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INSCRIBED M1850 FOOT OFFICER’S SWORD OF ROBERT L. ORR, 61st PENNSYLVANIA, MEDAL OF HONOR FOR PETERSBURG

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This Klingenthal made US Model 1850 foot officer’s sword bears a dead-real period inscription on the reverse of the scabbard throat reading: Robt. L. Orr / Independent / Greys. Orr had been active in the prewar militia of Philadelphia, serving as Secretary of the Quaker City Guard in 1858 and by 1860 was a lieutenant in the Independent Greys, many of whom followed him into service at the beginning of the war, during which he rose from lieutenant to colonel and won the Medal of Honor for actions in the final assault on Petersburg.

The sword is a regulation US Model 1850 foot officer’s sword typical of those imported by American military goods dealers and bears a Klingenthal maker’s address on the spine of the blade. The brass hilt is the regulation form with floral motif openwork guard, pommel decorated with leaves along the edge, sharkskin wrapped grip, etched single edged slightly curving blade, brass mounted leather scabbard, etc. The sword saw extensive use and rates about good for condition, uncleaned except for the upper reverse of the throat mount to show the inscription, with the hilt and other mounts showing as darkened brass.

The gray sharkskin grip wrap is good. The central twisted brass wire of the binding is present along with one of the plain border wires. The leather pad is in place on the underside of the guard. The blade shows the Klingenthal engraved script address on the spine near the guard, and is gray, with the scrolling floral etching visible, and showing a little more on the reverse than the obverse. The obverse has a dark gray patch at the ricasso and a few inches further up. The reverse has slightly smaller patches in those two spots, but fewer scattered gray spots along the fuller. Both sides show pitting on the last four inches or so on the unetched upper blade near the tip. The leather body of the scabbard is stiff, shows flaking, finish loss, and an open seam on the reverse, and two poorly mended breaks. The scabbard has three brass mounts that are loose, but in place: throat with upper carrying ring, middle mount with carrying ring, and long boot style drag. Like the hilt, they remain uncleaned with the exception of the upper reverse of the throat, which is clearly engraved in three lines: Robt. L. Orr / Independent / Greys.

Robert Levan Orr (1836-1894) was active in the prewar Pennsylvania militia and is listed as secretary of the Quaker City Guard in 1858 and by 1860 was a lieutenant in Independent Greys of Philadelphia, a company attached first to an infantry regiment and then to an artillery regiment, though given militia practice, they may or may not have had much, if any, artillery training. In 1861 he recruited a number of his men to join him in the 17^th PA Volunteers, a 90-day unit, enlisting April 15, 1861, and taking a commission as 1^st Lieutenant of Co. I on April 25, 1861. He was slightly wounded in a picket “squabble” at Edwards Ferry in June, mustered out with the regiment August 2, and quickly recruited a new volunteer company, mustering in again three weeks later as a Captain on Aug. 22, with the company initially assigned to the 23^rd PA and then transferred to the 61^st PA as the former regiment had recruited more than ten companies.

The 61st served in the 4^th and 6^th Corps in the Army of the Potomac (with a stint in the Army of the Shenandoah, with the rest of the 6^th Corps in 1864.) It took significant casualties during its service: 19 officers and 218 enlisted men in killed or mortally wounded, and another 28 officers and 470 enlisted men who were wounded, but recovered to some degree. They were in battles such as Fair Oaks, where Orr found himself in command of the regiment in later part of the fighting, the Seven Days Battles, Fredericksburg, the Chancellorsville campaign, where they stormed Maryes Heights as part of Sedgwick’s command at Fredericksburg, and Orr was again slightly wounded. At Gettysburg they were only lightly engaged on the extreme right of the line, but we find Orr’s name on the Pennsylvania monument as actually on the field. In 1864 the regiment fought at Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Petersburg, then in the Shenandoah at Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek, before returning to Petersburg, where it fought Hatcher’s Run, and the final assault on Petersburg, April 2, 1865. Orr seems to have spent time on division staff in 1864, but was promoted to Major as of December 18, 1864, reportedly the result of gallantry displayed in the Shenandoah, and returned to the regiment.

In the final assault on Petersburg on the morning of April 2, 1865, the regiment was at the apex of the attacking wedge of Union troops, and Orr took command after the Colonel was mortally wounded, seizing one of the regiment’s fallen flags to lead his men. His actions won him promotions to Lieutenant Colonel in April and Colonel in June, as well as the Medal of Honor, with the citation reading that he, "carried the colors at the head of the column in the assault after two color bearers had been shot down."

Orr mustered out with the regiment on June 28, 1865, returned to Philadelphia, married in 1867 and had at least three children. He is listed as a salesman in 1868, a dry goods merchant in 1880, and at his death in 1894 was a member G.A.R. Post #2 in Philadelphia.

This sword is a very good example of the sword an officer might actually choose to carry on campaign and shows real field use by an officer with a very strong record. We would leave it exactly as is, much like Orr must have left it after returning to civilian life.  [sr][ph:L]

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