Events

British military historian and armaments specialist Paul Newman discusses a Highland broadsword, the iconic weapon of the Highland Scots in the eighteenth century. During the Revolutionary War, the basket-hilt broadsword was carried by Scottish infantrymen and some British dragoons in the Royal Army, as well as by Scottish immigrants to the Carolinas and Georgia who served in loyalist units. American troops captured Highland broadswords on the battlefield as well as from British supply ships.

This example was used during the Revolutionary War by Nicholas Ruxton Moore, an officer in the Fourth Continental Dragoons and the Maryland militia. It is featured in the current exhibition, A Revolution in Arms: Weapons in the War for Independence (through March 24, 2019).

The presentation will last approximately 30 minutes with time afterwards for up-close viewing of the sword.

About the Speaker

Paul Newman, an independent British military historian, was formerly the assistant curator of the Regimental Museum of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys), Edinburgh Castle, U.K. Paul specializes in the history of the British army during the period 1660-1945 with a focus on the cavalry. He is currently a public historian with the Architect of the Capitol based at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.