Southern Colt Revolvers
By John Sexton · Originally published September-October 2025 · pp. 64–71
Southern Colt Revolvers By John Sexton
Jackson A. Davis, Company E, Holcombe Legion South Carolina Cavalry Battalion, wearing variant enlisted frock with front pocket posed with .69 caliber musket and two .36 caliber Colt Model 1851 Navy revolvers. The unit’s motto was “It is for the brave to die, but not to surrender.” The photograph case, the opposite image, has fabric tipped onto a piece of paper of unknown origin. The photograph is signed by photographer Charles R. Rees of Richmond, Va., just to the left of the musket and below his hand. South Carolina was one of the Southern states that bought thousands of Colt Model 1860 fluted Army revolvers and Model 1851 Navy revolvers. So often, revolvers were issued in pairs. There is a strong chance this pair of 4th model navies were shipped December 1860-April 1861, as were most of Colt production just before the war. No wonder Colonel Colt was being threatened for being a traitor. Samuel Colt was a businessman first, and it was legal to ship munitions to the South as late as April 15, 1861, after Fort Sumter was fired on three days earlier.
“I heard rumours that you [Colt] were manufacturing large quantities of arms for the Southern rebels…”
April 29, 1861, NYC lawyer Daniel Gardner (1798–1863) writes Colonel Colt and accuses him of treason for selling large amounts of weapons to the South. He urges him to “put down treason” by using his money and influence to raise a regiment of 1,000 men armed with his guns and revolvers and call it “Colt’s Railroad Legion.” “I heard rumours that you [Colt] were manufacturing large quantities of arms for the Southern rebels. I have since seen a statement that you charged them less for arms than you are now selling them to our true men & patriots . . . . If such arms were sold by you to the Rebels knowing their intended use, the act would be treason against the United States (Gardner’s Institutes, p. 323-332, titled – Treason, published 1860 by John S. Voorhies . . . . To put down treason men in your position must put forth their money & make the fight our battle.”
“He stated that Sm Colt was said to have made for the Rebs large quantities of these & charged lower prices that he now charged to American Defenders of the Union, but that they must have them.”
Gardner offered to help him recruit officers and men of high quality with the backing of William B. Astor, who was the richest man in America and heavily invested in railroads. He does not know that Colt was selling as many guns as he could to Southern agents in NYC before it became illegal after Fort Sumter was attacked on April 12. In fact, Colt shipped thousands of revolvers to the South in April 1861 after the attack on Fort Sumter. It has come to light that many revolvers shipped to U.S. agents, including Kittredge, Cincinnati & Grubb, and Philadelphia, ended up in the Confederacy that were shipped months after the war began. (Letter courtesy Poulin Antiques & Auctions, Inc.)
Image courtesy Liljenquist Family collection (Library of Congress).
This fine Confederate ambrotype shows an early war Confederate soldier dressed in a battle shirt wearing a double roller buckle knife belt with an integral over-theshoulder strap to support the weight of the massive Bowie knife he displays proudly. The Bowie is a rarely seen double D-guard. The pistol he brandishes is a U.S. Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver. The Colt Navy was the preferred revolver in the South. Confederate manufacturers copied the Colt Navy almost exclusively. We can tell by the size of the trigger guard that this was the 4th model, the type made during the Civil War. Colt Navy revolvers had smaller trigger guards before 1858, starting at about serial number 85,000; large trigger guards were exclusively used. About 75,000 Colt M1851 Navy revolvers were manufactured during the Civil War. Over 215,000 Colt M1851 Navy revolvers were produced starting in 1851. Prior to 1850, Colt was producing large frame .44 caliber Dragoon pistols, and a smaller .31 caliber Baby Dragoon or pocket model later. Colt foresaw the need for a smaller pistol than the Dragoon, with more punch than the .31 caliber Model 1849 pocket or house gun, which was very popular. When the 1851 Navy was introduced, it became quite a success, with the U.S. Navy buying sizable quantities. Because of navy purchases, the “51 Navy” designation began. Notable Southern military officers carried this model before and during the Civil War, including Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. Southerners preferred this 1851 model as being more elegant and graceful revolver. The updated version of the .44 caliber Dragoon was not introduced until 1860, another reason the 1851 Navy saw more use in the South—several Southern states, seeing the war coming, purchased both Colt Navy and Army revolvers in significant quantities. Thousands of Colts somehow found their way to the South, even guns manufactured after the war began. It is known that Nathan Bedford Forrest was able to purchase Navy revolvers in Saint Louis well after trade was made illegal. A Hartford newspaper editorialized that Sam Colt was a traitor selling revolvers to the South, and sales abruptly ended. Samuel Colt
was never one to worry about the final destination of his pistols as long as an agent in New York or Hartford was paying cash. The 4th model Colt 1851 Navy revolver of the Civil War era features a 7.5-inch octagonal barrel marked on top of the barrel “Address Sam’l Colt” with either “Hartford” or “New York,” depending on the date made. Small stamped “COLT’S / PATENT” is stamped on the left side of the frame. The 6-shot cylinder has a rolled scene of the 1848 Texas Navy battle.
The pistol image is reversed to show the actual view. Civil War glass plate photography always shows a mirror image.
Well-worn Civil War Colt 4th Model 1851 Navy revolver with New York address, made mid-1861, SN 111754.
About the Author
John Sexton holds the highest designations as certified appraiser of personal property with International Society of Appraisers (ISA-CAPP) and accredited senior appraiser with American Society of Appraisers (ASA) specializing in Civil War memorabilia. He authenticates and evaluates other rare and valuable historic items as well. He is the author of many periodical articles on Confederate arms. John’s contact information: website: www.civilwarappraiser.com, email [email protected], cell 770-329-4984.
The top of the barrel of SN 111754 is marked: “— ADDRESS COL SAML COLT NEW – YORK. U S AMERICA —”
(Lot 3121, Poulin Auctions, June 2020)
The cylinder scene that was used for the Colt Model 1851 Navy. “Action between two Texas sloops of War / and the Mexican Squadron off Campeche / April 30 – 1843. GW Moore.”
Photographs from the Original Article
Captions and credits appear in the article text as originally printed.