1796P Waterloo British Named Infantry Officer's Sword (Sold)

This is almost 100% certain to be the sword held at Waterloo by Volunteer, later General Montague Burrows of the 14th (Buckinghamshire) Regiment of Foot, who appears on page 124 of the Waterloo Roll Call.

This sword almost certainly was at Waterloo. With strong provenance, this sword came from the Burrows estate, a famous army and navy family. Made by Osborne Gunby who adopted that trading style in 1806, it was bought by then Captain Montague Burrows of the 14th (Buckinghamshire) Regiment of Foot. It came with a period label from a Burrows family member stating it to be the sword of General Montague Burrows, as he later became.

Perhaps an outdated (1796 pattern) sword for 1815 when the Battle of Waterloo was fought, this is explained by the fact Montague Burrows resigned his commission (left the army) some time before the 100 Days War and then joined up again in haste as a volunteer and to the same regiment when Napoleon managed to end his first exile. Page 124 of the Waterloo Roll Call shows Montague Burrows as being with the 14th Regiment of Foot as a volunteer. So it is likely he grabbed the sword he last had, being an earlier 1796P and carried that to play his part in defeating the French. Crucially, the Burrows estate did not include an 1803 pattern infantry officer's sword. In fact, this was the only sword in their collection for Montague Burrows and has a label stating it belonged to him when he was a general. So, not only can you be sure this is the sword he wore at Waterloo but also that he kept it, either because he was frugal or that he was so fond of the sword, throughout his military career.

I bought the sword from a Scottish based militaria dealer who specializes in uniforms, had some swords from his exclusive militaria acquisition of the Burrows estate, but did not want to sell edged weapons any more because of new sword laws governing dealers in Scotland in 2010. He apparently had not researched the Waterloo Roll Call. I have extra provenance / emails from the dealer who originally bought the Burrow's militaria items to this effect to provide the eventual buyer.

Unlike many 1796 pattern infantry swords I have held, this one is solidly built and clearly intended for battlefield rather than dress use. Further pictures available upon request. My item reference number is 512 (14).