NAM.1959-12-119-1

Polish type sword; pipe backed blade, with double edged foible; stirrup guard with ornamental langets; grip covered in fish skin (?) and bound with wire; this is a replica of the sabre carried by Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher; the original sabre was given to George, The Prince Regent, in April 1808 and he presented the replica to Lt Col Henry Frederick Cooke on the 3 July 1815. Lt Col Cooke was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards in 1801 and reached Lt Col in 1811; in 1813, on returning to England from Canada where he held the position of Inspecting Field Officer of the Militia in Nova Scotia, he transferred to the 12th Regiment of Foot (East Suffolk), and in 1815 he joined the 6th West India Regiment of Foot; he retired on half pay in 1817 and became Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order in 1823.

Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)