Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 164:
Description
British Pattern 1751-Type Infantry Hanger, Brass-Hilted, Engraved "LANCASHIRE / M" with Rack Number 2/47 and Crescent-Marked Blade, circa 1750-1780 Offered is a well-preserved British Pattern 1751-type infantry hanger, a short sword pattern carried by battalion and grenadier companies of the line as well as by county militia regiments through the mid-to-late 18th century. The outer guard is crisply and legibly engraved "LANCASHIRE" over "M, " clearly identifying it as ordnance issued to the Lancashire Militia, with an inventory or rack number "2/47" struck just below – the divided figure consistent with the numbering conventions county militia stores used to track arms held in readiness for periodic musters and embodiments. No individual soldier’s biography accompanies the piece; its story is carried entirely by the regimental marking and inventory number stamped into the brass, along with the crescent- or eyebrow-form mark struck near the forte of the blade. County militia regiments, reconstituted under the Militia Act of 1757, existed to provide home defense and to free regular battalions for continental and colonial service during the Seven Years’ War and, later, the American War of Independence. Militiamen of this period were armed with standard-pattern ordnance hangers of exactly this type – cast brass-hilted, single-edged sidearms carried alongside the musket, intended more for camp utility and close-in work than as a primary battlefield weapon. Swords of this pattern remained in service through decades of intermittent militia embodiment, including the invasion scares of the 1790s, and surviving examples bearing clear, legible county markings such as this one are consistently sought after by collectors of British edged weapons and militia history. The precise date of issue and the place of blade manufacture cannot be established with certainty from the piece alone; a British or Solingen-supplied blade with British hilting and assembly is entirely consistent with hangers of this class and period. The sword retains its cast brass hilt with a pierced, heart-shaped double-branch knuckle guard, a spiral-ribbed brass grip, and a spherical pommel. The guard is engraved "LANCASHIRE / M" with "2/47" beneath, all markings crisp and fully legible. The gently curving, single-edged steel blade carries a small engraved crescent or eyebrow-form mark near the forte, and a leather washer survives at the blade shoulder where it meets the guard. The sword is offered alone, without its original scabbard, which does not survive. In good antique condition throughout, the brass hilt shows a warm, even patina with scattered contact marks and minor dents along the ribbed grip consistent with genuine service handling. The blade displays scattered dark spotting, oxidation staining, and light surface scratching, but maintains a stable, undistorted profile without severe pitting or significant edge damage. The leather washer shows appropriate age and wear. A genuinely appealing, clearly marked Lancashire Militia hanger whose crisp guard inscription and rack number connect a mid-18th-century infantry sidearm directly to the everyday administration and readiness of Britain’s county forces.
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