Arms, Armor and Militaria

36" curved single-edge blade with a 28.5" unstopped median fuller, blade 1.1" wide at ricasso. 42.25" in overall length with a 6.25" hilt. Gilt brass two branch guard with knuckle bow with chased floral motifs and a drooped wing eagle on the pommel cap. Spine with weak Klingenthal maker's mark. Blade etched with flowing floral, foliate and martial themes. Brass mounted steel scabbard with German silver presentation plaque applied to the obverse between the upper mount and the throat. The engraved plaque reads: Presented to Col. Albert G. Brackett NINTH ILLINOIS CAVALRY/by the officers of his Regiment at Camp Douglas/Chicago, Illinois, October 26th 1861. The sword is accompanied by a massive binder of research about Brackett and his career, copies of service records, etc.

Albert Gallatin Brackett (1829-1896) was born in Cherry Valley, NY and moved to Indiana in 1846. He served as a 1st lieutenant in the 4th Indiana Volunteer Infantry as part of Lane's Brigade during the Mexican American War and fought at Huamantla, Puebla, and Atlixco. He was discharged in 1848. He then pursued a career in the military and in 1855 was made a captain in the 2nd US Cavalry, which spent most of its pre-Civil War service fighting Comanches on the Texas frontier. The 2nd US Cavalry included a number of officers who would become Confederate generals, including Robert E Lee, Joseph E Johnston, Albert Sydney Johnston, John Bell Hood, J.E.B. Stuart, William Hardee and Earl Van Dorn, just to name a few. A number of future Union generals also served in the 2nd, including George B McClellan, George H Thomas, John Sedgwick and George Stoneman, again to name a few. With the outbreak of the Civil War Brackett escaped the surrender of the Texas garrison by General Twiggs to the Confederacy and returned east, where he was present at 1st Manassas. In August of 1861 he became the colonel of volunteers, commanding the 9th Illinois Cavalry. Following a successful campaign in Arkansas, he was breveted to major in the regular army in June of 1862 and then promoted to full major and reassigned to the 1st US Cavalry in July of 1862. He spent much of 1863 as Chief of Cavalry for the Department of Missouri and in 1864 was made Assistant Inspector General for the Department of the Cumberland. He served during the Atlanta Campaign and was brevetted to lieutenant colonel in September of 1864 and then colonel during late 1864.

After the war he returned to the frontier to see action against the Native American tribes in Wyoming, Nevada and Arizona. He wrote two books about his military service including "General Lane's Brigade in Central Mexico" (1854) and "History of the United States Cavalry" (1865). He retired from service in 1891 and died in Washington, DC in 1896. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.