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Sword featuring a cavalry combat motif. The duel between Guindey and Louis of Prussia at Saalfeld?
Gilt-bronze hilt, checkered ebony grip with a mother-of-pearl lozenge in the center, and a fine eagle-head quillon confirming the period of manufacture: the Empire!
Total length 96 cm, including an 83 cm blade (traces of engraving remain, though there is significant oxidation in places).
Lion-head pommel; the guard branch also terminates in two lion heads; no scabbard.
October 10, 1806: Prince Louis of Prussia is killed by *Maréchal-des-Logis* Guindey at Saalfeld.
The small scene depicted on the guard plate appears to relate directly to this episode.
A light cavalryman is shown sabering an officer who holds a pistol in one hand and a saber in the other—a detail that aligns perfectly with the events of the Prussian campaign that proved fatal to King Frederick William's cousin.
3rd photo: a reproduction of the painting by Peter Edward Stroehling, "The Death of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia" (1772–1806), Royal Collection.
On October 10, while attempting to cover his infantry's retreat, Prince Louis Ferdinand found himself alone.
Two hussars charged at him. The prince fired his pistols at them, forcing one to flee, but the other—Guindey—bore down on the prince and ordered him to surrender.
Louis replied, "Surrender? Never! *Sieg oder Tod!*" (Victory or death), and struck the *maréchal-des-logis* across the face with his saber.
Before he could land a second blow, Guindey thrust his blade through the prince’s chest.
While Guindey was having his wounds dressed by surgeons, Lannes sent Prince Louis’s saber and star of the Order of the Black Eagle to the Emperor and requested a reward for Guindey. The Emperor awarded him the Cross of Honor, remarking, "I would have made him an officer, too, had he brought me the prince alive."
On the morning of October 12, before leaving Saalfeld, Lannes visited the field hospital to meet Guindey and presented him with his decoration, recounting the Emperor’s words.
Showing his wound, Guindey replied: “It is not my fault, Marshal; look at the state he left me in. I can assure you he was in no mood to surrender.”
On October 14, 1806, Guindey was a *maréchal-des-logis-chef* (senior quartermaster-sergeant) in the 10th Hussars.
He became a second lieutenant on April 20, 1807. He was severely wounded outside Saragossa on December 21, 1808, and at Wagram on July 6, 1809.
On September 11, 1809, he became a lieutenant in the 8th Hussars.
Guindey subsequently joined the Imperial Guard.
He became a junior lieutenant (*lieutenant en second*) in the Horse Grenadiers on June 24, 1811, then a junior lieutenant serving as *sous-adjudant-major* on December 6, 1811, and a senior lieutenant (*lieutenant en premier*) serving as *sous-adjudant-major* on February 9, 1813. He was made an Officer of the Legion of Honour on September 14, 1813.
On October 29, 1813, at the age of 28, he died during the Battle of Hanau.