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Prescott and Linzee swords

Prescott and Linzee swords Wooden plaque with crossed swords
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Wooden plaque with crossed swords

Silver-hilted small-sword belonging to Col. William Prescott, created by Jacob Hurd, circa 1730-1750 and small-sword for an officer of the Royal Navy, belonging to Capt. John Linzee, created by unidentified maker, circa 1780s


[ This description is from the project: Revolutionary-era Art and Artifacts ]

This plaque displays swords owned by Colonel William Prescott (1726-1795) of the Massachusetts revolutionary army and Royal Navy Captain John Linzee (1743-1798), who fought on opposite sides during the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major military engagement of the American Revolution. The swords descended through their respective families, until both ended up in the possession of historian William Hickling Prescott, who married a Linzee relation. They were mounted in 1859 for the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Prescott's sword is the one he wore at Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775; Linzee's original sword was lost at sea, after the battle, while he commanded the British sloop-of-war Falcon. This is a replacement, likely dating from the 1780s.The swords cross through a wreath of olive leaves underneath the crests of the two families.