Civil war pistol taken in battle by one of my ancestors

[tnt-hunter]

I recently found out that our family has had a confederate pistol since the civil war. It was a big family secret and only a few members of the family knew about it. It was taken in battle by one of my ancestors and quietly passed from one male family member to the next. The only condition was that it had to be passed to a male member bearing our family name. I have 38 cousins, but only 2 of us are male with a male son and in my case a male grandson. My older brother called recently and told me about the pistol and that I was the next in line to have the pistol and to pass it on. I made the 3 hour drive and picked it up last weekend.

It is in good shape and my understanding is it has not been fired since it was acquired in the war. It is an 1851 model colt from a batch manufactured in 1859. It is classified as a Navy colt because it is a .36 caliber instead of the 1860 Army .44 caliber. It was part of the last batch of weapons shipped to the confederacy before the weapons embargo. My brother gave me this info and I need to do more research to see what else I can find out. Unfortunately the story of the weapon did not travel with it through the family as it was passed along. The exact story of how it was taken, what battle was involved and even which relative acquired it has been lost. My brother says he has been trying to get info from Colt to try and track the original owner to return it to that family, but he says the records were all destroyed in the war.

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One thing that makes this a nice piece is all the visible serial numbers match. So the gun has all original parts.

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I’m not sure what the U. C. Under Colts Patent means. Anyone able to help out there?

The butt has 4 notches cut into it that may indicate 4 kills but that is just a guess.

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The holster was not properly cared for so that is a shame. You can see the white stripes where someone used medical adhesive tape to hold it together at one time.

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I still want to do more research to see if there is more info out there my brother missed somehow.

When my grandson gets older he is going to have quite a gun collection. I also have my grandfather’s pump .22 he used to hunt with as a boy and my wife’s grandfathers Colt model 1911 he used in WW1 complete with US holster and magazine. (I even have the receipt from when it was purchased when he mustered out at Fort Dix in 1919.) He will also get a nice little black powder boot pistol from my wife’s family.

Thanks for looking, stay safe and may your coil lead you to good things.

 

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[Blak bart]

Too cool....needs a beautiful display case for presentation. Incredible family heirloom !!

 

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[tnt-hunter]

If I were you I'd join the American Civil War Forum.(deleted for rule violation) Go to the weapons section and post what you have posted above. Those people on that forum are real sleuth's and know where to dig for info. If it's possible to trace it, they can do it. Gary

Thanks Gary. I am going to need all the help I can get to trace this pistol’s story. Stay safe and keep swingin.

 

[Trezurehunter]

What an excellent Civil War and family piece of history. You should try to trace your family and see who had it, and draw up a history on a piece of paper and put both of those in a nice display case.

 

[tnt-hunter]

From my own experience with old CW colt military pistols. A vast majority will return indicating shipment to the US army Depot. Governors Island NY. If you post the serial number I can check some of my letters to see if it falls within any of those pieces acceptance periods. Excellent piece of history with a family connection. ,

Thanks for the input and the offer. My brother tells me this was liberated from a confederate soldier and was part of a shipment to the south in 1859 so New York would be no help. I am trying to get in touch with colt to verify this info, but they are closed because of the snow storm and the message I got said they may not be open until Wednesday. I guess I just have to be patient until someone goes to work at colt. Thanks again, stay safe and keep swingin.

 

[unclemac]

great story, well told

 

[peruna]

tnt-
That is a tremendous gift your family has entrusted to you.
A couple of things might help in your search and research regarding the firearm and the holster...Pecards makes some excellent leather restoration and protection products, some that I have used on military leather from the same period you are dealing with. It will darken the leather, but not out of character for the actual item.

Second, the National Park Service has an excellent resource for tracking both Federal and Confederate soldiers in a database that cross-matches States and Names. You can find the link at nps.gov.

The Colt itself will be a rollercoaster of history...there are a surprising number of vintage Colt databases, but start first at https//www.colt.com>serial-lookups
There are more detailed databases that can actually give you the name (in rare cases) of the ORIGINAL individual that was the owner...but since it was in Confederate use, it may have been a capture or private purchase prior to your relative's acquisition.

There are a very few cases in each of our lives when we come in contact with tangible history...it is yet another reason why metal detecting can be so much fun. Then there are cases like yours, where history seems to search YOU out.

You are a very blessed and fortunate "son".

 

[WannaDig3687]

A Fantastic post! Thanks for sharing your personal heirloom and story with us. Congratulations and good luck on the restoration and research.

 

[Southern loyalist]

Beautiful Colt and a great family history of passing it down through the generations! If the records still exist (many were destroyed in a fire) you can get a Colt "letter" that will tell you the date the revolver was shipped and where it was shipped to. Given that it is stamped US it was probably accepted into an arsenal, or destined for one, prior to the outbreak of hostilities. The Colt letter runs about $300 last time I looked, but may be worth the investment depending on your mindset, finances and whatever other info you might find on the piece as it relates to the family.

Unless it's noted in a diary or letter somewhere, it's is highly unlikely that you'll find who the weapon was actually issued to, regardless of US or CS service. They didn't record serial numbers like that then. But... As there is some family provenance you might be able to trace it's path from the soldier who "captured" it to you in fairly short order.

I do not say this to be negative, but be objective while researching the family. Stories can become convoluted over generations and even after the historical event/fact happened a tall tale can emerge almost immediately. For instance, I had a relative that had possession of a smashed .58 caliber minnie ball that wounded an ancestor of ours at Gettysburg. It would be shown with a wink and a nod to everyone as late as 1978 (when I last saw it)...the problem with the story was that the soldier was with the western armies at Vicksburg, not Gettysburg, and wasn't wounded at all. The gentleman who showed the bullet to me was a history professor and knew the truth, but he was keeping the legend alive by only telling certain family members, like me, who had a real interest the real story.

Anyway... the holster is a treat too! As mentioned by someone above, Pecards makes some great products. Do some research and see what is right for the leather's preservation. Clean the pistol with with a soft cloth and some oil (no WD40) and run a couple oiled patches down the bore and then a dry one. Unless you are familiar with these old guns and have good gunsmith screwdrivers, I would not disassemble it past the basic take down of removing the wedge to remove the barrel and cylinder. There are YouTube videos showing how to do this without damaging anything. Do not store the pistol in the holster - that will only promote more rust and dirt accumulation.

Again, you have a beautiful revolver and a family treasure. Congratulations!

 

[Zartasha]

such treasure must be in the museum.

 

[unclemac]

there are PLENTY of those in Museums, they are not rare nor unique. In this case it is the family history that makes the object so wonderful.

 

[GoDeep]

Fact: Depending on condition, many times the holsters are worth more then the gun on antique firearms.

 

[tnt-hunter]

tnt-
That is a tremendous gift your family has entrusted to you.
A couple of things might help in your search and research regarding the firearm and the holster...Pecards makes some excellent leather restoration and protection products, some that I have used on military leather from the same period you are dealing with. It will darken the leather, but not out of character for the actual item.

Second, the National Park Service has an excellent resource for tracking both Federal and Confederate soldiers in a database that cross-matches States and Names. You can find the link at nps.gov.

The Colt itself will be a rollercoaster of history...there are a surprising number of vintage Colt databases, but start first at https//www.colt.com>serial-lookups
There are more detailed databases that can actually give you the name (in rare cases) of the ORIGINAL individual that was the owner...but since it was in Confederate use, it may have been a capture or private purchase prior to your relative's acquisition.

There are a very few cases in each of our lives when we come in contact with tangible history...it is yet another reason why metal detecting can be so much fun. Then there are cases like yours, where history seems to search YOU out.

You are a very blessed and fortunate "son".

Beautiful Colt and a great family history of passing it down through the generations! If the records still exist (many were destroyed in a fire) you can get a Colt "letter" that will tell you the date the revolver was shipped and where it was shipped to. Given that it is stamped US it was probably accepted into an arsenal, or destined for one, prior to the outbreak of hostilities. The Colt letter runs about $300 last time I looked, but may be worth the investment depending on your mindset, finances and whatever other info you might find on the piece as it relates to the family.

Unless it's noted in a diary or letter somewhere, it's is highly unlikely that you'll find who the weapon was actually issued to, regardless of US or CS service. They didn't record serial numbers like that then. But... As there is some family provenance you might be able to trace it's path from the soldier who "captured" it to you in fairly short order.

I do not say this to be negative, but be objective while researching the family. Stories can become convoluted over generations and even after the historical event/fact happened a tall tale can emerge almost immediately. For instance, I had a relative that had possession of a smashed .58 caliber minnie ball that wounded an ancestor of ours at Gettysburg. It would be shown with a wink and a nod to everyone as late as 1978 (when I last saw it)...the problem with the story was that the soldier was with the western armies at Vicksburg, not Gettysburg, and wasn't wounded at all. The gentleman who showed the bullet to me was a history professor and knew the truth, but he was keeping the legend alive by only telling certain family members, like me, who had a real interest the real story.

Anyway... the holster is a treat too! As mentioned by someone above, Pecards makes some great products. Do some research and see what is right for the leather's preservation. Clean the pistol with with a soft cloth and some oil (no WD40) and run a couple oiled patches down the bore and then a dry one. Unless you are familiar with these old guns and have good gunsmith screwdrivers, I would not disassemble it past the basic take down of removing the wedge to remove the barrel and cylinder. There are YouTube videos showing how to do this without damaging anything. Do not store the pistol in the holster - that will only promote more rust and dirt accumulation.

Again, you have a beautiful revolver and a family treasure. Congratulations!

Thank you peruna and Southern Loyalist. You both gave some excellent advise. Doing the research and getting the info will take some time, but your info will help me get things moving.

Thank you again, stay safe and keep swingin.

P.S. The holster is in really back shape with tape residue, the leather is cracked and flaking off and the stitching is gone along with part of the leather the stitches were in. I just ordered some pecards antique leather conditioner to see if I can preserve what is left of the holster. Thanks again for the advise everyone. ()

 

[ToddsPoint]

Do some research on preserving leather. Museums used to put different products on their leather including Pecards. Lately, they say don't use it or any petroleum product. Museums now put nothing on leather but keep it in temp and humidity controlled conditions. I just read a good thread about this on the American Civil War forum. Gary

 

[tnt-hunter]

Update on the pistol’s history

I have been trying to get information on the colt to see if I can track down more of the gun’s history and I have struck out. I looked it up on the serial number web page and found it was manufactured in 1859. It also said there was a naval scene on the cylinder. I took a magnifying glass and looked carefully and there is a faint etching of waves and I believe a sail boat.

It took a week to get in touch with the customer service department at Colt and they referred me to the archive. All the records are there and it is independently operated. I called them and their records only go back to 1861 with serial numbers for the 1851 colt from 98000 and above. Mine is 90257 so they have no records of my gun.

So there appears to be no way to track the gun’s history. I have some theories about the pistol from the info I have. It was made in 1859 so it was probably shipped and purchased prior to 1861. The confederacy did not form until February 1861 and the first battle was in April of 1861 so it was probably not shipped to the confederacy as part of the last shipment of weapons as my brother claims he was told years ago by someone at Colt. More likely is that this pistol was a personal weapon used by a soldier in the war. It is even possible that the whole story of the pistol being taken in battle is a family story that was made up and the pistol may have been owned by one of the 8 men in my family who served in the war. Without more records becoming available it looks like we will never know for sure.

Thanks for all your help and input. Stay safe and keep swingin.

 

[BLK HOLE]

What an incredible heirloom to have and pass down. I would definitely trace the lineage and document it so as the weapon is passed the new owner can continue the legacy so no one is lost to the mysteries of time.