Best Confederate Made Revolver

jr baker

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Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Location
covington tn
What was the best confederate made revolver I like the spiller & burr myself or the leech & rigdon. But what everybody else views thanks
 
If I could have any southern made revolver made in very good condition it would be a Cosley at least I think that was the name of the maker. There are only something like 2 known to exist.
 
BillO -

Would you perhaps mean a T.W. Cofer?

I think if we are going to pursue this exercise we should state WHY we choose a particular revolver! You know what I mean, reliability, ammunition logistics, sturdiness, etc. Or, it just appeals to me because it's just a cool looking revolver!

No matter how you slice it, it's all just mental bubble gum anyway!

Jobe
 
The reason I like the spiller and burr revolver is that I really like th goods of it and that it was a rare one the some. The reason I like the leech & rigdon it had a iron frame vs a brass one
 
call for an expert!

Can someone with a bit of knowledge please tell us about how many revolver manufacturers there were in the Confederate states? Couldn't have been too many???
 
I'm a fan of the Griswold & Gunnison, aka the Griswald, made in Griswoldville, GA. They were made in a former Cotton Gin factory, and it was one of the most produced pistols, with about 3,606 units made. In an episode of Who Do You Think You Are, director Spike Lee got to hold,an original Griswold, that his ancestor, a slave owned by Samuel Griswold may very well have helped manufacture, as he (the Ancestor) was in fact working in the factory making pistols. I own a Navy Arms repop of the Griswold, that I am trying to trade or sell to get a Pocket model (love the gun, just tooooo much weight on my sword belt.)
 
Agusta Machine works

T.W. Cofer

Columbus Fire Arms

Dance & Brothers

J & F Garrett-Single shot

Fayetteville made 1855 type pistol/carbine.

Leech & Rigdon

Palmetto Armory-single shot

Rigdon Ansley

Schneider & Glassick

Spiller & Burr

Todd

Tucker

Imports to the Confederacy include;

Adams

LeMat

Kerr

Tranter

And a few others.

Since I favor the Colt Navy type of revolver, my choice would be either, Agusta Machine works, Rigdon Ansley, or Leech & Rigdon-All Navy type and all with iron frames.
 
Looks as if the South was more "industrialized" than I thought. Looks like Nashville, Selma and Augusta weren't alone.
 
For sheer beauty, I like the LaMat. The lines on that pistol are georgeous IMHO... I am aware that actual functioning when needed left a little to be desired, but it is a beautiful piece.


My alltime favorite beautiful pistol is the '58 Remington, but this thread is about the good guy's pistols and about the only way they could get one is to win it by being left standing.
 
The South had, built, converted, added on to, purchased from europe, or borrowed from the Union enough machinery and built or converted enough buildings to turn out enough firearms to keep there armies and home guards fairly well armed by mid war. But, none of them ever really took off for lack of skilled labor and metals to feed the machinery. The waste from all this is staggering, but so is the problems encountered by anyone trying to build firearms during the war in the Southern states. Men with good intentions and wonderful drive and energy would build a armory in the most unlikely place in a short time that would produce good firearms but be defeated by just trying to feed the hired help or the advance of the enemy. Some others never had a chance because the project was so large and up to date that there was no time to even finish it much less staff it and provide all the needed metals and food and houseing . Burton once inspected a newly built armory in a mountain area and was amazed at the buildings, houseing, power provided, and location. He was further amazed that the machinery was built and collected by a group that had no previous knowledge of an armory, as all of it was in good working order but had to tell the manager that the wall of his brand new forge shop would have to be removed as the chimneys were all built on the wrong side of the wall. No matter how many problems were solved ten times more were encountered.
 
Colt copies:
Augusta Machine Works 100
Columbus Fire Arms 100
JH Dance Bros. 500
Griswold & Gunnison 3,700
Leech & Rigdon 1,500
Rigdon Ansley & Co 1,000
Schneider & Glassick 50

Spiller & Burr approx 1400


Imports
Adams import #'s unknown
Kerr was the single most common Pistol available to the CS estimated at better than 10,000
LeMat 1500
Tranter 3000 (I'm not sure if that's a valid number or an educated guess)


None of the Colt copies were anywhere near the quality of a Colt and the Spiller & Burr was more of a Whitney Navy than anything original.

The best imported arms available in any numbers were the Adams and Kerr revolvers (I've heard widely varying opinions on the Tranter) and the CS never turned their nose up at Remington, Colt, Whitney, Starr or any other US manufactured revolver they could get their hands on. The plethera of brass framed toys carried today by CS reenactors are a re-enactorism with at best only a minimal bassis in reality.
 
I think your right there, Johan, 12,000 Modelle 1858 Lefaucheux pinfires were purchased by the Federal Government, and for some reason, that I cant recall right now, I seem to remember somewhere that Jackson had one
 
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