Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword

The Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword was a 25-inch (64 cm) short sword with a straight double-edged blade and a brass-mounted leather scabbard.

The American Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword has a 6-inch (15 cm) solid brass hilt, a 4-inch (10 cm) crossguard, and a typically 19-inch (48 cm) long blade. This design was the first sword commissioned by the United States with the Ames Manufacturing Company of Springfield (later Chicopee), Massachusetts, beginning production in 1832. In later years it was also imported and supplied by W.H. Horstmann and Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

As a personal weapon, it was intended for use by regular or infantry regiments of the United States Army and remained in service until 1872 for infantrymen. This was a sword designed for sergeants and musicians of infantry regiments between 1832 and 1840. As most artillery regiments were trained and equipped as infantry before 1861, one gun for both units made sense. It replaced the earlier Starr sword used in the 1820s. Although the design was impractical in actual combat, it is believed that gunners used the weapon for other purposes, such as clearing brush or creating tracks. It was an effective tool for cutting trails in the Florida swamps during the Second Seminole War when it was issued to infantry sergeants, drummers and pipers. This is somewhat reinforced by the French nickname coupe choux (cabbage cutter) for their sword version.

The last Ames contract for this sword was in 1862, although it remained in the company's catalogs for decades to come. The design was based on the French infantry short sword of 1816, which was basically repeated in 1831 with small changes. The French design was based on the Roman gladius, the standard sword of Roman legionaries.

The French versions can be distinguished from the American ones by the grip pattern, the manufacturer's marks (French manufacturers include Châtellerault, St. Etienne, Talabot and Thiebaut), and the absence of American markings. Swords supplied by Ames usually had an eagle on the blade until the Mexican-American War, while swords produced in Confederate arsenals during the Civil War were usually unmarked. The Ames Model 1832 has a grip with a molded eagle and scale grip. The French versions have either patterned grips (model 1816) or ring grips (model 1831) and, like the later English models, the grip has a plain or smooth edge.