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Exceptional, Historic, Documented Civil War Colt Model 1860 Army Percussion Revolver
Presentation Inscribed Brigadier General Robert O. Tyler from the Colt Factory - Serial no. 111585,
44 cal., 7 1/2 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened/silver finish, deluxe factory walnut grips. This historic
revolver was manufactured in 1863 and was deluxe finished, and the historic factory presentation
inscription “Brig. Gen. R. O. Tyler/From Colt’s P. F. A. Mfg. Co.” is inscribed on the back strap in beautiful
script indicating presentation by the factory to Union Brigadier General Robert O. Tyler of Hartford. It
features the high polish blue finish on the barrel, cylinder, and back strap. The hammer, loading lever,
and frame are casehardened. The trigger guard is silver plated. The loading lever arm has multi-point
checkering. The hammer has hand cut knurling with chevron shaped lower border featuring seven dots.
This is reportedly Gustave Young’s way of tracking the amount of time spent on engraving to determine
the cost. The naval battle cylinder roll-scene has factory hand engraved enhancement, and the serial
number on the cylinder is also hand engraved rather than stamped. The grip is figured walnut with a
piano varnish finish. The revolver also features a German silver blade front sight, the one-line New York
barrel address, “COLTS/PATENT” on the left side of the frame, “B” on the left side of the trigger guard at
the front, “44 CAL” on the left trigger guard shoulder, and matching serial numbers visible on the cylinder,
barrel, frame, trigger guard, and butt. The barrel wedge is a mismatched number (401)
period replacement.
This revolver is pictured and described on pages 168 and 169 of “The Colt Engraving Book Vol. 1” by R.
L. Wilson in his chapter on Gustave Young. The hammer is shown on page 343 of “The Colt Model 1860
Army Revolver” by Charles Pate, and the revolver and presentation inscription are featured and discussed
on page 381 of Pate’s book. He notes, “Brigadier General Robert O. Tyler wrote Mr. Root on January 29,
1863, thanking him for, ‘...a box containing a pair of your Revolvers which you so kindly sent me.’ The
author could not find this pair of pistols in the Colt records, so we do not know what model they were.
NMA SN 111585 is inscribed on its back strap ‘Brig. Genl R.O. Tyler / From Colt’s P.F.A. Mfg. Co’ and may be
one of the pair, but Army contract pistols in this serial number range were being delivered in April-June
of 1863. It is not highly decorated but still it probably was completed no earlier than April of that year.”
Major General George W. Cullum’s biography of Robert Ogden Tyler’s (1831-1874) published in “Memoir
of Brevet Major-General Robert Ogden Tyler...” from 1878 provide details of his life and military career.
Similar details are also reported in Cullum’s Register. Tyler moved to the Colt factory’s home town of
Hartford, Connecticut, when he was just 7 years old. His uncle Daniel Tyler graduated from the United
States Military Academy at West Point in 1819 and was one of the first Union generals during the Civil
War. The younger Tyler followed in his uncle’s footsteps and graduated from the academy in the Class of
1853. His paternal grandfather had also fought in the American Revolution. He spent the antebellum era
stationed in the West and gained experience in the Yakima War, Utah War, and Coeur d’Alene War. After
the secession of the southern states and the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, Tyler was one of the
men who was sent to assist the garrison and witnessed its bombardment. As a West Point graduate and
man with military experience, he rose through the ranks becoming a captain on May 17, 1861, and then
the colonel of the 4th Connecticut Infantry which became the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery.
Exceptional, Historic, Documented
Civil War Colt Model 1860 Army Percussion Revolver
Presentation Inscribed to
Brigadier General Robert O. Tyler from the Colt Factory