The Cooper 'Civil War Sword'

The Civil War Sword

Above is the Civil War sword and scabbard now owned by my family. My father, Robert Wayne Cooper, often told us the story of how this sword was captured by his great-uncle Frank, as the story was related to him by his own grandfather, Wm. Edward Cooper, and his great-uncle Franklin J. Cooper.

Since we have no documentation regarding the taking of this sword, we can only verify that it is indeed a sword and scabbard manufactured at the time of the Civil War. It is a Union sword and scabbard, but the reader must understand that during the war, weapons, clothing and anything of use was often taken from the wounded or deceased soldiers on the battlefield, so many fighting men used weapons that were not originally issued to them. Apparently, this is one of those instances.

The story goes as follows: Uncle Frank (Franklin J. Cooper) eventually became a lieutenant in his unit, and as such was leading a small group of his men through the woods near a road in the Confederate south. If the actual location of this incident was ever told to my father, that information has been lost. 

The soldiers from the Illinois 16th heard some voices on the road near the wooded area, and Lieut. Cooper decided to confront the party of men. When the Union soldiers came out of the woods, they came upon a few Confederate soldiers, apparently led by a German mercenary who was in possession of this sword. Uncle Frank spoke to the German leader and said, "Give me your sword!" The man said to him, "By whose authority do you take my sword?" Uncle Frank responded by saying, "My musket is my authority!" (And, he took the sword....)

I do not know what happened to these men after this confrontation, but I'm assuming they were now prisoners of the soldiers of the Illinois 16th infantry, and were most likely given over to the next Union leader with whom they came into contact.

The sword is in quite good condition, although it has no unusual markings or information as to whom it originally belonged. It is not of any exceptional value, as it is one of the more common swords from the period. But, in our family, it holds a special place of honor as a symbol of the daring and courage of some of our ancestors during this conflict.