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Continued: The Sword, by J.M. Dale My father left me a sword which he said had belonged to his grandfather's grandfather, but I was too young to ask, "which grandfather"? The sword is a cavalry saber. The hilt is silver and ivory with an eagle's head; some of the original bluing near the tip of the blade has been worn off by use. The silver-plated scabbard bears a federal insignia consisting of an eagle above a shield containing 15 stars. This indicates the sword was issued between 1792, when KY became the 15th state, and 1796, when TN became the 16th state. I knew for certain that this sword was taken out the Oregon trail in 1870 from TN, and then in 1882 from OR to CA to TX in another covered wagon, by my father's mother's family, Michael Collier Bright and Hiley Stonecypher Bright. Now Michael Collier Bright's grandfathers were Michael Bright Jr. and John Collier Jr. Search of the Family Archives CD, "U.S. Soldiers 1784-1811" shows no record that Bright served in the military, but does document that John Collier served in the Virginia Militia from 1791 to 1807 with the rank of Sergeant. Therefore the sword must be his. The principal U.S. military campaigns during this time period were the "Whiskey Rebellion" in W. PA in 1794, put down by militia from 4 states, including VA; and the "Battle of Fallen Timbers" in OH in 1795, during which the Indians were finally expelled from their land by the "long knives" such as Sgt. John. John was born N.C. in 1772, the son of Revolutionary War Col. John Collier and Margaret Regart. His parents migrated to Greene Cty., TN in 1792, while John was in the army, and upon discharge, John settled there with his wife, Rebecca Register,who was born in DE in 1784 and migrated to Greene county with her parents in the early 1790s. The couple had six children including my ancestor, Lydia Collier, mother of Michael Collier Bright.
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