He Designed His Own Sword

Patton was a master of the sword at West Point and one of the best fencers in the country. Adjutant Charles Cléry, a French "master of weapons" and fencing instructor at the cavalry school in Saumur, France, taught Patton fencing methods after the 1912 Olympics. Taking these teachings back to Fort Myer, Patton revised the U.S. cavalry's saber fighting doctrine, favoring thrusting strikes over the traditional slashing technique and creating a new blade specifically for such attacks. The first 20,000 of the Model 1913 Cavalry Saber, sometimes known as the "Patton saber," were ordered in 1913, during his brief assignment to the Army Chief of Staff.

After that, Patton went back to Saumur to pick up more sophisticated tactics before applying what he had learned to the Mounted Service School in Fort Riley, Kansas, where he would study and teach fencing. He was the first Army officer to receive the title "Master of the Sword," which designates the school's best swordsmanship instructor. He began teaching fencing to other cavalry officers after arriving in September 1913, many of whom were higher in rank than he was. This fact also ends the list of fact about George Patton.