Two Saxon Sidearms, 19th C.

[Fritz]

The Saxon Faschinenmesser M.1845 has already been featured in a previous topic. The other sidearm shown is a Saxon Infanterie-Säbel M.1818. This was originally a French Infantry sabre, captured in large numbers in the Napoleonic Wars, and then adapted for re-use. In Prussia this became the standard infantry sidearm during and after the Wars of 1813-14 and 1815, and was later designated Infanterie-Säbel M.1818 (Französisch) and was in use for a good fifty years. These were also used by other states, and this example was in Saxon Services. It bears the orginal engraving of Manufr.de Klingenthal, 1814 - the scabbard was either replaced or modified. This weapon is described in the work about Saxon edged weapons by Klaus Hilbert in "Blankwaffen aus Drei Jahrhunderten" (Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1998)