Images(13)

Sword

Object number92.14.1 a-h

Manufacturer Collins & Company

Manufacturer Tiffany & Company

Date1862-1863

MediumBrass; Pewter; Steel; Iron; Leather; Silk

Credit LineGift of J. Byers Hays

DescriptionPresentation sword with scabbard, sash, and storage box. The sword has an ornate design on blade, relief figure on grip, and spreadwinged eagle on cross-piece of hilt. Scabbard has a relief ribbon design, and engraving. Gold sash with corded tassels. Wooden storage box with blue velvet lining.DimensionsBlade length: 81.6cm Width: 2.8cm
Inscriptions(a) "U S" in center of sword, as part of the design, on one side of the blade.

(b) On top section of scabbard: "PRESENTED TO / Gen. Alex Hays / BY / THE CITIZENS OF PITTSBURGH / 1863".

Further down the scabbard in the center reads: "Mexico 1846-1847 / Yorktown / Williamsburg / Fair Oaks / The Orchard / Nelson Farm / Malvern Hill / Bristoe / Groveton / Gettysburg / Auburn / Locust Grove".

Marks(a) Manufacturer's mark near the hilt reads: "TIFFANY / & CO. / NEW YORK". Below this reads: "COLLINS&CO. / HARTFORD CONN. / 1862".

Hilt: "304"
Historical NotesThis presentation sword belonged to Alexander Hays, who was a veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War. Alexander Hays, born in Franklin, Pa., in 1819, attended Allegheny College and graduated from West Point, along with his good friend and classmate, Ulysses S. Grant. He served in the Mexican War and, returning to Pittsburgh, married Annie McFadden of Sewickley, daughter of a Pittsburgh jeweler. After a failed venture in iron, he followed the gold rush to California. Not finding success there, he returned to Pittsburgh and became an engineer. Hays re-entered the military during the Civil War and quickly gained respect as a leader. Although arriving at Gettysburg a newly appointed division-level commander and not knowing his two brigades, he rallied his men to collect discarded rifles and reload them, enabling some soldiers to have as many as four ready. As Hays rode up and down the front of his troops exhorting them to “stand fast and fight like men,” his division broke Pickett’s final charge. A year later, in 1864, he was shot and killed at the Battle of the Wilderness. Historian Bruce Catton recorded that, “Grant took the news quietly, saying that he was not surprised to learn that Hays had been in the front line of action when he was killed.” Later, visiting Hays’ tomb in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Cemetery, Grant is said to have wept.Label TextAlthough made as early as the Revolutionary War, American presentation swords increased in popularity immediately following the Civil War due to patriotic fervor. Tiffany & Co., whose business in household silver declined during the war, created ornate and magnificently crafted swords, often set with diamonds and other gems. Ornately etched on both sides, this sword with a silver mounted grip is inscribed: “Mexico 1846-1847, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, The Orchard, Nelson Farm, Malvern Hill, Bristoe, Groveton, Gettysburg, Auburn, and Locust Grove.”

Previous owner Alexander Hays

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