Description
An exceptionally rare and unique item, this sword is a regulation US Model 1850 Field and Staff dated and inspected 1851 (only 72 purchased by the US Government) which was altered by a jeweler to reflect Hebert achieving the rank of General in the Confederate army in 1861. It is inscribed with his rank, name, date plus a CS on the middle mount and a Louisiana Pelican on the drag and the guard has been modified from “US” to “CS.” There is also a Texas star engraved in the ricasso of the blade. Hebert, a native of Louisiana, graduated first in his college class and first in his 1840 West Point Class (which included W.T. Sherman and George Thomas) and was a Mexican War hero brevetted for gallantry in action by Gen. Winfield Scott. He was also the youngest Governor of Louisiana and the man that started the college that ultimately became LSU. He was in command of both Louisiana and Texas forces in the Trans Mississippi and is the officer who surrendered both regions in 1865. The picture is of him after his appointment to Colonel of the 1st Louisiana Artillery in 1861, and the sword is at his side.
