The mimeographed flyer was printed on green paper and illustrated second- and third-generation, dark-contrast, cut-and-paste photocopies of various firearms for sale by McGee Industries of Mississippi. I was 15 years old at the time, and in the 48 years since, I have never seen a shoddier example of marketing than that flyer, but at the time, it was my “golden ticket.” A cap-and-ball, percussion, steel-frame, .44-caliber reproduction of the Colt 1860 Army revolver made by SILE Co. was only $77, and I was sure I could not live without it. I literally sat on the doorstep for days waiting for the UPS man to make his delivery. Never in my life have I been so excited to own a gun, and it’s one that I still have to this day. It may be personal bias from that heady first experience, but the Colt 1860 Army, or New Model Army revolver as it was referred to at the time of its manufacture, remains my favorite revolver of the Civil War era. It is the sleekest, most ergonomic and stylish revolver of the 19th century. It has lines and curves that rival any centerfold—of guns, that is.
It was designed by Samuel Colt with help from his plant superintendent Elisha King Root as a response to the U.S. Army’s desire for a large-caliber revolver that would be considerably lighter than Colt’s Dragoon .44, which weighed in at 66 ounces. Colt produced some trial revolvers that weighed 40 ounces and fired a .454-inch, conical-shaped bullet with 30 grains of blackpowder. The biggest innovation compared with the Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver was the creeping loading lever that Root designed for the Colt 1855 side-hammer revolver. Colt used the same frame as was used on the manufacture of the Navy revolver, but rebated the frame to accept the larger .44-caliber cylinder. Fifteen other parts from the Navy revolver were interchangeable with the Army as well. By fully fluting the cylinder, Colt managed to shave weight off the revolver, and it received an encouraging welcome from the U.S. Ordnance Department. Colt began manufacture of the New Model Army revolver in November of 1860, less than a month before South Carolina seceded from the Union, starting the American Civil War.
Samuel Colt was a true entrepreneur who had the ability to charm his military contacts with lavish examples of his wares and secure contracts fraught with obstacles, any of which might have discouraged most businessmen of the era. Charles W. Pate, currently the leading author and expert on American antique firearms, relates a most interesting story on Colt’s hurdles to get military contracts for his New Model Army revolver in his book “The Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver.” Just before the start of the war in April, 1861, an Army-appropriations bill was before congress that stipulated any government purchase of arms would have of those manufactured only by United States armories (Springfield, MA, and Harpers Ferry, VA (at the time—now West Virginia). Colt was able to get an amendment added that exempted pistols and swords from the bill, but at the same time another amendment was added that forbade the government from purchasing any arms manufactured using any current patents.
Colt’s rollmark graces the top of the revolver’s barrel • A loading lever, borrowed from the 1855 side-hammer Colt revolver, is located under the barrel and is used to pack projectile and powder into each chamber when preparing the revolver to fire • Each chamber has a nipple, upon which a percussion cap would be placed to ignite the powder in the chamber when struck by the revolver’s hammer.
That bill, when passed, became a double-edged sword for Colt. On one hand, his revolvers were exempt, but then disqualified because he held patents on many of their design features. With seven and eventually 11 states about to enter a state of rebellion against the federal government, Colt did what any businessman worth his salt would do: Unable to sell to the U.S. government, he eagerly sold to state governments south of the Mason-Dixon line. The states of Georgia, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana purchased anywhere from 50 to a few thousand of Colt’s newest .44-caliber revolver. Even the Confederate purchasing agent, Raphael Semmes, purchased 500 guns on behalf of the infant Confederate government, and they arrived in Richmond 10 days after Fort Sumter fell.
Initially, the first few thousand revolvers had fully fluted cylinders and were cut for the addition of a wooden shoulder stock. Most were made with an 8-inch barrel, but a significant number of the first 10,000 were made with a 7.5-inch barrel. After around serial number 5,000, the remaining guns to be manufactured had unfluted cylinders and bore an engraving of a naval battle between the Texas Navy and the Republic of Mexico that occurred in the 1840s. The New Model Army was manufactured from 1860 until 1873, at which time it was replaced by the iconic Single Action Army revolver chambered in .45 Colt.
Somewhere in excess of 200,000 New Model Army revolvers were manufactured, with 150,000 of them purchased by the U.S. government during the Civil War years. The balance of 50,000 revolvers were private (civilian) or state-government purchases. Army officers were tasked with buying their own sidearms, and most preferred the Colt. Of all the revolvers purchased on behalf of the U.S. Army during the war, Colt’s New Model Army was the most produced and purchased.
Samuel Colt would never know just how popular his last revolver design would become, as he died in January of 1862 at the age of 47. The total number of Colt Model 1860 revolvers produced could easily been at least 100,000 more if it had not been for the Colt factory burning down in early 1864, which halted production for the remainder of the war.
It remains a work of art in the annals of firearms design.
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