Originally consisting of the estate of Charles Bremner Hogg Jackson, the Jackson Bequeathment was a massive quantity of items left to the Smithsonian's National Museum of History and Technology in 1979. Shortly after the bequeathment, the Museum re-branded itself the National Museum of American History, and refined it's focus specifically on the American footprint on human history. Having had a life-long passion for the era of Napoleon, Jackson's collection included a quantity of items that no longer pertained to the Museum's focus, and in 1995 the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian voted to cull the Jackson Bequeathment, selling redundant and non-American items to establish the C.B.H. Jackson Fund. Measuring 44 inches overall, with a 37 1/2 inch straight double fuller blade, with a pair of small proof stamps on the right side and the script legend "Manufre Rle du Klingenthal Janvier 1815" on the spine. This production date puts the blade's manufacture during Napoleon's first exile, just 3 months before his return and the initiation of the Hundred Days cumulating in the Battle of Waterloo; while no documentation is available, it's highly likely that this sword saw combat during that critical period in European history. Brass hilt, with a small "B" stamp on the counterguard, a gold bullion sword knot and a wire wrapped leather grip. With an iron scabbard, marked "520" on the top suspension band and "268A" on the drag. The original Smithsonian hanging tag (with obsolete History and Technology nomenclature) is attached, and a copy of the auction catalog (relevant page: 108) is included.

Very good. The blade has been gently polished, with some light spotting overall and a few dings on the spine and edge. A mixed patina is visible on the hilt, with some oxidization of the knot and scuffing of the leather. The scabbard shows a mixed gray overall. An attractive piece of French military history from the vaults of the Smithsonian Institution