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LOT 259
Historic and Highly
Desirable Civil War
Gustave Young
Factory Master
Engraved Colt
Model 1861 Navy
Percussion Revolver
Presentation Inscribed to
Major Hiram Van Buskirk of the 21st Regiment of New
Jersey Volunteers with Ivory Grip and Holster - Serial no. 8504, 36
cal., 7 1/2 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened/silver finish, antique ivory grips. The
Model 1861 Navy is certainly one of the most attractive Colt percussion revolvers and was
manufactured in comparatively limited numbers making them particularly desirable. Only around
38,000 were manufactured c. 1861-1873 compared to over 200,000 of the similar Model 1860 Army revolvers.
Given their rarity, factory engraved ‘61 Navy revolvers and historic presentation ‘61 Navy revolvers are especially scarce and
desirable. This incredible and rare Gustave Young master engraved Colt Model 1861 Navy revolver dates to 1862 and was presented
to a noteworthy Union officer from New Jersey. It features beautiful foliate scrollwork incorporating a mask on the left above the wedge.
The classic wolf’s head motif is on the hammer. The barrel features a German silver blade front sight and the one-line “-ADDRESS COL. SAML COLT
NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA-” marking. The standard patent markings are on the cylinder and frame, and the former displays the iconic naval scene.
Matching serial numbers are visible on the cylinder, barrel, frame, trigger guard, and back strap. The factory apostrophe marking denoting
engraving is marked by the serial numbers. “2” and “36 CAL” are marked on the left side of the trigger guard. The backstrap is neatly inscribed:
“PRESENTED TO MAJOR HIRAM VAN BUSKIRK/21ST REGT. N.J. VOLs./by his Friends of Bergen & Bayone [sic]”.
A black leather flap holster is included.
Major Hiram Van Buskirk (1831-1886) was originally commissioned as a 1st lieutenant in Company E of the 2nd New Jersey Militia on May 1, 1861, and was promoted to captain
on July 7, 1861, when his cousin John J. Van Buskirk was promoted to major. He was with the regiment at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, and they were held in reserve.
Like many early units, they were mustered out on July 31, 1861. The Hudson County Democrat on September 20, 1862, noted: “BERGEN AHEAD- We have recently noticed in different
newspapers accounts of patriotic families, but do not think that any of them have any reason to crow over the Van Buskirks of Bergen. Five brothers - James, Hiram, Nicholas, Andrew and Richard
--are now in the army of the Union, and their venerable father expresses his regret that his extreme age prevents him from shouldering a musket in defence of the government. Major Van Buskirk had
re-enlisted as a major of the 21st New Jersey Volunteers on September 6, 1861, and fought at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At the latter, he commanded the regiment after Colonel Gilliam Van Houten
was mortally wounded in the leg. The 21st had two hundred eleven casualties in the battle. The National Park Service indicates that they had one officer and twenty enlisted men killed or mortally wounded in
combat as well as one officer and thirty enlisted men killed by disease during the war for a total loss of fifty-two men.
When he died in 1886 of what was identified as “rheumatism of the heart,” The Bayonne Times noted that he was born at the old Van Buskirk homestead at Constable Hook and was the seventh child of
Nicholas and Jan Van Buskirk and was descended from veterans of the American Revolution. When Bayonne was formed as a township in April 1861, he served as a clerk of the township committee until he left
to fight in the war. They indicate he became lieutenant colonel of the 4th Regiment of the
National Guard of the State of New Jersey at the end of the war, represented his district in
the New York assembly, and was the first street commissioner of the City of Bayonne in
1869 to 1878 when he became the chief of the Bayonne Police Department. He remained
chief of police until his death. He was also active in the Grand Army of the Republic as
well as multiple other civic and fraternal organizations. The Evening Journal of Jersey
City noted that the surviving members of the 21st Regiment would attend his funeral.
CONDITION: Very fine with crisp engraving and presentation inscription, 40% original
blue finish, 50% original case colors, 60% original silver plating on the trigger guard,
20% original silver plating on the back strap concentrated at the top, aged patina on
the silver and brass, brown patina and oxidation on the balance of the steel, flattened
safety pins, and general mild overall wear mostly from age and storage. The grip is
also very fine and has attractive natural aged tones and grain, thin age lines on the
butt, and minor wear. Mechanically functions. The holster is fair with moderate wear,
tears, an absent belt loop, and flaking. The Colt Model 1861 Navy is always difficult to
acquire, and historic factory engraved examples with
presentation inscriptions are exceedingly scarce!
Estimate: 20,000 - 40,000
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