Cavalry saber

The cavalry saber is a weapon that appears in both The History Channel: Civil War – A Nation Divided and History Civil War: Secret Missions. It has the longest range of all melee weapons and can kill with mostly one strike. The method of attack is mostly slashing, since a curved blade sword is used primarily for slashing and very ideal for horseback. Although it can also stab.

It also appears in the hands of officers in History Channel's Civil War: The Game - Great Battles

Real life
Unlike in the game in which common infantry can use swords, swords in the Civil War were only for the use of the commanding officers or cavalrymen.

Interestingly, while the saber was intended for use on horseback, we do not see it being used in horseback in the games.