Ames U.S. Model 1850 Foot Officer's Sword Attributed to Medal of Honor Winner Captain George W. Corliss, Company C, 5th Connecticuit Volunteer Infantry

American Civil War

30.25" single edged blade with 20.75" stopped median fuller. Blade 1.1" wide at ricasso. Overall length 36.25" in overall length. 6" hilt with gilt brass guard with foliate patterns in face and a knuckle bow. Etched blade with foliate patterns, martial and patriotic motifs. Three line Ames mark etched on the obverse ricasso. Grooved wooden grip with shagreen covering and thirteen wraps of twisted wire. The sword is accompanied by a gilt brass mounted browned steel scabbard that is not Ames marked. Upper suspension mount is marked in two lines GEORGE W CORLISS/February 5th 1884, with the name stamped and date engraved in script. The meaning of the date is not known, but it may be related to his joining the GAR or some other organization in the post-Civil War period. The scabbard and sword may be mated, as the scabbard is about 2.5" longer than the blade.

George W Corliss (1836-1903) enlisted in the 5th Connecticut Infantry on June 21, 1861 and on July 22, 1861 was commissioned captain of Company C. Captain Corliss' Medal of Honor was awarded in the post Civil War period on September 10, 1897 for gallantry in action during the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862. His citation states "...seized a fallen flag of the regiment, the color bearer having been killed, carried it forward in the face of a severe fire, and though himself shot down and permanently disabled, planted the staff in the earth and kept the flag flying.". Due to his injury sustained during the battle, Corliss was captured by Confederate forces and was held at Libby Prison until exchanged in early 1863. He resigned from active service due to his injury, but soon rejoined as a 1st Lieutenant in the 3rd Veteran's Reserve Corps, being brevetted to Major in 1865. Corliss worked in the insurance industry in the post war period and was the publisher of an insurance periodical titled The Insurance Critic. He died in 1903 and is buried in New York.