Page 92 - 4091-BOOK2

Colt U.S. Model 1895 Gatling Gun
90
LOT 1105
Rare and Historic Spanish-American War Era Colt U.S. Model 1895 Gatling Gun with Iron
Carriage and Caisson - Serial no. 1023, 30 Army (30-40 Krag) , 32 inch part hexagon bbl., blue/bright finish. A forerunner
to the modern machine gun, the Gatling Gun is one of
the most iconic American firearms of the 19th
century and is often called
a “hand-cranked machine
gun.” The Gatling Gun platform was first presented to the Union
Forces during the American Civil War,
but would not be officially adopted by
the U.S. Army until 1866. This desirable Model
1895 Gatling Gun is mounted on an iron carriage, features a ten-barrel cluster, and is chambered in it’s
original rimmed .30 Army (.30-40 Krag) caliber, with the majority of these rechambered for use with the later rimless .30-06. Four ten-barrel Colt Model 1895 Gatling Guns, serial numbers 1040-1043, for example, were famously used at the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War under Lt. John H. Parker’s Gatling Gun Detachment where Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and the Buffalo Soldiers captured Kettle Hill with the support of the Gatling Guns mounted on this same pattern of carriage. The top of the brass breech cover is hand engraved “GATLING GUN PATENTED/Manufactured by/Colt’s Pt. F.A. Mfg. Co./ HARTFORD, CONN. U.S.A.” and “No 1023/Cal. .30/T.C.D./D.M.T.” with the last set of initials partly obstructed. Features a notch front sight mounted on the right ahead of an adjustable V-notch rear sight. The right side of the cartridge hopper is engraved with an arrow pointing forward. This Model 1895 utilizes a Bruce feed system (absent magazine). The period barrels are all marked at the breech with numbers “1” through “10”, “R.A.C.” (Rinaldo A. Carr) inspection initials, and “V/P/eagle head” proofs. Numbers “1” through “10” are also repeated on the rear barrel retainer, which is also marked with assembly number “15B”. The period bolts are mixed numbered, with some replacements. “40” marked on the left yoke retainer and “39” marked on the right. “5” marked on the cartridge hopper.