Lafayette’s Sword, the Jeremiah Keeler Hanger – Universal Swords

As part of our celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary we are pleased to offer this recreation of Jeremiah Keeler’s Hanger, a sword gifted to him by Marquis de Lafayette. It is available here in a new state, as polished and gleaming as the original would have been on the day the Marquis handed it to Sgt Keeler. Lafayette had purchased dozens of fine quality French swords while in France over the winter of 1779-1780. When returning to command the Corps of Light Infantry of the Continental Army Lafayette provided each of his NCOs with one of these French swords. The one borne on campaign by Jeremiah Keeler survives to this day on account of it being a treasured family heirloom after the war. Keeler most famously was among the first men to assault the British redoubts at Yorktown and he bore this sword during that momentous occassion in an attack that was under the command of Alexander Hamilton. Keeler himself lived to a ripe old age of 98 and lived long enough to have his portrait photograph taken with his treasured sword with a daguerrotype in the mid 19th century.

This recreation of the sword is robustly constructed and has a blade forged from high carbon steel which has been tempered. Its hilt is in the French style in elegantly fashioned brass polished to a mirror gleam and a grip of tactile leather with a spiralled wrap of braided brass wire. Care was taken to reproduce the original monogram on the knucklebow, as well its companion monogram which was etched onto the blade alongside a stylized bomb grenade. The original had a scabbard of thick leather with brass fittings and this has likewise been reproduced to match the sword.