Handguns Manderson's Pistols

19thOhio

Corporal
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Location
Stark county Ohio
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In his The Twin SevenShooters Col. Charles F. Manderson describes the presentation of these pistols given to him by his men in the 19th Ohio shortly after the Battle of Stones River. He then tells how he lost the guns and their eventual return, years later.
Can anyone tell me anything about the pistols shown in the picture? Thanks.
 
The Moore Patent seven shooter was one of the most advanced handguns of the civil war era. They were manufactured between 1861 and 1863, with from three to five thousand produced. It was the first cartridge revolver I'm aware of that had a swing out cylinder. You would press a release catch on the right recoil shield, and the barrel and cylinder would pivot together to the right, allowing the cartridges to be punched out from the front with the extractor rod stored under the barrel. It was a popular private purchase weapon for officers and enlisted men alike. It was seven shot, chambered in .32 caliber rimfire. Production was halted by a lawsuit from Smith and Wesson, for patent infringement on the Rollin White patent for a bored through cylinder. A very nice weapon by any definition!
 
Thanks for the information. I looked them up and it was very interesting. I wasn't aware that there were rimfire cartridges by CW time. I know that officers thought repeating guns would just allow the men to waste ammunition.

I often wonder where that pair of presentation pistols are now. Manderson's book can be view online. It also contains a picture of the pistols in the presentation box.
 
The Moore was better thought of than it deserved to be. It was very prone to fouling, it had a very slow twist to the rifling making it prone to having the projectiles tumble instead of spinning causing the Moore to be very inaccurate at more than a few yards distance. The iron barrel/cylinder assembly pivoted on a brass stud at the front of the brass frame so unless the revolver was practically brand new there could be quite a bit of wear at that juncture -- another cause of inaccuracy. The hammers on the Moore are sometimes found with one or both sides of the V notched rear sight leafs broken off.
 
The Moore was better thought of than it deserved to be. It was very prone to fouling, it had a very slow twist to the rifling making it prone to having the projectiles tumble instead of spinning causing the Moore to be very inaccurate at more than a few yards distance. The iron barrel/cylinder assembly pivoted on a brass stud at the front of the brass frame so unless the revolver was practically brand new there could be quite a bit of wear at that juncture -- another cause of inaccuracy. The hammers on the Moore are sometimes found with one or both sides of the V notched rear sight leafs broken off.
So it wasn't that great of reward after all. :smile:
 
The Moore was an amazing weapon for its time. By todays standards, it was less than ideal. As far as the fouling problem, all revolvers had this before smokeless powder came along. I'd much rather have a Moore than, say, a colt 1849, or a Smith and Wesson model 1. But that's just my opinion.
 
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