Improved Order of Red Men Fraternal Sword Named to Elisha Pease (Three Time Texas Governor)

28" straight spear point double-edged blade with diamond shaped cross section and prominent median ridge, .69" wide at the ricasso. Overall length 35" with a 7" hilt with an eagle crested knight's head pommel. 5" crossguard with typical Improved Order of Red Men motifs, including a feathered headdress, quiver with arrows and a tomahawk. A chained knuckle bow extends from the lower end of the guard to the visor of the knight's helmet. Grooved white metal grip with palm swell and the faux cast representations of 12 wraps of twisted wire. Reverse ricasso etched in five lines: THE/PETTIBONE/BROS/MFG.Co./CINTI O. Blade with acid etched decorations including geometric patterns, martial themes and fraternal symbolism. The central panel on the obverse reads Elisha Pease in Gothic lettering and the central panel on the reverse has the initials R.M.U. in the same font. These initials are likely a reference to a rank held by Pease within the fraternal order. The sword is accompanied by its steel scabbard which is decorated with fraternal symbolism for the order, including a spread-winged eagle and crossed tomahawks. A single frog hook allows the scabbard to suspended from a frog or baldric.

The Improved Order of Red Men is an American fraternal organization that traces its lineage to the pre-American Revolution War Sons of Liberty and subsequently the Order of Red Men. Officially established in Baltimore in 1834, the organization was dedicated to the preservation of American history as well as the preservation of a somewhat misguided view of Native American culture as interpreted through a European Colonial lens. The organization reached its membership zenith in the first quarter of the 20th century with slightly more than a half-million members and included on its roll numerous notable Americans, including three United States Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt (26), Warren G Harding (29) and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (32).

Elisha Marshall Pease (1812-1883) was born in Enfield, CT and relocated to the Mexican state of Texas in 1835. He became involved with the Texas Revolutionary movement and served as the secretary of the Texas Provisional Government. Pease served as the assistant secretary to the Texas Convention of 1836 and subsequently became comptroller of the Republic of Texas later that year. When Texas became the 28th state in 1845 Pease was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served until 1849, when he ran for and won a Texas State Senate seat in a contested election. In 1851 Pease ran for governor but withdrew prior to the election. He ran again in 1853 and won and served two two-year terms through 1857. Pease was somewhat of a contradiction for although he held people in bondage on his Austin plantation, he was also a ardent Unionist.

In the post-Civil War period, Pease became a Republican leader in the state and was appointed civilian governor during Reconstruction in 1867 by General Phil Sheridan who was administering military control of the state during that period. Pease resigned from the post in 1869. In 1872 Pease was a member of the Texas delegation the Liberal Republican Party Convention in Cincinnati, where Horace Greeley was nominated for President. For the remainder of his life he pursued a number of avocations, including the serving as the Collector of Customs in Galveston and practicing law in Austin.

Pease died of apoplexy in Lampasas, TX in 1883 He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, TX. The Pettibone Brothers Manufacturing Company, which specialized in the regalia and uniforms of both fraternal and Civil War veteran organizations, went into business circa 1871-72 and appears to remain in business to this day. They were a major player in the regalia market during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Improved Order of the Red Men was at their height of popularity during the latter part of the 19th and first part of the 20th century and many prominent men in business and politics were members. It is possible that he acquired this Pettibone Brothers retailed sword during his 1872 visit to Cincinnati. Local "tribes" of the IORM were organized in Texas, including Galveston, by the 1880s and today their national headquarters is located in Waco, TX.

Property from the Collection of James Carpenter, Montague, New Jersey

This lot is located in Cincinnati.