Active in Macon, Georgia prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, the firm of William J. McElroy & Company was one of many Southern companies that cast their lot in with the Confederacy to supply war materiel. As one observer (Bridges Smith, a wartime operative of the Macon Arsenal, and post-war Judge of Bibb County Juvenile Court) relates, McElroy first manufactured canteens before turning to edged weapons, starting with pikes and bowie knives before moving up to officer-quality swords regarded as the finest in their class. Like many Confederate arms makers, they entered the martial trade when the CSA asked them to start, and left it when the US marched into their home city and asked them to stop. While there is no such thing as a "standard" Confederate combat knife, this example is evocative of the classic Southern "big knife" of the Civil War era, measuring 16 5/8 inches overall with an 11 1/8 inch double edged spear point blade, marked "J. McELROY/ACON Ga"; the absence of the "W" from the top line and the "M" from the bottom could be explained by a misstrike. The hilt is of brass and hardwood construction, very close to figure 55, page 84 of Albaugh's "Confederate Edged Weapons", fitted with a pierced-through dual quillion guard, spiral ribbed and slightly flared hardwood grip, and a brass pommel cap.

Good. The blade shows a mixed gray patina with cleaned pitting and light handling marks. There is some play in the hilt, with a number of dings and an aged patina on the brass, and a few age cracks in the grip. A rare Confederate combat knife.