Legends of the Broadsword: An Incident at Waterloo
In the early stages of the battle of Waterloo, a French officer armed with a smallsword attempted to storm a sandbank abreast of La Haye Saint. Unfortunately for the French officer, he was met by a massive Highlander, six and a half feet tall and armed with a saber.
It has often been said that the broadsword or saber would be no match for the smallsword in actual combat, but the results of this encounter would argue otherwise. The Frenchman, although undeniably brave, was insufficiently cautious, while the Highlander in question was "slow to wrath, but a fury when roused."
The French officer made a thrust with his smallsword, but missed the body, piercing the Highlander's left arm without seriously wounding him. The big man was stung into anger but by no means incapacitated, and his immediate response was to hit the Frenchman so hard in the head that his saber snapped off at the hilt. He then drove the hilt into the Frenchman's face, and kicked him to death on the ground where he fell.
A fencing match? Not exactly. But a decisive result!
(Random shots from a Rifleman , by John Kincaid, 1835)