USMC Cavalry?
The Peiping Horse Marines thought of themselves as the first organized cavalry unit in the Marine Corps, or so it says in a new book entitled Chesty, The Story of LG Lewis B. Puller, USMC. It seems Chesty was, among other things, an accomplished swordsman and horseman. The Marines used the Model 1913 Cavalry Saber for this unit. Mounted on Mongolian Ponies actually they had to run a qualification in order to become a Horse Marine. It was an elite unit within an elite unit of the China Legation Guard during the 1930's. Each man carried a Colt Automatic Pistol in addition to the saber, this again placed them apart from their foot Marines. The high light of the year was the qualification course for the saber. They had to jump obstacles placed around a ring and pierce ten dummies with a set time limit. Extra points were doled out for the fighting spirit such as the spirit of the bayonet. From a photo we have of the mounted unit in 1937 we can see that the enlisted men carry the M1913 of the bright finish type with the typical fabric covered scabbard. The nickel or bright finish feature is often described as the "officers" model, not in this case. While they have the bright finish to the swords they use the dull finished cloth covered scabbards. It seems the officer might be carrying his own USMC officers sword, a Mameluke, due to the mounting and type of scabbard. This is not clear in the photograph. In any case this is proof positive of Marine use of the Model 1913 sword, and actually having a cavalry although it was only about 50 men. The photo also post dates the Army’s official discontinuance of use, April 1934, of the M1913 saber by three years.
