E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
The 29th Regiment of Foot, now called the Worcestershire Regiment. In 1746 a part of this regiment, then at St. Johns Island, was surprised by the French and massacred, when a command was issued that henceforth every officer, even at meals, should wear his sword. In 18421859 the regiment was in the East Indies, and the order was relaxed, requiring only the captain and subaltern of the day to dine with their swords on.