Swords and sabers are traditional weapons of war and were an important part of every officer's dress uniform on both sides of the Civil War. Among the enlisted men in the Union army, however, only sergeants, cavalrymen, select artillerymen, and musicians were issued swords, and rather plain ones at that, since they were designed more for fighting than dress. The swords issued to officers tended to be much more ornate and served as a symbol of rank rather than a fighting weapon. Only the sabers carried by cavalry and light artillery officers were actual weapons, though they weren't used as often as rifles and sidearms.

The vast majority of regulation swords issued to Union soldiers were patterned on weapons of the French army, and most were made by private firms or purchased from foreign manufacturers. European sword makers provided nearly all officers' blades, which were based on an 1850 pattern. It was also common for citizens and military subordinates to give specially made presentation swords to officers as tokens of appreciation for exceptional service or bravery or as a symbol of esteem. Most of these ornate swords, which were quite expensive, were for formal occasions rather than actual fighting.

Swords held much greater appeal among Confederate soldiers because they harkened back to an era of chivalry and romance, an era that was still in effect in the midcentury South. As in the North, swords were both a symbol of rank and a fighting weapon, though they were rarely used. Instead, cavalry and artillery forces relied on sidearms for self-defense because they were reliable and effective. Confederate infantry officers commonly wore swords but used them in combat only when absolutely necessary.

Most Confederate swords were variations of models used by the U.S. Army and were manufactured by Southern companies. A large number of Confederate officers, however, wore imported swords, cherished family heirlooms, or U.S. swords acquired during service in the prewar army.

In addition to their sidearms, many Confederate soldiers carried large bowie knives, named after James Bowie, one of the heroes of the Alamo, who was said to have originated the knife's design. The knives were large — blades ranged from six to eighteen inches in length — and served a number of functions, including skinning wild animals, scaling fish, whittling branches, and self-defense. During man-to-man fighting, a well-honed bowie knife could take off a man's arm with a single swipe.