Model 1816 French artillery short sword

Heavily influenced by the prevailing Neoclassical style of the day, the sword was based on ancient sculptural depictions of the Roman gladius, the standard sword of the Roman legionaries.

The short sword would not have been a practical weapon for combat without a shield, but served as a fascine knife or a machete to clear fields for the guns.

It also served for other practical uses, the French soldiers calling it a coupe-chou ("cabbage cutter").

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