The Secret and Stylish History of George Washington's Swords

Washington's swords fall into four distinct categories: gentlemanly small swords, often referred to as dress swords; custom-ordered cutting swords, known as cuttoes or hangers; regulation military arms; and presentation or commemorative pieces. Although each of these sidearms was edged and potentially deadly, they were worn principally for social display. As Erik Goldstein notes in his authoritative The Swords of George Washington, the "role as a weapon took a backseat to its overall form and decorative appearance....Primarily, each one was a fashionable display of masculinity and an integral part of a gentleman's or military officer's attire." 

The narrow and sharp silver-hilted smallword was lighter and easier-to-maneuver and designed to be both practical and ornamental, with etched decorations of scrolling vines and interlaced ribbons on the blade, complementing a gilded silver hilt - a conspicuous update to Washington's wardrobe. 

Two other swords surviving from Washington's Revolutionary War service are know as hangers, or cuttoes after the French word couteau, for knife. As the name implies, this sidearm evolved from hunting knives, with a single-edged blade that was useful for either cutting or thrusting.    

In his July 1799 will, Washington stipulated that each of his five nephews was to receive "one of the Swords or Cutteaux of which I may die possessed; and they are to chuse in the order they are named." It is suggested that he owned at least 11 swords. After the General's death, his assemblage of swords, acquired over the five decades of his adult life, was dispersed among his heirs, extended relations, and their descendants- with four ultimately returning home to Mount Vernon between 1184 and 1924. 

Each of the surviving swords has been revered, displayed, and described, but almost always as an individual object, isolated from its fellows.