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     The sword shown here is unique.  It is the only known McElroy sword of this pattern.  The sword utilizes the standard McElroy foot officer’s sword hilt, but the blade is much smaller, (7/8 of an inch wide and 29 ¾ inches long) and sweeps upward as it approaches the tip.  This is the only known McElroy sword other than his cavalry sword that has a curved blade.  Though smaller, the blade is etched in the regular McElroy fashion, but on a diminutive scale.  The sword is in its original brass mounted leather scabbard.  The scabbard’s mounts, rings, throat and drag are identical to other McElroy patterns but the leather is top seamed instead of back seamed to allow for the curvature of the blade.  The scabbard would not fit any known McElroy sword but this one.  The leather scabbard had a weak place near the drag that has been reinforced in such a way that it cannot be seen; otherwise, the scabbard is in strong, solid, perfect condition.  The sword is also perfect.

     Not only is this McElroy sword unique, it has a unique family history:

     William John McElroy was born in New York City in 1822.  It is not known when he moved to the South, but by 1845 he was in Savannah, Georgia working as a tinner and in 1850 he was a merchant in Macon, Georgia.  On December 27, 1849 he married a Belle named of Esther Freeney.  From this union, 5 children were born.  Their first son John William (it may have been William John Jr.) was born in 1851.  A second son, Charles J., was born in 1853.  Two years later, in 1855, they had their first daughter, Juliet F. and two years after that, in 1857, their second daughter Esther was born Apparently Georgia was very good to McElroy; the 1860 Macon census list him as a 37 year old merchant with $5,500 in real estate and $17,550 of personal estate.

     When the War Between the States began, he put his talents to work making war material for his adopted home.  Wm J. McElroy & Co was making war accoutrements as early as September, 1861.  During the course of the War he made swords, knives, cutlasses, spurs, belts, bits, buckles, brass crossed cannon, cap letters, gun and sword parts.  In short, he made anything and everything military that he could produce and sell.  He is best known for his beautifully made and etched swords.  Because of the quality of work he produced and because many of his products carry his name, they are among the most desirable Confederate antiques in the world. 

     McElroy was a remarkable man in many respects; not only was he an astute, successful business man, he was also a philanthropist.  After the War, he donated his property for use as an orphan’s home.

     In the last year of the War, William and Esther had their last child, Anna Lee McElroy on May 4, 1864.  Seth Henry Knight married Anna Lee McElroy in Bibb County, Georgia on December 4, 1887.  Anna died in 1894 and is buried in Macon.  Seth lived until 1921.  Seth and Anna had a son named Brozia Dallas Knight.  He was born on May 8, 1892 in Macon, Georgia.  B. Dallas Knight married Gladys Hall Lockhart on December 25, 1914.  Dallas died in Macon on June 4, 1971.  Dallas’ son and namesake, B. Dallas Knight, Jr. was the father of Richard H. Knight, also of Macon, Georgia.

     In 2005, I acquired this unique McElroy sword directly from Richard H. Knight, Anna Lee McElroy Knight’s great-grandson.

     A copy of a family picture taken in 1861 shows William and his son Charles, (I have seen references that this is his son Henry which are incorrect) in the uniform of the Bibb County Guard.  A copy of another family photograph of William and Esther McElroy is included.  Each of these images are 4.5 X 6.5 inches.  An original albumen photograph of Anna Lee McElroy Knight measuring 5.5 X 7.5 inches is also included.  The group comes with a signed and notarized family chart and a notarized record of family provenance signed by Richard H. Knight, Anna Knight’s great-grandson.