Exceptional Mexican War Captured Dragoon Saber Presented to John W. Geary, General and later Governor of Kansas and Pennsylvania with (3) CDV's
Mexican American War
34" slightly curved, singled edged quill-back spear point blade with 6" false edge and an overall length of 38.75". 5" gilt brass dragoon style hilt with bird's head pommel and two branch guard with knuckle bow and grooved wooden grip with shagreen covering and twelve wraps of multi-strand wire. Blade engraved with the maker's name L Carson in script on the obverse near the ricasso and etched with the Mexican Eagle & Snake motif on both sides of the blade. Blade is otherwise plain. The topstrap of the saber's hilt is engraved in three lines: Presented to COL. JNO. W. GEARY by the Officers / of the 2nd Regt. Penna. Volunteers / City of Mexico Sept. 1847. The knuckle bow is engraved in two lines and reads: Captured by the Regiment at Chapultepec / Sept. 13th 1847. The saber is accompanied by its brass mounted steel scabbard with two suspension rings, as well as three CDVs of Geary and a massive binder of research about him and his exploits. Copies of period photos with Geary and this sword are also included in the binder.
John White Geary (1819-1873) led a storied life of military and governmental service that would make the basis for a somewhat impressive Hollywood movie plot. In his early life he worked a number of jobs from surveying to dabbling in land speculation while at the same time attending Jefferson College in Canonsburg, PA to study civil engineering and law. After being forced to leave school due to the death of his father, Geary finally graduated in 1841 and went to work for the Allegheny Railroad. From the age of 16 he had been a member of the local militia and when the Mexican War erupted in 1846 he joined the 2nd PA Volunteer Infantry and served as their lieutenant colonel. He was at the head of the regiment at Chapultepec and was wounded five times during that assault. This sword was captured during the course of that battle and inscribed to Geary as a memento of the event. Geary was also elevated to regimental colonel after the battle.

After the Mexican War, Geary was appointed the first Postmaster of San Francisco by President Polk in 1849 and in 1850 became the city's Alcalde (Spanish Mayor) prior to statehood. He was the first San Francisco mayor after California became a state and to this day was the youngest mayor in San Francisco's history. He was offered the Governorship of the Utah Territory in 1852 but declined it and was subsequently appointed the 3rd Governor of the Kansas Territory in July of 1856 by President Franklin Pierce. Geary remained in that position for less than a year, being removed from the post by the new president James Buchanan in March of 1857. During his brief tenure as the governor of "Bleeding Kansas" he became an ardent abolitionist and rejected his former association with the Democratic party. After leaving the post in Kansas he returned to Pennsylvania to farm and lead a quiet life.

With the coming of the American Civil War, Geary helped to organize both the 28th and 147th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He became the colonel of the 28th and went off to war at the head of that regiment, leading with the same bravery that saw him at the forefront of the fray at Chapultepec. He was wounded and captured at Leesburg, VA in March of 1862 and then promoted to brigadier general and given command of a brigade in Nathaniel Banks' corps. He led his brigade in opposition to Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign and was wounded again at the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862. Upon his return to duty in November of 1862 he was given command of a division in the Army of the Potomac in Slocum's Twelfth Corps. Geary led his division at Chancellorsville where he was wounded again, and at Gettysburg where the division was heavily engaged at Culp's Hill on the morning of July 3 after confusing orders had sent him and two of his brigades away from the fighting on July 2.

A large monument to Geary was erected at Culp's Hill in his honor in 2007. The XII Corps was subsequently transferred to the Western Theater and Geary led his division through the siege of Chattanooga, the Battle of Lookout Mountain, the Atlanta Campaign and Sherman's March to the Sea. By the end of the war Geary had been breveted to the rank of Major General. After the war Geary served two terms as the Governor of Pennsylvania, from 1867-1873. He died of a heart attack on February 8, 1873, just three weeks after leaving the post of governor.

From the Collection of George Oldenbourg

Very fine. The blade retains most of the original bright polish and other than some lightly scattered surface oxidation and freckled discoloration remains in excellent high polish. The etched Mexican motifs remain crisp and sharp as does the maker's name. The hilt retains some nice gilt finish and the engraving remains clear, sharp and fully legible. The shagreen grip is in fine condition with some light wear and minor marks with the wire wrap intact. The scabbard shows scattered oxidation and moderate amounts of discoloration. CDVs are in good condition overall, one faded with a pencil signature, one with clipped corners and a Hensley & Co back mark and one an illustration.
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