Nice Civil War Colt 1849 Pocket Revolver With Desirable Hartford Barrel Address

This is really nice example of a Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver that was made towards the end of the year 1860 at a very turbulent time in American history. When I saw this on the table of a friend of mine at a Civil War show, the brightness of the original blue and vivid original case colors caused me to take note. In case you've never been to one, Civil War shows are full of items and dug relics that are 160+ years old and let's just say it's a sea of brown and grey patina as most surviving items were used hard and lived outdoors for years in a war PLUS 16 decades. That said, when you see a gun like this in such high condition, it really stands out so it caught my eye as it was so strong. Its serial is 177,823 with standard 4" octagon barrel, 5-shot cylinder, and the shortly-used Hartford Barrel Address. This was made in a very pivotal few months. Following the John Brown Raid on Harpers Ferry Virginia in 1859 and the presidential election in November 1860, the fragile Union of States which had been held together in a delicate balance for decades was finally broken, leading to the American Civil War in April 1861.

Arms makers like Colt saw such a rise in orders that they doubled their workforce in anticipation of war. Sam Colt was more than willing to furnish both sides. He sold to the pro-Union North as well as the secessionist South before having to assert his loyalty to the Union due to bad press that claimed he was selling his revolvers to Southern buyers at lower prices. Whatever the case, once the war started, the shipments stopped going South. One cool aspect of these 1860 production Colts is they have the potential of having shipped to Confederacy which is often more appealing to collectors because the South wasn't able to purchase nearly many Colts compared to the North and its buying window was limited just into April 1861.

There is an interesting excerpt in The Story of Colt's Revolver by William Edwards published in 1953. Mr. Edwards research of the early days of Colt is quite impressive and while very few factory records exist on shipments of the Model 1849, he found a letter from a customer of one of his 1849s that is just 200 serial numbers away from ours.

"The work speedup at the factory was beginning to tell, and sloppy inspection was inevitable. From Frog Level, South Carolina, came the plaintive croak of Mr. D. Mower on April 4, 1861, writing a request for a new nipple for his 5-inch .31 caliber Pocket Pistol, #177621, as it had one tube too short to bust a cap."

One of the interesting changes made to Colt's revolvers in the late 1850s was the switch from his New York Headquarters address on his barrel to using his factory address in located in Hartford, Connecticut. While there is no definitive proof, it's been long discussed that Colt may have bowed to the sentiments of his many Southern buyers who viewed New York, particularly New York City, as the focal point of the Abolitionist movement. Whatever the case, the timing is curious as the change occurs in the late 1850s but then abruptly changes back to the New York Address once the war started including some models that change almost within a fortnight of the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861 like the Model 1860. However, the Colt 1849 Pocket seems to have held onto its Hartford Address throughout most of 1861 even months after the war began so it's not exactly a clean break in nomenclature but still noteworthy.

Once the War started in April 1861 and thousands of young men volunteered to fight both in the North and the South, there was much demand for Colt 1849 Pocket Revolvers as there is tremendous photographic evidence that Confederate and Union soldiers carried these as their personal weapons. See photos.

Overall Condition Grades to NRA Antique Fine++ to the Low End of Excellent which is generally about 80% original overall finish remaining. This one has almost all of its original bright unfaded case colors remaining on the frame, loading lever, and quite a bit still on the hammer. However, while the blue is thick and bright on the barrel, it's flaked down to about 70% on the barrel. The cylinder is very sharp with excellent scene and has flaked down to about 15% in little scattered patches. Such is the nature of the original fragile Colt charcoal bluing process. The screws still have most of their original fire or nitre tempered blue while the brass trigger guard shows 80% original silver plating and the backstrap retains over 90%. The excellent grips still have almost all of their original varnish. The mechanics are in good shape and could have seen use in the war as it does show evidence of having been fired with a Very Good Bore. All the numbers are matching throughout which includes the cylinder, barrel, frame, loading lever, arbor pin, trigger guard, backstrap, and even under the grips scribed in ink in 1860 by a Colt workman. It's so nice that I wonder if it wasn't originally in a case as sunlight will fade original finish especially case colors. This could have been in a situation where a soldier carried it for a short time before becoming sick, wounded, or going home from a short stent. It doesn't show harsh at all but it did something back in its short period of usage. Great example 1849 Pocket in a very desirable Civil War Serial Range that survived in high condition.

Item# i569

$3,125