This jeweled sword was presented to Captain Charles
Wilkes by the city of Boston in 1862 in recognition
of his service as commanding officer of the USS
San Jacinto during the arrest of Confederate
commissioners James M. Mason and John Slidell while
they were en route to England on the British mail
steamer Trent.
Division of the History of Technology, Armed Forces
History
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian
Institution
Behring Center
Gift of Miss Jane Wilkes
