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THB[REVOLUTIONARY WAR] Sword of Colonel Stephen Trigg
![[REVOLUTIONARY WAR] Sword of Colonel Stephen Trigg](https://s1.img.bidsquare.com/item/xl/3027/30279431.jpeg?t=1TZYAh)
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About Auction
LiveApr 25, 2025
Fleischer's Auctions is pleased to present Day 1 of our 2025 Spring Premier Auction featuring rare items from colonial America, the Revolutionary War, Western Expansion, and African American history. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com
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- Lot Description
Historically Significant Silver-Mounted Hunting Sword Belonging to Lt. Col. Stephen Trigg, Killed at the Battle of Blue Licks, 1782
Silver-mounted cuttoe that belonged to Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Trigg, who was killed in action at the Battle of Blue Licks on 19 August 1782, one of the final engagements of the American Revolutionary War. Elegantly engraved with Trigg’s initials (“S.T.”) on the flat pommel cap, this sword descended in the Trigg family for two centuries before its sale in 1983.
A Kentucky historian once wrote that Trigg “was greatly beloved and very popular; and if he had lived, would have taken rank among the most distinguished men of his time.” This important sword is a rare and evocative artifact of the Revolutionary War, identified to a high-ranking Virginia officer who fought alongside legendary figures like Patrick Henry and Daniel Boone, and was martyred in one of the Revolution’s final battles.
Lt. Col. Stephen Trigg (ca. 1744–1782) was a prominent Virginian public official and militia officer who played a pivotal role in the westward expansion of Virginia and the settlement of what would become Kentucky. Trigg, the son of a Bedford County judge, held multiple civil posts as new counties were established on the frontier. He served as a Justice of the Peace in Botetourt County (created 1769–70), Fincastle County (created from Botetourt), Montgomery County (from Fincastle), and Lincoln County (from Kentucky County). Trigg was actively involved in resolving land disputes and was instrumental in administering justice across the expanding Virginia frontier. His civic service also included membership on the Fincastle Committee of Safety in 1775, where he contributed to drafting the Fincastle Resolutions, a formal declaration of support for the Revolution. He was a delegate to the Virginia House of Burgesses, participated in the Virginia conventions of 1775 and 1776, and served in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1778.
In parallel with his civic career, Trigg was a seasoned militia officer. He served as a captain in Lord Dunmore’s War (1774) against the Shawnee and Mingo, and later fought in the frontier conflicts of 1776 and 1777. In 1778, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the Lincoln County Militia. In August 1782, as British-allied Native forces and Loyalists launched a raid on Bryan Station, Trigg led 135 militiamen from Lincoln County to the fort’s relief, joining forces with 47 Fayette County men under Col. John Todd (overall command) and Lt. Col. Daniel Boone. Following the lifting of the siege, the combined force was lured into an ambush near the Licking River. Despite Boone's caution, Major Hugh McGary incited a premature attack, and the officers, including Trigg, were compelled to follow.
At the Battle of Blue Licks, one of the last military engagements of the Revolutionary War, Trigg commanded the right wing of the Patriot line. British officer Capt. William Caldwell of Butler’s Rangers later praised the Americans’ initial discipline, noting they “advanced in three Divisions in good order” and “gave us a Volley and stood to it very well for some time, ‘til we rushed in upon them.” The result was a devastating defeat for the militia: approximately 60 men were killed, including Col. Todd, Daniel Boone’s son Israel, and Lt. Col. Trigg, whose body was later found mutilated and buried in a mass grave with his men. McGary survived the engagement. Although George Rogers Clark led a retaliatory expedition later that year, hostilities along the frontier persisted into the War of 1812.
This sword remained in the Trigg family line for two centuries before its sale in 1983 by the “Hay-Brown” family of Florida. The line of descent is such: from Stephen Trigg to his daughter Mary Trigg Logan; to her son Stephen Trigg Logan; to Mary Logan Hay; to Katherine Logan Hay Brown; to Milton Hay Brown; and finally to Milton Hay Brown, Jr., who died in Naples, Florida, on January 26, 1983. While minor generational skips are always possible, the family association is direct and well-established. The family had deep ties to Springfield, Illinois (Stephen Trigg Logan was notably a law partner of Abraham Lincoln from 1841 to 1843). A letter or provenance is included with the sword from Fleischer's Auctions that details the chain-of-ownership and provenance from the family to the buyer of the sword at the estate sale.
The sword’s form is consistent with those carried by 18th-century gentlemen, particularly militia officers, as both a practical weapon and an emblem of status. The grip is elaborately carved from green-toned bone or possibly ivory, featuring grooves for serrated silver tape and twisted wire, and is fitted with a silver ferrule at the guard. The guard itself is a simple oval form with a prominently rounded edge. The blade measures approximately 24½ inches, gently curved, with a flat spine, a single edge, and a short back edge near the point. It features a narrow fuller running along the back edge from the guard, as well as a broader, central unstopped fuller. The blade retains a smooth silver-gray surface with some darker gray areas, and both the edge and point remain in very good condition.
The flat pommel cap is engraved with a delicate border line accented by short, curved flourishes. The center bears a finely executed script monogram, intertwining the letters “S” and “T” in a vine-like form with leaf-shaped flourishes. Aside from a single short scratch that partially traces the curve of the “S,” the pommel, grip, and guard are in excellent condition, exhibiting a mellow silver patina. The grip is free of chips or cracks. The sword is housed in its original black leather scabbard with silver mounts and intact carrying rings. The leather remains in very good condition, though the scabbard tip is slightly loose.
Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.
[Swords, Guns, Militia, Mexican-American War, Mexico, Texas, Republic of Texas, Militaria] [Colonial America, 13 Colonies, Thirteen Colonies] [American Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, Colonial America, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe]
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Fleischer's Auctions packages and ships most items in-house. We make an effort to ensure the lowest shipping rate possible while still meeting our package safety standards.
Large items, framed pieces, and any item that we are unable to package and ship in-house will be marked in the catalog as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio. Once an item is dropped off and no longer in our possession, Fleischer's Auctions is not liable for the item's safe handling or shipment to the successful bidder.
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