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LOT 211
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: 10,000 - 16,000