REVOLVERS OF THE CIVIL WAR

The Union's Handguns

The American Civil War, which pitted the Union against the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, represents a fundamental period in the history of American firearms.

While Springfield and Enfield rifles remain associated with the infantry, the black powder revolver became the iconic sidearm of officers, cavalrymen, artillerymen, and many volunteers. The war generated an unprecedented increase in demand for firearms and profoundly transformed the American arms industry.

Colt, Remington, Starr, Smith & Wesson, Savage, Whitney, and many smaller manufacturers would participate, directly or indirectly, in this immense armament effort.

For collectors of antique American firearms, this period is of exceptional interest. The Colt 1851 Navy, Colt 1860 Army, Colt 1861 Navy, Remington Beals, Remington Model 1861, Remington New Model Army, Starr, and Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army are today among the most iconic pieces in collections dedicated to the American Civil War.

A Small American Army Before the War

On the eve of the Civil War, the regular United States Army was a surprisingly small force. It numbered approximately 16,000 men, stationed throughout forts and territories in the American West.

Revolvers were not the standard individual weapon of every serviceman. They were primarily intended for officers, cavalry units, and certain artillerymen or specialized personnel.

This situation would change dramatically with the outbreak of the conflict in April 1861.

The armies of the Union and the Confederacy would quickly grow to include hundreds of thousands of soldiers. A large proportion of these men did not belong to the pre-war regular army. They were volunteers, militiamen, conscripts, and members of regiments raised by individual states.

This particular situation explains the extraordinary diversity of firearms encountered during the war.

Unlike a professional European army, American regiments were often equipped through multiple sources: the federal government, state governments, municipalities, private companies, influential individuals, officers, or even the soldiers themselves.

It is therefore essential, when studying Civil War revolvers, to distinguish between standard-issue military weapons, firearms purchased directly by the government, and personally owned firearms purchased by military personnel.

The Colt Dragoon

In 1848, the Colt Dragoon appeared as a direct descendant of the Walker.

Three principal models were manufactured until 1860. The Dragoon retained the .44 caliber but benefited from stronger construction and numerous improvements.

The U.S. Army purchased approximately 8,900 examples, making the Dragoon the principal standard-issue revolver of the American cavalry before the Civil War.

When the war began in 1861, several hundred of these revolvers remained in service.

Some officers also continued to carry their personally owned Dragoons, explaining the presence of these firearms in collections and photographs associated with the war.

The Colt 1860 Army: The Great Revolver of the Civil War

Introduced in 1850, the Colt Model 1851 Navy quickly became one of the most popular revolvers in the United States.

Its .36 caliber, excellent accuracy, and remarkable balance made it highly appreciated by officers and servicemen alike.

Even before the war, the Ordnance Department had ordered 16,778 examples. Once the conflict began, the government also purchased additional revolvers from the civilian market in order to quickly equip volunteer regiments.

The Colt 1851 Navy therefore falls into both categories: a military firearm officially purchased by the government and a personal firearm purchased by military personnel.

For collectors, military examples are particularly desirable when they retain their inspection marks and acceptance stamps.

The Colt 1862 Police

The Colt 1862 Police belongs to a different category.
It is a compact .36 caliber revolver designed primarily for the civilian market and personal defense.
It was not adopted as a standard-issue revolver by the U.S. Army and was never the subject of a major military contract comparable to the Colt 1860 Army. However, many officers purchased their own revolvers, and the 1862 Police can therefore be encountered in the context of the war.
This distinction is important for collectors: a firearm may have actually been used during the war without ever having been officially adopted by the military.

The revolvers were ultimately placed in storage in government arsenals.

The Rogers & Spencer is therefore particularly interesting to collectors: it was indeed a military revolver purchased by the federal government during the Civil War, but it should not be presented as a revolver that saw widespread service on the battlefields of 1861-1865.
After several decades of storage, the revolvers were eventually sold as surplus in the early twentieth century.
Today, the Rogers & Spencer is especially sought after for its high manufacturing quality, relative rarity, and its status as the last major percussion military revolver adopted by the Union during the war.

Smith & Wesson: The Personal Sidearms of Civil War Soldiers

The history of Smith & Wesson during the American Civil War is particularly interesting because it perfectly illustrates the difference between a government-issued weapon and a privately owned sidearm. While Colt and Remington primarily produced percussion revolvers, Smith & Wesson benefited from Rollin White's patent, which allowed the use of a cylinder bored through from end to end for metallic cartridges.
The small Smith & Wesson Model No. 1, chambered in .22 Rimfire, was already enjoying considerable success before the outbreak of the conflict.
But it was above all the Model No. 2 Army that attracted military interest.

Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army

Introduced in 1861, the Model No. 2 Army was chambered for .32 Rimfire and featured a six-shot cylinder. Its tip-up design allowed much faster reloading than percussion revolvers. The Federal Government never adopted it as a standard service revolver.
The Model No. 2 Army was purchased primarily through private acquisition by officers and enlisted soldiers. Several units nevertheless carried significant numbers of them. The case of the 7th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry is particularly interesting, as the State of Kentucky acquired Smith & Wesson revolvers to equip its volunteers.

Total production of the Model No. 2 Army reached approximately 77,000 revolvers. For collectors, this firearm is therefore a particularly interesting example of the personal weapons carried by Union soldiers. The famous General George Armstrong Custer himself owned Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army revolvers, illustrating the popularity of this weapon among certain officers.

Other Union Revolvers

Colt, Remington, Starr, and Smith & Wesson were not the only manufacturers involved during the conflict.

Several other companies contributed to the war effort.

The Savage Navy Model 1861, recognizable by its distinctive double-trigger system, was purchased by the Federal Government and is now considered a particularly desirable collector's firearm.

The Whitney Navy revolvers, partly inspired by the Colt 1851 Navy, were also produced in quantity, and some were purchased by Union forces.

This diversity is one of the defining characteristics of the American Civil War: unlike a modern army equipped with a limited number of standardized models, American forces used many different types of revolvers simultaneously.

Conclusion

The American Civil War represents one of the most important periods in the history of the American revolver.

The conflict pitted two radically different industrial systems against each other. In the North, the large manufacturing firms of Colt, Remington, Starr, and other makers were capable of producing hundreds of thousands of firearms. In the South, a much more limited industrial base attempted to meet military needs by developing both copies and original designs.

The Colt 1851 Navy, Colt 1860 Army, Colt 1861 Navy, Remington-Beals Army, Remington Old Army, Remington New Model Army, and Starr represent the principal military revolvers of the period. Alongside them, the Smith & Wesson Model No. 1 and No. 2 Army illustrate the importance of personal sidearms purchased directly by soldiers.

For collectors, each of these firearms tells a different story. An inspector's mark, a serial number, an acceptance cartouche, or documented military provenance can transform a simple antique revolver into a genuine witness to the American Civil War.

More than 160 years after the end of the conflict, these firearms remain among the most sought-after pieces in collections of antique American firearms, valued for their historical significance, quality of manufacture, and direct connection to the history of the American West.