Although by the time of the Civil War the use of swords as a military weapon was becoming obsolete, some cavalry units continued to carry them as standard issue.  Swords also retained their honorary status of denoting rank, thus separating the officers from the enlisted men.  With these purposes in mind, Tennessee contracted with manfacturers for the production of swords as a part of the state's war mobilization effort.  Since raw materials were at a premium, some manufacturers, such as the Nashville Plow Works, seem to have taken the Biblical command of "Beat your plowshares into swords...." (Joel 3:10) quite literally, turning previously produced plowshares into weapons of war.

The following table represents our initial effort to identify saber/sword manufacturers in Tennessee.  As research proceeds, additional information will be added to enhance the comprehensiveness and detail of this aspect of Tennessee's Technological and Industrial heritage
 
 

(Thanks to Nathan Kinser, assistant to the Research Coordinator, for the saber/sword manufacturers research used in this page.)

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Last update:  February 13, 2001