Col. Webster was killed in action at Perryville, Kentucky while acting as the 34th Brigade Commander on October 8, 1862 …This sword was his Mexican War sword of 1796 Light Cavalry pattern that had descended through his family from the Civil War until now…With this sword is his original 1861 Commission as a Major in the Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

The light weight sword is not maker marked and is likely a Napoleonic era European import…The blade is of a highly unusual style with a long clip point and sharply defined false edge on the spine…Blue panel etched gilt decorations on each side are intact although worn…The steel sheath has an unusual shaped drag and the scabbard spine is flat to accommodate the blade…Overall the sword is in very fine condition exhibiting the expected wear and use from being carried during wartime campaigns.

“Colonel George P Webster was born in Butler county Ohio removing to Hamilton in 1841 where he became county clerk He was admitted in 1846 and entered the Mexican war receiving a wound in his shoulder at the storming of Monterey He afterwards removed to Steubenville where he served two terms as clerk of courts and became a partner of Martin Andrews who was a prominent attorney of this period On the outbreak of the Civil War he actively engaged in raising troops and became colonel of the 98th Volunteer Infantry While commanding the 34th Brigade Jackson’s division McCook corps he was mortally wounded at the battle of Perryville Kentucky on October 8 1862 His funeral cortege was one of the largest ever seen in Steubenville.” from Bench and Bar in Northern Ohio By William B. Neff

Col. Webster Jefferson County Ohio History Link: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohjeffer/1890bioindex/gpwebster.html

Col. Webster Image link: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/16623739.jpg

Civil War battlefield anniversary draws soldier’s great-grandson, William Webster former director of the FBI and CIA Link: http://archive.tennessean.com/article/20121008/NEWS21/310080039/Civil-War-battlefield-anniversary-draws-soldier-s-great-grandson-William-Webster

(Original 1796 style Sword of Major George Penny Webster of 25th O.V.I. & Colonel of 98th Ohio Infantry-Killed in Action Perryville, KY 1862.)