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THE SHIPMENT OF THIS REVOLVER IS THE VERY SAME DAY PRESIDENT LINCOLN ISSUED A CALL FOR 75,000 STATE MILITIA TROOPS TO SUPPRESS THE CONFEDERATE STATES FOLLOWING THE ATTACK ON FORT SUMTER
LOT 223
Historic Documented Colt Model 1851 Navy Percussion
Revolver with April 18, 1861 Dated Presentation Inscription to George W. Nason Jr. of the “Minute Men of ‘61”,
with Factory Letter and Research - Serial no. 103363, 36 cal., 7 1/2 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/silver finish, walnut grips. The included factory letter lists this revolver as one of 20 of this type in this configuration shipped to Colt’s Patent Firearms Company’s office at 240 Broadway in New York City on April 15, 1861, the very day that Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 state militia troops to suppress the southern rebellion three days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. In addition to this historic shipment, the revolver’s back strap is inscribed “George W. Nason, Jr./Presented by his associates in the/Express business Boston April 18, 1861”. The revolver also has a brass cone front sight, “-ADDRESS COL. SAML COLT NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA-” on the barrel, “COLTS/PATENT” on the frame, standard naval battle cylinder scene, and matching visible serial numbers.
The presentation of this historic artifact from the beginning of the Civil War is documented in the included research binder via copies of pages from “The Fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in Its Three Tours of Duty, 1861, 1862-63, and 1864” by Alfred S. Roe. On page 22, in the section on Company I (Somerville), the book notes: “On Saturday the 20th, the company was drawn up around the flag-staff in Union Square, where the flag was saluted...next the men marched to the Congregational Church
in Franklin Square, where each man was presented with a Testament
by M.H. Sargent, who had already subscribed $100 to the general fund. Thence escorted by fully 2,000 citizens of Somerville, including a company of horse, the march was made to Faneuil Hall. Many personal tributes were made...Geo. W. Nason, Jr., a Franklin man, still a member of the company, delivery clerk for the Fiske & Co.’s Express, was presented with
a silver-mounted Colts revolver; his position was retained for him and
his salary was paid to his wife during his absence. He was able to turn in $8,000 towards the Government loan, which, when the war was ended, he received back again with interest at 7%. Though he had found his position awaiting him, he held it only twelve days, for the war spirit was still on and he soon enlisted again.”The book later gives a short biography of Nason on page 364.
Colonel George Warren Nason Jr. (1834-1911) provided a more detailed biography, including details of his service in the included “History and Complete Roster of the Massachusetts Regiments, Minute Men of ‘61....” in 1904. He was the President of the Association of Minute Men of ‘61 in 1899 and gathered the photographs and information for the book. In it he is noted as enlisting in Franklin, Norfolk County, Massachusetts,
on April 15, 1861, for three months as a private in Captain George
Brastow’s Company I of the 5th Regiment
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry led by
Colonel Samuel C. Lawrence. These men were quickly readied for duty
and on April 21, 1861, set out for Washington, D.C., and officially mustered into federal service on May 1, 1861. Nason was wounded and captured at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, when he was shot in the left leg and took a sabre cut through his cap. Despite his wounds, he escaped in the night and rejoined his regiment. At the end of the month, he was honorably discharged for completing his enlistment and re-enlisted
in Boston on August 14 for three years or the duration of the war. He mustered back in as a private in H Company, 23rd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry led by Colonel John Kurtz. He transferred to the gunboat Huzzar on January 4, 1862, as the storekeeper of the ship. The Huzzar (also known as the Hussar and previously the Davis) had carried the left wing of the 23rd Massachusetts during the Burnside Expedition). On-board the Huzzar, Nason was wounded in the wrist by a splinter of wood when the gun rail was hit by a Confederate shot while helping
serve the starboard cannon during the attack on Roanoke Island. He was wounded again on March 14, 1863, at New Bern, North Carolina.
When the Huzzar was sent for repairs, Nason was assigned to the chief provost marshal officer at New Bern and organized the New Bern Fire Department regiment on May 2, 1864, and became their colonel. He
was honorably discharged again on October 13, 1864, and remained on
as a civilian employee in the Provost Marshals Department. Nason then became the postmaster in New Bern. After nine years in the latter position, he became the general manager of the Eagle Turpentine & Naval Store Works in Florida and helped pioneer new settlements in Florida. Five years later, he returned to his native Massachusetts where he worked in real estate with his brother Jesse Leonard Nason and other business associates in 1880-1892. At the time of his death in 1911, he was noted as “one of
the oldest employees of the city and a clerk in the water income division of the board of public works” and also noted as a veteran of the 5th and 23rd Massachusetts regiments, the gunboat
Huzzar, and colonel of the New Bern Fire
Department Regiment as well as being “prominent in the Grand Army circles and a member of the Minute Men of
‘61.” Additional information is
provided in the research binder,
including National Archives
records for Nason which indicate that he was the company commissary sergeant and post-commissary for prisoners in 1861
and 1862 while a member of the 23rd Mass. Regiment prior to being detached for service in the provost marshal’s office and was also absent sick in the Foster General Hospital in New Bern in 1864.
CONDITION: Very good plus with strong
patches of original silver plating on the
trigger guard, patches of original blue and case colors in the protected areas, and otherwise the classic gray and brown patina on the steel, aged patina on the brass, and mild overall wear that you would expect from a Civil War revolver used by a man wounded multiple times in combat. The grip is also very good and retains most of the varnished finish and displays mild lower edge wear, a few hammering dents on the butt and minor scratches. Mechanically excellent. The primary markings and the historical inscription remain crisp. This is a rare opportunity to get your hands on a historic presentation Civil War Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver documented as shipped the same day President Lincoln called for volunteers, and documented as presented just a few days later when the Massachusetts “Minute Men of ‘61” headed off to war.
Provenance: The Ken Michaleske Collection; The Paul Doniger Collection; The Tom Lopiano Jr. Collection; Property of a Gentleman. Estimate: 12,000 - 18,000
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