Jackson's Revolver

[Lazy Bayou]

Awesome, Aaron! Thank you much. I haven't handled his revolver, but I touched his desk. .

That's right, I do remember saying you sneaked across the room to touch his desk.

 

[Nathanb1]

That's right, I do remember saying you sneaked across the room to touch his desk.

That docent turned her back. Fair game. (I have never done anything like that in my life...I am a total rule follower! You should have seen the look on my husband's face when he turned around and saw me! You would think I was standing there stark naked. )

 

[cwtalker15]

Jackson was given a number of weapons by his men and friends. Check out this look alike Lefaucheux. It resembles the Jackson original, but this one is not as fancy. It is extremely similar!
In the book "The Confederate Lemat Revolver" by Doug Adams, he mentions that Jackson was also given a LeMat revolver in October, 1862, by General PT Beauregard, (see page 37 of the book). Don't you wonder what happened to that revolver??

Here is an updated picture of General Jackson's Lefaucheux revolver

The General's is more elaborate, but... doesn't it look like the other one I posted?

 

[Aaron]

The General's is more elaborate, but... doesn't it look like the other one I posted?

Definitely. It is probably by the same maker. Here is a little more about this particular maker:
http://littlegun.be/arme belge/artisans identifies c/a colette gb.htm

There is one of these models posted on there as well.

 

[dvrmte]

Awesome, Aaron! Thank you much. I haven't handled his revolver, but I touched his desk.

cwtalker, thanks also. Well, knowing Jackson he probably didn't throw it away.

I'm telling, wait till your class finds out! Shame on you!

I have to admit that when I went to Manassas with my boys, they told me they were going to throw a rock off the railroad embankment. I told them they better not. They argued that their ancestors were there and if anyone had a right to, they did. But they said they wouldn't. Well they didn't either, at least until I turned my back. I heard two rocks hit the ground, I turned and got a picture of them standing there with guilt written all over their faces.

 

[Nathanb1]

I'm telling, wait till your class finds out! Shame on you!

I have to admit that when I went to Manassas with my boys, they told me they were going to throw a rock off the railroad embankment. I told them they better not. They argued that their ancestors were there and if anyone had a right to, they did. But they said they wouldn't. Well they didn't either, at least until I turned my back. I heard two rocks hit the ground, I turned and got a picture of them standing there with guilt written all over their faces.

They know. Every time we watch the scene with Jim, I point it out.

 

[BillO]

Ok here is some info on this revolver!

First some back info:

Some of Stonewall Jackson's men were known to carry pinfire revolvers. Here are some excavated 9mm and 12mm pinfire cartridges (made by Chaudun and Chaudun & Derivière) recovered outside of Bunker Hill, WV in Jefferson County. They were recovered from a location where "Stonewall" Jackson's Confederate soldiers were camped for months before the Battle of Harpers Ferry.

Thanks for the links, I had no idea that both govt.'s had imported pinfires for the war. I knew some were around but had assumed wrongly that they had been private purchases. I learned something.

 

[diane]

I'm curious. Robertson gave the impression Jackson's pistol - at least the one he started out with - was in pretty bad shape. He wasn't known to have fired it and that was a good thing. Wonder if that's why his men gave him another! When did they do this? Was it after they fell into that supply bonus at Front Royal - there were hundreds of new pistols there. Did the Union use these French guns?

 

[Bob Owen]

The Union ordered several hundred French pinfires.

 

[Aaron]

View attachment 11396 The Union ordered several hundred French pinfires.

They bought a lot more than that. Around 13,000! Here are the recorded Union purchases:

28 Sep 1861 - 52 Revolver, plus appendages - Purchased from the Herman T. Boker Company
Oct 1861 - 10,000 Revolvers, 200,000 rounds - Purchased directly from Eugene Lefaucheux by Col. Schuyler
17 Dec 1861 - 20 Revolvers - Purchased from Schuyler, Hartley & Graham
20 Dec 1861 - 2000 Revolvers, + 50 rounds for each - Purchased the J.B. King, the US sales agent to Alexis Godillot of Paris and Liège
Dec 1861 - 25 Revolvers - Purchased by General John C Fremont on his trip to Europe to arm the Western Department of the Army
10 Jan 1862 - 92 Revolvers - Purchased from Howland and Aspinwall
17 Jan 1862 - 6 Revolvers - Purchased from Tiffany and Company
8 Mar 1862 - 138 Revolvers - Purchased from importer, George Raphael

 

[BillO]

I don't think the Union ordered any in 9mm and surely nothing that fancy.

 

[Aaron]

I don't think the Union ordered any in 9mm and surely nothing that fancy.

Nope, all 12mm.

Here is an example of a couple used in the war from my collection. The first is the cavalry version and the second is the rarer navy version. They are both Lefaucheux Model 1854s.

 

[Bob Owen]

This is a Lafaucheux 12mm pinfire engraved and wearing walrus tusk ivory grips. It came out of a family in Baton Rouge, La. and is one of several in my collection. It has a Confederate carried history.

 

[Bob Owen]

This another out of my collection and is a Belgium copy of the Lafraucheux in 9mm caliber. This one came out of Pearl, Mississippi with a Confederate history.

 

[BillO]

This is a Lafaucheux 12mm pinfire engraved and wearing walrus tusk ivory grips. It came out of a family in Baton Rouge, La. and is one of several in my collection. It has a Confederate carried history. View attachment 11409

What caliber is 12mm. Close to .50 isn't it?

 

[Bob Owen]

What caliber is 12mm. Close to .50 isn't it?

12mm is .47244 inches

 

[BillO]

12mm is .47244 inches

What kind of powder charge would something like that have? Ever fired one?

 

[Bob Owen]

I would guess in the 28 grain range. I have shot the little 2mm miniture pinfires but not the big ones. Original ammo is expensive and is no longer made.

 

[Aaron]

What kind of powder charge would something like that have? Ever fired one?

The ones that the Frankford Arsenal had made here in the US by C.D. Leet, Allen & Wheelock, and Christian Sharps called for the cartridges to have a higher powder quantity (than normal 12mm pinfire cartridges) "equal to those of Colt's army revolvers." The C. D. Leet boxes list the charge as 25 grains of powder.

I have attached a sectioned picture of your typical 12mm cartridge - this one is by ELEY -and one by C. D. Leet. You will notice that the C. D. Leet one has noticably more powder. These pictures are to the same scale.

Also, here is the C. D Leet boxes that say the 25 grains:

 

[Bob Owen]

I knew Aaron would know for sure. He's the expert on the pinfires.