Pistol Civil War Cavalry Battle site

[cmthunder]

Can anyone help I’d this pistol? Found at Cavalry battlefield retreat from Gettysburg Western Md.
Ambrose? octagonal barrel

 

[villagenut]

thats cool as heck....nice one for display

 

[creskol]

Looks like a .40 cal European single shot boot pistol of the Civil War era.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Best I can tell you from the pics is that it's a boot pistol probably Belgian made There were a lot of makers that made pistols just like it. Date wise 1830's to around 1870ish maybe.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Sweet relic!

 

[Anduril]

A little Hoppes #9 gun bore cleaner, or a good squirt of Ballistol: "Good as new!"

NICE find!!
How deep was it?
Was it found off the beaten track?

 

[cmthunder]

About 6” down in farm field not off beaten track. But read like iron. So probably just passed over many times. I saw the end of the barrel first and thought I had a piece of pipe.
Boy was I shocked when I pulled it out.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Scrub all the loose rust off, soak it in evaporust for a while and clear the barrel completely (make sure it's not loaded) then boil it in paraffin wax for a few minutes (bake it in the oven to make sure all the moisture is out first) when it cools buff it with a soft cloth and it will make a great display and last a long time without corroding any further

 

[A2coins]

Thats freqkin cool great piece of history

 

[Oroblanco]

Looks like a .40 cal European single shot boot pistol of the Civil War era.

Agreed 100%, and VERY cool find congrats!