" stamp. Weapons of this type were later used by most European armies, with the exception of Britain and Austria. This weapon was obviously used by the Saxon army till about 1873. A unit designation on the rear of the crossguard has been filed out. Has been described in the book about Saxon edged weapons by Klaus Hilbert, Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1998