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Pate also notes, “The completion of six NMA revolvers in 1864 was recorded in Colt’s financial ledgers. One pair was charged to the Presentation Account along with four individual pistols,
two of which were also charged to that account. The other two revolvers were also presentations, but they were paid for by Mr. Jarvis. To the author’s knowledge, none of these pistols have been found.” Six revolvers from 1864 with the “IE” or “I.E.” markings are noted in his survey of 153 revolvers in the 146000-154000 range, and he indicates they were all engraved and two had ebony grips.
The consecutive pair 151388 and 151389 just following this revolver are pictured on page 262 of “The Colt Engraving Book Volume 1” by R.L. Wilson and page 99 of “Colt Factory Engravers of the Nineteenth Century” by Houze and were contributed by Secretary Thomas J. Fales for fundraising
for a soldiers’ home in Hartford in 1865 and were awarded to Major General Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut. The nearly consecutive 151387 is also known and was inscribed to Major George W. Bruen of the 10th Army Corps and has the same style of engraving and an ebony grip (sold by RIAC on September 11, 2021). Given this, it is highly likely that 151386 was also part of this group of factory engraved revolvers with ebony grips.
As with the other known examples, this revolver was owned by an officer in the Civil War. It was passed down through the influential Wolcott family of Massachusetts until 2000. The family’s records indicate the revolver and the accompanying sash belonged to Second Lieutenant Huntington Frothingham Wolcott (1846-1865). This identification is documented in an included copy of a
bill of sale from Susan Wolcott Dexter (1929-2015), a descendant of Wolcott’s younger brother,
and also in “Family Jottings” by Lt. Wolcott’s nephew, Roger Wolcott Jr., in 1939. The revolver
was owned by Wolcott but not actually carried during the war. As a Union
cavalryman, he likely carried a standard issue Colt Model 1860 Army
on the battlefield. Some of the ornate Colt revolvers made during
the latter part of the war were used to raise funds to support
sick and wounded soldiers, including through the United
States Sanitary Commission. Pate’s Appendix B lists
one revolver as sent to the “New York Sanitary
Fair” (Metropolitan Fair) and as charged to the
presentation account. It is noted as cased and
engraved, but the serial number
was not recorded.
Huntington Frothingham Wolcott was the eldest son of Joshua Huntington Wolcott (1804-1891) and Cornelia Frothingham (1824-1850). His mother died when he was a boy, and his father married her elder sister, Harriet Frothingham (1813-1899) a year later. Prior to the Civil War, the young Wolcott was deeply interested in the natural world and science. His father was a successful businessman associated with A. & A. Lawrence & Co. and served as the treasurer of the Boston branch of the U.S. Sanitary Commission and thus may have acquired this revolver for the young officer through that connection. The Wolcott family had long been civic leaders in the colonies and United States. Their ancestors included Connecticut Colonial Governor Roger Wolcott (1679-1767) and Declaration of Independence signer Oliver Wolcott (1726-1797) of Hartford County, Connecticut. The latter commanded troops during the Revolutionary War, including in the defense of New York City in 1776 and Battle of Saratoga and went on to serve in the Congress of the Confederation and as the governor of Connecticut like his father before him. Other members served in various positions within the government in the early national period, and other relations fought for the Union during the Civil War. With such family roots, it is no surprise that Huntington Frothingham Wolcott wanted to volunteer to fight to preserve the Union.
He was too young to join early in the Civil War, and the family no doubt anxious to keep their son safe
at home. He turned 19 years old on February 4,
1865, on the anniversary of the Colt factory fire. Less than a month later, he commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry on March 2, 1865. The 2nd Massachusetts was originally formed in late 1862 and included the famous California Hundred that arrived from California at Camp Meigs in Massachusetts to fight for the Union on January
4, 1864, and was later bolstered by another 400 Californians along with local men from Massachusetts. By early 1865, they were a seasoned unit and had fought in Virginia under Sheridan against Confederate cavalry and guerrillas led by John Mosby, and they formed part of the II Corps cavalry during the
Siege of Petersburg.