Preserving and Sharing Rhode Island History
If you weren’t able to watch the PBS documentary “A Stitch in Time” on it’s original May 29 air date, we’ve got you covered!
Follow the link to watch this fascinating half-hour documentary showing the journey of America’s oldest colonial militia flag, from the First Company of Bristol County Militia in the 1690s to the present day, as it undergoes delicate conservation at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum under the eye of an expert textile conservator.
There are few military exercises as thrilling as the charge of a cavalry unit, sabers flashing as they face off against the enemy. Of course, with today’s advanced military weaponry, the saber or sword has been relegated to ceremonial use.
However, as recently as the early days of World War II, you could have witnessed a cavalry charge. Two such events, considered to have been the last of them, took place in 1942. In January, the U.S. 26th Cavalry mounted a charge and scattered a group of Japanese troops in a skirmish on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines (later, the starving cavalrymen were forced to eat their horses as they fought against superior enemy forces). On August 23 (or 24), a unit of Italian cavalry using sabers and hand grenades conducted a successful charge against Soviet troops armed with machine guns and mortars in a battle along the Don River.
In the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum collection, we have an outstanding representation of American and foreign saber evolution. Among them is the last American design: the M1913 Army model, designed and advocated by none other than General (at the time, Lieutenant) George S. Patton, Jr. His design, in the strict sense, is a sword and not a saber since it employs a straight (rather than curved) blade. It was based on the British M1908 weapon. Patton’s relatively lightweight saber uses a large, basket-shaped hilt and a double-edged straight blade designed for thrusting at an opponent, rather than the slashing motion used in a traditional saber attack. The blade is 35.25-inches long and the overall weight is 2 pounds, 13 ounces.
In the early 20th century, the U.S. Army had decided to replace the cavalry saber model that had been in use since 1861 (see below). At the time, Patton, a passionate believer in the power of the saber, was “Master of the Sword” at the Mounted Service School, at Fort Riley, Kansas.
A highly accomplished swordsman who had competed in the Olympics and trained in Europe where he perfected his aggressive thrust attack pattern, George Patton was known among his peers as “Saber George.” On his return from training with the best fencing master in Europe, Monsieur Clery, Patton told the Army’s Adjutant General, “The whole French system of mounted saber fencing is concentrated in the word, ‘attack!’” (Napoleon at the Battle of Wagram, before the cavalry of the guard passed in review prior to a charge, the French Emperor called to them, “Don’t Cut! The Point! The Point!”. In other words, attack your enemy with your saber. That single word “Attack!” would become synonymous with Patton’s entire Army service.
While at Fort Riley, Patton designed a radical new weapon and prepared a detailed training manual for its mounted and dismounted use. The official manual he authored in 1914 outlined both mounted and dismounted saber techniques emphasizing the aggressive “cut and thrust” attack. With his typical assertive style, he managed to have his saber approved for general issue.
Quoting from then Lieutenant Patton’s report:
“In the Peninsula War the English nearly always used the sword for cutting. The French dragoons, on the contrary, used only the point which, with their long straight swords caused almost always a fatal wound. This made the English protest that the French did not fight fair. Marshal Saxe wished to arm the French cavalry with a blade of a triangular cross section so as to make the use of the point obligatory. At Wagram, when the cavalry of the guard passed in review before a charge, Napoleon called to them, ‘Don’t cut! The point! The point!’”
The saber commonly used by U.S. Cavalry units up until the acceptance of Patton’s saber was the M1906, which had changed little from the curved weapons carried by U.S. cavalry units in the American Civil, Western Indian, and Spanish-American Wars. In 1846, the preferred weapon of Army officers was the saber and West Point cadets were drilled in its use. The Varnum Memorial Armory Museum is also home to a Model 1872 officer’s saber, which is representative of the style of weapon that immediately preceded the implementation of Patton’s design.
But the Patton weapon did not have a long use. At the beginning of the American involvement in World War I, several U.S. cavalry units armed with the M1913 were sent to the front, but they were held back. Horse-mounted troops were easy prey for enemy troops equipped with Gewehr 98 rifles and MG08 machine guns (examples of both are also in the Varnum Armory collection). Those cavalrymen who saw combat did so dismounted, using their horses only to travel.
Although an avid swordsman, Patton readily recognized that warfare was rapidly changing. He adapted his style of “move forward and attack” to his use of tanks in battle, a technique that became his trademark combat style in World War II. Patton had gone to war as an aide to General Pershing with whom he had also fought in the pre-war punitive action against Mexican outlaws. The fiery Patton was not interested in a rear echelon position and was able to secure a role in organizing the Army’s tank warfare program. Wounded in action, he successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of the tank in battle and ended the war as a Lieutenant Colonel. Typical of Patton, he visualized the future role of armor in warfare and continued to advocate for its use between the two world wars. (On a side note, Patton joined with Dwight D. Eisenhower in the early development of tank warfare during and after World War I.
The Patton Saber in the Varnum Armory Museum collection is 44-inches long overall, hilt to blade tip. The blade is two-edged, straight and tapered, and made of forged steel. The front edge runs the whole length of the blade and is double-edged for half its length. It has bloodletting grooves running down each side of the blade to within 4 ¾ inches of the point. The grips are hard black rubber. The basket guard is sheet steel. The hickory wood scabbard is covered with rawhide and waterproofed olive drab canvas, woven to eliminate a seam. Considering the weight of the bell and grip assembly, it is balanced much closer to the hand than the typical weapon associated with the name “cavalry saber,” reinforcing Patton’s intention that it was to be used to thrust, rather than slash at an opponent (Remember, “The point! The point!”). However, Patton himself never had the opportunity to use his weapon in battle.
The Model M1913 was also known as the Enlisted Cavalry Saber and between 1913 and 1918, the Springfield (Massachusetts) Armory produced over 35,000 units. These were marked “SA” and carried a serial number. Only a few thousand of these remain and are avid sought by militaria collectors. Another 93,000 were produced by a civilian contractor, Landers, Frary, and Clark between 1917 and 1918. These carry no serial number but are marked with the letters LF&A to distinguish them. At the outbreak of World War II, many of the Patton Swords were cut up for use as trench knives by soldiers and drop knives used by OSS agents. These weapons are also collectable.
In 1934, the Adjutant General’s office discontinued issuing the saber to the cavalry. Its days as a military weapon were over. Despite strong lobbying by many supporters including Patton, who tried valiantly in 1938 to keep the weapon in use, the decision was made just prior to the start of World War II to place the majority of sabers in storage and use them only for ceremonial purposes. In 1941, the Springfield Armory was already gearing up for massive production of the Army’s Garand rifle.
As noted, Patton went on to polish his reputation as a commander who transferred his assertive saber technique to the fast-moving armored warfare through the course of World War II. He replaced his saber with his trademark ivory handled pistols. Always at the head of his commands, Patton was instrumental in giving the Army armor its nickname of “hell on wheels.”
Today, in the hands of a trained expert, the saber still presents a powerful reminder of its role in war. The “Master of the Sword” still exists in the U.S. Army. At the West Point Military Academy, the head of the Department of Physical Education who is responsible for both an academic and non-academic physical program carries the title. Patton held the title at Fort Riley simultaneously to the officer assigned to the role at West Point where the “Master” or MOSH as he (or she) is known, has existed since the academy’s first Master of the Sword, Pierre Thomas, was appointed in 1814. And, yes, a woman has held the position. Col. Maureen LeBoeuf served as MOSH between 1997 to 2004.
The entire Varnum Memorial Armory Museum collection of swords and sabers, including the Patton Saber, can excite the imagination, calling to mind the skill and training required to successfully use these weapons in combat as well as their use as ceremonial accessories.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK A TOUR AND SEE ALL OF OUR SWORDS AND SABERS!
 | “War As I Knew It” by George S. Patton |
 | “Saber Exercise 1914” by Lt. George S. Patton Jr. |
 | “Diary of the Instructor in Swordsmanship” by George S. Patton Jr. |
 | “George S. Patton: An Outstanding General. The Entire Life Story. Biography, Facts & Quotes” by The History Hour |
 | “George S. Patton: On Guts, Glory, and Winning” by Gary L. Bloomfield |
 | “Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945” by Martin Blumenson |
 | “Patton: Blood, Guts, and Prayer” by Michael Keane |
 | “Patton: Ordeal and Triumph“ by Ladislas Farago |
 | “I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals” by Robert L. Wise |
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Wrapped in newspaper for about 140 years and kept on a dirt floor garage in Daytona, Florida, this American Civil War cap had bits of paper fused to the heat-melted cap visor. It was in pretty rough shape when it arrived at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum.
This artifact was worn by T. Fred Brown of Battery B 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery during the U.S. Civil War. Our textile conservator, Maria Vazquez, has done extensive work to recover this piece from over a century of poor storage. We’re excited to put this on display when the restoration is completed.
This Grand Army of the Republic Post 6 guidon has just been reunited with one of its former commanders, Lyman Aylesworth, at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum. This American Civil War flag was acquired thanks to generous donations from our Facebook friends. Thank you! This guidon will be professionally conserved and mounted for display. Reno Post was located at the Kentish Guards Armory in East Greenwich, RI.
Interestingly, when we acquired this artifact via auction, we assumed that there was one flag in the plastic sleeve. It turns out that there were in fact two of these silk flags within the sleeve. As two-fer-one deals go, this worked out well for us!
Tired and tempted to just throw it all away, I stuck my hand one more time into a large moldy cardboard box filled with random receipts, notes, and other mid-20th-century detritus. It had belonged to one of our founding members who had long since passed. Digging through this old box was part of a (still on-going) gargantuan effort to properly re-pack everything in storage at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum located at 6 Main St. here in East Greenwich, RI.
Anyway, I grabbed another fistful of paper from the box. But, this time, my fingers felt something… different… OLD paper? I carefully pulled it out. This was clearly 18th-century paper and it appeared to be a letter. Torn in four pieces, the fragile document had been crudely glued to a more modern piece of white paper. What I read, blew my mind.
The following transcription contains the letter’s original spelling, punctuation, and grammar:
“Windham January 18th 1781
Onered Master & Mistress I take this opportunity to inform you of my citiation att this time & desire your ade = after I drove 3 waggons as far as Windham I hade waggoner tookaway my badge of driving & ordered me to gard ye waggons which I refused & turned back to colonel green att Covintree & ye wagoner sent back two men after me Ye Colonal did not blame me but told ye men and me to go on again & that I should take my waggon again but being over worried with this tramp I got but 3 miles further than where I left ye waggons in So. Windham att ye house of one Dan Murdock where I have been confined with my old fits But have good care taken of me But I have a desire to Return to you Not having any money Nor Clows fit to wair & all strangers to me makes it something difficult for me I have had a Doctor and a Surgans mate to me which advize me to go to xxx corps of invalids at Boston where I may be under half pay During Life Remaining in this poor State of Body But I ante able to go thether Neither do I incline to with out advice from you But I have a desire that Master or Mistress would go to Colonel Green & see if you cant git me Discharged from ye War, it being very Disagreabell to my mind as well as Destructive to my helth I suppose I could ride on a horse or att least in a Slay if you could obtain a Discharge for me So that I may Return to my Master and his family again baring[?] the will of god & your pleasure So No more att this time But I Remain your humble & dutiful Thomas ‘N’ His mark
December 31 1780 These lines I recv’d from ye Surgeon’s mate where as Thomas Nickols a soldier belonging to ye first Regiment in Rhode Island State hath been for some time attended with fits in this place & still likely to Remain unfit for military life”
Freed from enslavement in exchange for his service in Colonel Christopher Greene’s First Rhode Island Regiment, African American Thomas Nichols had written (by dictating to an unknown person) this letter to his former “master and mistress”, Benjamin & Phoebe Nichols of Warwick, RI. They owned a farm near the town line with East Greenwich at the time. Thomas is asking for their help in getting a discharge from service since the Revolutionary War had been, as he said, “very disagreeable to [his] mind as well as destructive to [his] health.” Thomas signs the letter with his mark, “N”, making it clear that he had dictated it to someone else. Perhaps the scribe was the surgeon’s mate, who is mentioned at the end of the letter as having received “these lines” and noting that Thomas is unfit for continued military service and will likely remain so into the future. It’s not clear if “these lines” refer to the preceding or subsequent content (or both?). I think “these lines” refers to the statement starting with “whereas…”.
Sadly, Thomas would not be granted a discharge. Instead, he was transferred on March 1, 1781 to the Corps of Invalids – at half pay – then located at Boston, MA. The Invalid Corps was created as a means for sick or wounded soldiers to continue to serve (mostly as guards) if their condition was deemed not too severe. Although both a doctor and surgeon’s mate had suggested he go to the Invalid Corps, Thomas said he didn’t want to go without first getting advice from his former master. However, we do not know if Benjamin or Phoebe Nichols ever responded to his plea for help. What happened to Thomas after his transfer is also not known. What did he do in the Invalid Corps? Did he survive the Revolutionary War? Did he return home and live out his life as a free man? Did he marry and have a family? Are there direct descendants alive today? I’m still hoping to find answers to these questions and more.
We do know that Thomas became free from enslavement when he enlisted into the 1st Rhode Island Regiment on May 22, 1778 at Warwick, RI. He went through training and drill in East Greenwich, RI. After the devastation of the Philadelphia campaign and the long winter at Valley Forge, General James Mitchell Varnum of East Greenwich had presented to General Washington a plan to raise more troops in Rhode Island by granting freedom to enslaved people in exchange for their service. Washington did not oppose the plan. The Rhode Island General Assembly soon put it into law and included a provision to pay slaveholders for the loss of their “property”. The policy to allow “every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian man slave” to serve turned out to be quite unpopular. And so, the policy was ended in June of that same year. With only this small window of opportunity, less than 200 African Americans ended up serving in the unit.
Just 3 months after enlisting, Thomas would experience his first, and probably last, combat at the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29. After a failed attempt to besiege Newport and force the evacuation of the Crown forces from Aquidneck Island, American forces began withdrawing to the north. The green, untested 1st Rhode Island Regiment played a role in helping to hold off attacks by British and Hessian forces as the main American force under General Sullivan’s command retreated. The 1st Rhode Island had 3 men killed, 9 wounded, and 11 were missing in action. Thomas Nichols was among the wounded. How he was wounded and how severely is unknown. This combat experience may very well be the explanation for the mentions of his “old fits”. Perhaps there was some sort of neurological damage caused by a Crown musket ball. And/or maybe the experience left him mentally affected. He did say specifically that “War [was] very disagreeable to [his] mind…”.
This letter, written 2 years after the Battle of Rhode Island, is emotionally charged. He pitifully says he has “no money nor clothes fit to wear”. And reading that everyone is a stranger to him leaves me with the impression he is feeling helpless, scared, and alone. You can’t help but feel sad for Thomas’s plight and his desperate wish to go home. How bad could things have been for him to wish he could “return to [his] Master”? Did Thomas know whether this meant returning to a state of enslavement? Was he suffering from PTSD?
Historical letters and documents can raise more questions than they answer sometimes. Regardless, this ragged old little piece of paper gives us an incredibly rare and unique view inside the life of a Black soldier serving and fighting for the American cause in its War of Independence. Roughly 7,000 African Americans served that cause between 1775 and 1783.
It is worth noting that very little material culture and written records exist today from the Revolutionary War compared to more recent military conflicts. This lack of primary source material makes it much more difficult for us to have a full and accurate understanding of our shared birth and national development as Americans. As you might imagine, there is even less original source material related to the experiences of people of color and their important contributions during this period. Because of all this, we believe that this letter a national treasure.
This astoundingly rare artifact highlighting the horrors, misery, and drudgery of war has been conserved by a professional document conservator and properly framed for long-term display. This work was generously funded by the Rhode Island Sons of the American Revolution. It is now on display in our 18th Century Room at the Varnum Armory Museum.