The curved saber of San Martín is a historic weapon used by

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...

History

San Martín acquired the curved

saber A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as the ...

during his stay in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, shortly after he left Spain and before embarking for South America. Later, San Martin would arm his mounted grenadiers cavalry unit with similar weapons, which he deemed ideal for cavalry charges. Following the withdrawal of San Martín to Europe, after the

Guayaquil conference The Guayaquil Conference ( es, Conferencia de Guayaquil) was a meeting that took place on July 26 and 27, 1822 in the port city of Guayaquil (today part of Ecuador) between libertadors José de San Martín and Simón de Bolívar to discuss the ...

, the weapon remained in the city of Mendoza in the hands of a family friend. In a subsequent letter his son-in-law, Mariano Balcarce, was asked to send him the sword in Europe, and it remained in his possession until his death on August 17, 1850. Before dying, San Martín bequeathed his sword to Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas. Mariano Balcarce wrote the following to give the news. Rosas in turn bequeathed the sword to his friend Juan Nepomuceno Terrero, and after his death to his wife and then their sons and daughter in order of age. The sword thus passed into the possession of Maximo Terrero and Manuela Rosas after the death of Rosas, with Juan Terrero having died earlier. In 1896 Adolfo Carranza, director of the National Historical Museum, requested of them the donation of the saber of San Martín, to which they acquiesced. It was sent back from London to Buenos Aires, arriving on 4 March 1897 to be kept in the National History Museum.

Theft

The sword remained there until 2 August 1963, when it was stolen by members of the

Peronist Youth Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...

. It was recovered a few days later, and temporarily placed in the custody of the Mounted Grenadiers Regiment, until its return to the museum. The sword was stolen again on 19 August 1965 and again recovered a few days later. At that time the Regiment was granted definitive custody and the sword was placed inside a screened gazebo which was built for the purpose, donated by the City of Buenos Aires. The curved saber has remained there since.

Notes

References

History of the curved saber of San Martín
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curved saber of San Martin José de San Martín Juan Manuel de Rosas Weapons of Argentina Sabres Individual weapons Individual thefts