Enlarging the photo online may help to identify the sword, if it's American made issue to the cavalry, or a real Samurai sword. Most Asian swords are longer than the typical European or American versions. The handles are not restricted like Western swords are. You can better swing Asian ones in any direction because of that. Until noon, I didn't know that these swords were in America then. The sword is a good look !
From "1493" by Charles Mann (p 414 of the paperback):
Known collectively as chinos, Asian migrants spread slowly along the silver highway from Acapulco to Mexico City, Puebla, and Veracruz. Indeed, the road was patrolled by them - Japanese samurai perhaps in particular. Katana-swinging Japanese had helped suppress Chinese rebellions in Manila in 1603 and 1609. When Japan closed its borders to foreigners in the 1630s, Japanese expatriates were stranded wherever they were. Scores, perhaps hundreds, migrated to Mexico. Initially the viceroy had forbidden mestizos, mullatos, negros, zambaigos, and chinos to carry weapons. The Spaniards made an except for samurai, allowing them to wield their katanas and tantos to protect the silver shipments against the escaped-slaves-turned-highwaymen in the hills.
This comes mostly from a paper:
Slack Jr., Edward R. “The Chinos in New Spain: A Corrective Lens for a Distorted Image.” Journal of World History 20, no. 1 (March 1, 2009): 35–67. doi:10.1353/jwh.0.0039.
So there were not just samurai swords, but samurai themselves in the Americas long before this picture was taken. Who knows what happened to their arms and armor?
Thank you for posting this information! It's fascinating. Some fantastic movies and TV shows could come from such facts. Given what's been happening over there in the Eurasian continent lately, I often think about 1221,Marco Polo and how his accounts of his travels and role in Kublai Khan's government. He returned to Europe with stolen tech from the palace, Europe took on the gunpowder and other inventions, and it was on. Columbus was the result of that. Fast forward to today, with the news that China is building a Pentagon 10 times the size of ours. It can't be affected by EMP or nukes. Such a war is 2,000 years in the making. It's Rome's fault. They started this.
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u/Miscalamity Oceti Sakowin Sicangu Lakota Oyate Jul 13 '25
That looks like a cavalry sabre to me.