The traditional “go-to” weapon of the highland clansman, the Scottish basket-hilt sword has sown fear into the hearts of enemies for centuries. Designed and manufactured long and sleek, its both single and double-edged blades and distinctive basket-hilt, combined with the traditional dirk (a long-bladed thrusting-type dagger), has proven to be more than a match for soldiers on many battlefields. The small amount of information that has been discovered about both the initial manufacturing of the weapon, including the final disposition of these killing tools at the end of the Seven Years’ War when the 78th Regiment officially disbanded, is what we find intriguing.
Nathaniel Jeffreys
Nathaniel Jeffreys (or Jeffries, Cutler to His Majesty) was first identified in documentation as a supplier of swords in 1759. Generally speaking, the coutelier, or cutler, was a manufacturer of knives, scissors, razors and other sharp instruments, usually for domestic use. Cutlers could also make sword blades, daggers, and halberds for the military, as well as surgical instruments. The weapons were made by hand, from the blade to the handle, and the manufacturing generally involved one or a combination of processes: stock removal, forging to shape, welded lamination or investment cast. Primitive weapons were made from bronze, copper, brass, iron, obsidian, and flint. [1]
In October of that year he delivered 3500 "broad swords with iron basket hilts and paste-board scabbards" at five shillings each to the Board of Ordnance, a British body first established in 1683 for the overseeing of weapons and firearms. Two years prior to his contract with the Board, he supplied swords to Colonel Fraser's 2nd Highland Battalion. And while no records exist regarding the actual manufacturing of Colonel Fraser's swords, it is thought that Jeffreys subcontracted for the finished guards, pommels, and blades from a Birmingham, United Kingdom supplier (possibly Samuel Harvey) and assembled them at his London workshop utilizing his own grips and grip coverings. [2]
Swords Identification
As discussed by Anthony Darling in his book, Swords For the Highland Regiments, 1757-1784, when identifying a particular marking on Colonel Fraser's swords (for example, when engraved on the guard is "2/60"), he writes: "...These markings indicate the 60th private of [Colonel] Fraser's second battalion company." Another example might read "3/36." This marking represents the 36th soldier of the third company. The blades of the swords are also stamped with a crowned cipher /GR/IEF/RIS, the mark of a member of the Jeffreys (or Jeffries) family of London cutlers.
Members of the Jeffreys family whose dates are known are: [3]
1763 - Daniel Jeffries: Strand
1765-1768 - Thomas Jeffries: Charing Cross
1769-1777 - Thomas Jeffries: Cockspur Street
1768-1779 - Nathaniel Jeffries: 32 Strand
Darling further explains, "...The swords of Fraser's Highlanders have guards of 'convention' form that had evolved in Scotland by c.1700 constructed of a series of vertical bars interconnected by two junction plates, two sideplates, and a flattened knuckle-bow. The ends of the three branches created by these bars fit into a groove cut into the slightly cone-shaped pommel. The plates and knuckle-bow are crudely pierced with small circles and triangles. There is a slight vertical groove at the base of each triangle so as to give the appearance of the arrowhead. The edges of these plates are not scalloped but some simple line engraving, now much worn, is in evidence. The hilt was fabricated with a wrist guard (now missing) and a double loop guard at the front."
Swords Disposition [4]
War Office 1st Dec. 1763
My Lord
The King having been pleased to sign Orders for disbanding the 78th Regiment of Foot at Glasgow in N. Britain, I have the honor to acquaint your Lordship therewith that you may be pleased to order proper Officers to collect and receive the Arms of the Non-commissioned Officers and private Men, of the said Regiment, together with the Swords of the Corporals, Drummers and private Men, which are ordered to be delivered into His Majesty's Stores of Ordnance, and to give acquittances for the same.
I have the honor to be
My Lord &c.
W Ellis
Rt. Honble the
Marquis of Granby
Master General of Ordnance &c &c &c
Swords with Known Provenance to Fraser's Highlanders, 1757-1763
The following identifications appear in a research note entitled, Swords With Known Provenance to Fraser's Highlanders, 1757-1763, written by Earl Chapman in 2009. To date (the date of this article), there are eight surviving swords with known provenance that can be traced to Colonel Fraser's 78th Foot, 1757-1763.
Mr. Chapman notes:
Swords 1-7: All have plain hilts conforming to the basic "Glasgow" style. All were manufactured by Nathaniel Jeffreys of London, c.1757. All marked "2= HB" (2nd Highland Battalion).
Sword 8: Likely a family sword of the Thompson family, Tain, Scotland.
Sword 1:
Markings: 2/60
Manufacturer: Jeffreys
Location: Whereabouts unknown
Notes: C; D; incorrect blade replacement, 38-1/2"
Sword 2:
Markings: 3/36
Manufacturer: Jeffreys
Location: Whereabouts unknown; sold by William Fagan as item 39 in his list #55 in 1991.
Notes: A
Sword 3:
Markings: 6/33
Manufacturer: Jeffreys
Location: Erik Goldstein Collection; unknown buyer (2022).
Notes: A
Auction: On April 9, 2022, this sword, described as being from the Erik Goldstein Collection, was offered for sale through an online auction website. Ten days later, on April 19, the sword sold for a record amount of $39,200 USD. https://rb.gy/k1zeh; https://rb.gy/rwviq. [Acc: August 19, 2023].
Lot 36 description of the sword is as follows:
C. 1757
Iron basket hilt with pierced circles and triangles, marked "2/HB" for the 2nd Highland Battalion, and very faintly “6 / 33” for the Company & weapon number, iron pommel, shagreen grip with spiraled wire slot, and a steel blade with a 3/4 length fuller. Marked “TB” over “C” on the quillon, for the name and location of an unknown hilt maker. Note: The backswords issued to Fraser’s 2nd Highland Battalion upon their raising at the onset of the French & Indian War are amongst the most important combat-used edged weapons of that conflict. Only a few are known today, and this example was weapon number 33 in the 6th company. Engaged at Quebec on the Plains of Abraham in September 1759, the Battalion is documented as having charged the French with their backswords drawn and having done some very nasty business with these weapons.
Blade lg. 31 7/8".Overall lg. 37 5/8"
From the collection of Erik Goldstein.
Sword 4:
Markings: 9/22
Manufacturer: Jeffreys
Location: Dean Castle, Kilmarnock (Walker Collection).
Notes: A
Sword 5:
Markings: 9/23
Manufacturer: Jeffreys
Location: Whereabouts unknown; sold to "SNG2069" on Ebay.com, 9 Apr. 2006.
Notes: A; D
Sword 6:
Markings: 9/101
Manufacturer: Jeffreys
Location: Whereabouts unknown
Notes: C; original blade
Sword: 7:
Markings: 13/2
Manufacturer: Jeffreys
Location: Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Canada
Notes: B; 31-3/4" double fullered single-edged blade; hilt marked "I or T Brown"; serjeant's pattern (unique example recorded).
Sword 8:
Markings: None
Manufacturer: Unknown
Location: Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Canada
Notes: Grenadier Serjeant James Thompson (family sword?).
Note A: Private correspondence with Erik Goldstein, Colonial Williamsburg Museum.
Note B: Anthony Darling, "Weapons of the Highland Regiments, 1740-1780."
Note C: Anthony Darling, "Weapons of the Highland Regiments, 1757-1784."
Note D: Anthony Darling, "A Relic of the First Raising (1757-1763) of Fraser's Highlanders"?
Mr. Chapman further notes two extant weapons over and above the eight previously mentioned might also exist, raising the total to 10 swords. The first of these two weapons originally belonging to Captain Malcolm Fraser, once held by Mme Thérèse-Caroline Fraser Lizotte, deceased, possibly now held by Le Manior Fraser in Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada. The second weapon originally belonging to Captain John Nairn, whereabouts unknown.
Supplemental Swords
It's worth noting that a very rare Scottish basket-hilted backsword purportedly of the Royal Highland Regiment, c.1755, sold on 25 July 2009 at Heritage Auctions online.
Auction Description [5]
Lot #981157. The form carried by enlisted men of the famed "Black Watch" during the Seven Years (French and Indian) War. 32" single edge blade with a deep narrow fuller along the back. The blade is marked 8" from the hilt with a crown over GR/Drury. Drury being an English swordsmith who had most of the contracts for Scottish military swords during this period. All iron mounted, spiral carved wood grip with a double strand of twisted iron wire. Grip perfect, wire loose but present. All iron surfaces display a coat of generally very light pitting, blade with no nicks, guard with no bends or cracks. The Black Watch, the 42nd Regiment of Foot, served in America from 1757 to 1764, including the assault on Ft. Ticonderoga in 1758, The Battle of Bushy Run in 1763, and the subjugation of the Ohio Indians in 1764. An important Scottish military sword that saw service in America in the hands of one of the most famed regiments in British military history.
Subsistence and Sword Money [6]
The official list containing 170 soldiers authorized discharge in North America at the end of the war is a combined list to establish both subsistence and sword money payments for the soldiers. Both entitlements were also a way of putting a little extra money in the pockets of these men as they began life as a civilian.
Known today as "Basic Allowance for Subsistence," this pays for the cost of a military member's meals when dining at their present duty station or in a "leave of absence" status. Since the British Army of the 18th century furnished rations while soldiers were in a "duty" status, they also paid for the meals when the men were "off-duty" and away on furlough.
"Sword money" was an entitlement paid to the men for the return of their swords at discharge. The payments benefitted the British Army, as the weapons would then be re-used as needed.
The following pay rate was established for the two entitlements.
Pay rates
14 days subsistence: 7 shillings
Sword money: 3 shillings
Although soldiers of the 78th Regiment were authorized 14 days subsistence and paid 7 shillings, by following the King's Warrant dated 1 December 1763 requiring the officers to "...collect and receive the swords of the corporals, drummers, and private men," only those three ranks received the authorized sword money stipend. The serjeants' swords were not collected and, they did not receive the entitlement. A further examination of a similar roster for the 27th Regiment of Foot indicates their serjeants were not authorized sword money payments, either. [7] One theory for the non-payment at discharge is that the serjeants could have been paid in advance for putting personal swords into government service when joining the regiment. These may have been family swords or possibly weapons procured through previous military service.
Did You Know?
On August 5th, 1757, Benjamin Lewis, a Marine stationed aboard the Royal Ann, had five shillings deducted from his wages for losing his sword. It was discovered missing during a gunner's account of weapons issued. [TNA, W.O. 47/50, p. 129].
Sources:
1. "The Cutler." https://bit.ly/3tA0GPI. [Acc: 7 February 2021].
2. Darling, Anthony D. Swords for the Highland Regiments, 1757-1784. A. Mowbray, 1988, p-13-15; 53.
3. Austin, John C. Chelsea Porcelain at Williamsburg. Colonial Williams Foundation, 1977, ch. 32.
4. War Office Records. Out Letters: Secretary at War. General Letters, Nov. 1763 - Mar. 1764. LAC, W.O. 4, vol. 74 (Selections).
5. Heritage Auctions. "Scottish basket-hilted backsword." https://bit.ly/36T1RQr. [Acc: 7 February 2021].
6. An Account of His Majesty's Royal Bounty of Fourteen Days Subsistence, and Sword Money Paid the Following Men of the 78th Regiment Discharged in America. Canada East : Provincial Secretary Letterbooks, Quebec, Lower Canada and Canada East, LAC, Microfilm C-10462. Letterbook/Copie de lettres, 1763-1771, RG 4, C 2, vol. 1.
7. Ibid., The amount of High Majesty's Royal Bounty pf 14 Days Pay, also Sword money paid to the Discharged Men of the 27th Inniskilling Regiment of Foot, Commanded by Lieutenant General Hugh Warburton whose names are undermentioned.
© Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2021.
Article last update 8 August 2023.