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LOT 3256
Rare Colt “Texas Paterson” No. 5 Holster Model Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 809, 36 cal., 7 1/2 inch octagon bbl., blue finish, walnut
grips. The No. 5 Holster Model popularly known as the “Texas Paterson” is the most sought-after of all Colt Paterson revolvers and one of the most iconic
of all American firearms alongside its descendant the Colt Walker. The Texas Paterson’s use by the Texas Rangers on the frontier in the 1840s proved that
Colt’s revolvers were well-suited for mounted combat. Approximately 1,000 of the No. 5 revolvers were manufactured in 1838-1840 per “The Paterson Colt Book”
by Wilson. Of these, the U.S. Navy purchased 150 in 1841, and an additional 50 revolvers were purchased by the Ordnance Department in 1845 from John Ehlers and
inspected by William A. Thornton and stamped with his “WAT” final inspection mark on the barrel lug. The most important of these revolvers were arguably the 180 No.
5 pistols purchased for use by the Navy of the Republic of Texas. The order was filled in April 1839 alongside the Texas Navy’s 180 Model 1839 Carbines. Several of these
No. 5 revolvers were subsequently issued to Texas Rangers under Captain John Coffee Hays, and it was the use of these revolvers by Hays and the Rangers that proved
that in the hands of brave and determined men, a small force armed with Colt revolvers could go toe to toe against a larger force of Comanche, famously known as the
“Lords of the Southern Plains” and widely regarded as among the greatest horse warriors in the world.
At the Battle of Walker’s Creek at the beginning of
June in 1844, Captain Hays and fifteen of his Texas
Rangers, armed with Colt Patersons, were camped
along Walker’s Creek when they discovered they
were being tailed. The Ranger’s grabbed their guns
and mounted their horses. Hays suspected an
ambush, and sure enough, they soon found they
faced not 10 but around 75 warriors. Hays and the
Texans did not back down. Instead they rounded
the hill and charged at the flank and then engaged
the Comanches in a running battle over about three
miles, firing their Colt Paterson revolvers as they
rode. After the battle, they estimated 23 of their
adversaries had been killed and 30 more wounded
while the Rangers lost one man, Peter Fohr who
was shot in the head, along with four wounded,
including Samuel H. Walker. In regards to Colt’s
revolvers, Hays wrote that “I cannot recommend
these arms too highly.” Their praise and the demand
by the Texans for more revolvers during the
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