"The Sign of the Broken Sword" is a short story by G. K. Chesterton and the sixth to feature Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective Father Brown.

On a frigid winter's night in England, Father Brown and his friend Hercule Flambeau visit a lonely churchyard and view the monumental tomb, with a broken sword alongside the recumbent effigy, of the late British General Sir Arthur St. Clare, who is adulated by the British public (and American tourists) as a war hero.

The surviving British troops led by Captain Keith, who later married the general's daughter, deduced the truth and lynched St. Clare as soon as the Brazilians departed.

But I told myself that if anywhere, by name, in metal or marble that will endure like the pyramids, Colonel Clancy or Captain Keith or President Olivier or any innocent man was wrongly blamed, then I would speak.

"[2] Per Emma McEvoy, the revelation of St. Clare's villainy and Olivier's generosity reflects that "Chesterton delighted in setting up straw men—the bogies of a lingering Victorian imperialism—as potential villains.

"[3] Joshua Hren argues that Father Brown's decision not to denounce St. Clare, thereby dethroning "the god of this country," reflects Aquinean notions of prudence.

[4] Gregory Fried uses Chesterton's story as a vehicle for analysis and response to an essay ("Why Heidegger Made the Right Step in 1933") by philosopher Slavoj Žižek.