George Washington’s Silver Lion Headed Cuttoe – Universal Swords

Recreated here in lavish detail in celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary is the sword borne by George Washington for roughly the first half of the American Revolutionary War. Characteristically fashionable as befitting the gentleman Virginian his Cuttoe sword was at the height of fashion in its day with its lion-headed pommel, fluted grip and gadrooned silver hilt fittings. He likely commissioned it as a practical, but fashionable piece to match with his elevating status and as replacement to his familial heirloom hanger he bore in younger years. Unlike his family hanger, Washington’s Cuttoe was appropriately sized and scaled to match his well above average height at 6’2″ – most hangers and cuttoes of the time had blades of about 24″ to 27″, but Washington’s Silver Lion Cuttoe stands well outside that range with a blade nearly 30″ in length, making his Cuttoe closer in size to a true saber! While attention was paid to make the piece appropriately styled so that Washington could wear it to formal events, it was no mere costume piece and was a finely crafted sword that accompanied him on campaign and battle for the truly testing early years of the Revolution.

Like Washington’s original sword, this replica is built to a functional standard in regards to durability and construction and its forged blade of 1065 high carbon steel is tempered to match. Its elaborately styled hilt fittings are well-cast from solid white brass specially formulated to give it an appearance very similar to silver. Unlike nickel or silver plated methods, this solid white brass does not suffer from the thin plating being worn off its base metal as seen elsewhere. The grip is faux bone and hilt is finished with a twin knucklebow chain as seen on Washington’s original Cuttoe. The scabbard of the original sword is in a much more worn state than the sword, but a recreation of its original likeness was made here and true to the original it has a core of wood which was overlaid in black leather. Fittings of matching polished white brass complete with hanging rings add the final finishing touch to Washington’s Silver Lion Cuttoe.

This Cuttoe was likely the first sword Washington commissioned by an American cutler, due entirely by the fact that Washington and his friend and neighbor George Mason had shortly before drafted and passed a resolution in the Virginia House of Burgesses restricting the import of certain British luxury goods as a protectionist measure to American craftsmen. Normally Washington would have his agent commission and purchase such a piece from London, but Washington’s personal character would not entertain flouting his own resolution! Instead set an example by purchasing a sword made in the colonies. He had a connection to an acquaintance, Mr Jacob Gooding purchase the sword on his behalf while on business, likely in Philadelphia as there were craftsman of suitable caliber in northern Virginia. Washington’s accounts record the remittance date of funds to Mr Gooding for the sword to September 2, 1770.

Washington’s Cuttoe is an unsigned work, but Mr Gooding may have sourced it from silversmith and sword cutler Richard Humphreys. A skilled silversmith would have been needed to fashion the hilt fittings and while the grip looks like ivory, it was actually bone which could have a similar appearance to ivory though being of inferior hardness and quality to ivory. If he had been able to purchase the sword from London it likely would have had an ivory grip, but local substitutions were needed in this case. The choice of a lion head pommel closely mirrors contemporary British fashion as lion-headed pommels on swords came into fashion in the 1760s and be a premier choice setting for “tailor-made” swords for the following two decades.

In the later years of the war George Washington acquired a fine new cuttoe sourced from John Bailey of New York. Washington then gifted his silver lion head cuttoe to his younger brother Colonel John Augustine Washington of the Virginia militia.