Ralph Heinz
Corporal
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2016
- Location
- Pacific Northwest
We've all read that Confederate Cavalry was largely supplied with captured Union weapons and by mid-war they had captured a lot of Yankee pistols when a large number of Union cavalrymen had been captured.
Two years ago at the Denver Gun Show I noticed a M1860 Colt with three initials carved into the right side of the grip and though worn, I could see they were JFR. I kept going back to it. Finally, I asked to handle it and on the left side of the wood grip was a different set of three initials, HDB, which were carved deeper and were easy to make out. That particular dealer had at least 3 tables of percussion revolvers. All numbers matched except the backstrap (116,936) and it had the proper inspection stamps on the grips and elsewhere. The serial number 116,476 meant it was probably part of a shipment of 1,000 to the New York Arsenal at Governor's Island in May of 1863.
I bought it before driving 1200 miles home. For me, those carved initials meant it was almost certainly a revolver captured and used by two different Confederate cavalrymen. The worn set of initials probably indicated that its first user either died, was wounded, or deserted. The second set, HDB, would most likely have been the second man to have used it.
Over a year later, while recovering from a serious accident and two surgeries, I got a lot of ACW reading done to pass the time and while looking at this old Colt, I happened to turn it upside down in the afternoon sunlight and noticed a tiny pair of periods stamped into the wood with an S between them. With a 10 power loop I found a C that was partially obliterated by a small gouge in the wood. Those C. S. stamps were only approximately 3.5 mm high.
The dealer I got it from had never mentioned those marks and his only "Come on" was that I could look up the initials and find out who used it in the war. (I knew there was no chance of that).
We've all been warned decades ago that unscrupulous people have stamped all manner of things with fraudulent Confederate markings and Norm Flayderman wrote of this as well. However, these stamps are so small, light and nearly obliterated I believe they are genuine. The stamps are so tiny I've never seen any that small. I doubt any previous owner saw them either.
It would be one thing to shoot a Yankee cavalryman in battle and take his pistol but in fact large numbers of Yankees were captured together, disarmed, and their weapons would then be issued out as needed. I think this is one of those guns.
The Colt has a very light patina with traces of blue but is well-used. When you read about the tremendous rain storms that soaked these men for days (like July 4th and the retreat from Gettysburg) you can understand that revolvers carried in leather holsters would have suffered from rust and were most likely cleaned up after the rain stopped (and the holster dried out) with emery paper just as their muskets were. It explains why some weapons have little original finish but were not "scrubbed bright" by some later day collector. Emory paper was imported from England by the Confederacy and was used by the Union Army as well. This is one of those items that has "seen the elephant" and its holster shows a lot of use as well.
Two years ago at the Denver Gun Show I noticed a M1860 Colt with three initials carved into the right side of the grip and though worn, I could see they were JFR. I kept going back to it. Finally, I asked to handle it and on the left side of the wood grip was a different set of three initials, HDB, which were carved deeper and were easy to make out. That particular dealer had at least 3 tables of percussion revolvers. All numbers matched except the backstrap (116,936) and it had the proper inspection stamps on the grips and elsewhere. The serial number 116,476 meant it was probably part of a shipment of 1,000 to the New York Arsenal at Governor's Island in May of 1863.
I bought it before driving 1200 miles home. For me, those carved initials meant it was almost certainly a revolver captured and used by two different Confederate cavalrymen. The worn set of initials probably indicated that its first user either died, was wounded, or deserted. The second set, HDB, would most likely have been the second man to have used it.
Over a year later, while recovering from a serious accident and two surgeries, I got a lot of ACW reading done to pass the time and while looking at this old Colt, I happened to turn it upside down in the afternoon sunlight and noticed a tiny pair of periods stamped into the wood with an S between them. With a 10 power loop I found a C that was partially obliterated by a small gouge in the wood. Those C. S. stamps were only approximately 3.5 mm high.
The dealer I got it from had never mentioned those marks and his only "Come on" was that I could look up the initials and find out who used it in the war. (I knew there was no chance of that).
We've all been warned decades ago that unscrupulous people have stamped all manner of things with fraudulent Confederate markings and Norm Flayderman wrote of this as well. However, these stamps are so small, light and nearly obliterated I believe they are genuine. The stamps are so tiny I've never seen any that small. I doubt any previous owner saw them either.
It would be one thing to shoot a Yankee cavalryman in battle and take his pistol but in fact large numbers of Yankees were captured together, disarmed, and their weapons would then be issued out as needed. I think this is one of those guns.
The Colt has a very light patina with traces of blue but is well-used. When you read about the tremendous rain storms that soaked these men for days (like July 4th and the retreat from Gettysburg) you can understand that revolvers carried in leather holsters would have suffered from rust and were most likely cleaned up after the rain stopped (and the holster dried out) with emery paper just as their muskets were. It explains why some weapons have little original finish but were not "scrubbed bright" by some later day collector. Emory paper was imported from England by the Confederacy and was used by the Union Army as well. This is one of those items that has "seen the elephant" and its holster shows a lot of use as well.
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