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THBHistoric Presentation Saber: Gen. George M. Brooke of Fort Brooke (Tampa, FL)
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About Auction
LiveNov 22, 2025
This exclusive catalog presents a select offering from the personal collection of Alejandro "Alex" de Quesada Jr., renowned historian, author, and collector. The catalog features exceptionally rare swords, historically significant belt buckles and military insignia, original Civil War flags, and a wide range of ephemera representing pivotal moments in military history. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com
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- Lot Description
HISTORIC PRESENTATION SABER TO MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE MERCER BROOKE (1785–1851), FOUNDER OF FORT BROOKE (TAMPA) AND LATER COMMANDER OF THE EIGHTH MILITARY DEPARTMENT
American (probably Philadelphia or New York), c. 1848–51. Curved, single‐edged blade with broad fuller, both sides acid‑etched with trophies of arms, sunburst and Federal devices within scrolling arabesques; on the right face a frosted presentation panel inscribed in script “Genl George M. Brooke”. Gilt‑brass stirrup hilt with laurel‑cast knuckle‑bow and phrygian‑helmet pommel engraved with laurel; down‑turned quillon terminal with rosette. Wood grip covered in black leather and bound with original twisted wire. Together with its plain steel scabbard fitted with two suspension rings. Overall length c. 39 in.; blade c. 32 in.
George Mercer Brooke served the United States Army from 1808 until his death in 1851. A veteran of the War of 1812, brevetted for gallantry at Fort Erie, he was ordered in 1823–24 with James Gadsden to establish a military post on Tampa Bay; the resulting settlement, first “Cantonment Brooke,” was rechristened Fort Brooke and became the nucleus of modern Tampa. Following the Mexican War he rose to high departmental command on the frontier, leading the Eighth Military Department (Department of Texas) from 1849 until 1851, by which time he held the rank of brevet major general.The historic saber offered here is a period presentation of the type favored for senior American officers in the years around the Mexican War: a Federal‑style gilt‑brass stirrup hilt with laurel decoration and an etched blade bearing a personalized panel. Its tasteful sobriety, eschewing the flamboyant relief figuration of later mid‑century swords, aligns with Philadelphia and New York‑made officer’s pieces retailed in the 1830s–1850s, often with Solingen blades etched to order. The direct inscription “Genl George M. Brooke” places the gift after his elevation to general officer by brevet, and the sword’s martial iconography (sunburst, trophies, American eagle motifs) is wholly consonant with a commemorative piece acknowledging post‑Mexican War service and frontier command.
As the namesake of Fort Brooke and a principal architect of U.S. military administration in Florida and Texas, Brooke occupies an important place in early nineteenth‑century American army history; presentation arms associated with him are seldom encountered in private hands.
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