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AS PICTURED AND DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK COLT CAVALRY & ARTILLERY REVOLVERS... A CONTINUING
STUDY BY KOPEC & FENN
The summer of 1874 also coincides with the issues
with testing of the .45 Smith & Wesson Schofield
revolvers despite earlier tests from 1873 already
confirming the superiority of the Colt Single Action Army
for cavalry use. Major George W. Schofield of the 10th
Cavalry had influence though thanks to his brother Major
General John McAllister Schofield, the former United States
Secretary of War and future Commanding General of the U.S.
Army, to get his revolvers a second chance, and they were ordered
alongside Colt Single Action Army revolvers before being sold off as surplus
after just a few years. Evidently the results were still most favorable for the longer 7 1/2 inch barrel Colts given the standard 7 1/2 inch “Cavalry Model” remained standard until the adoption of the Colt Model 1892 Double Action Army revolver and the modification of the “Cavalry Model” revolvers to “Artillery Configuration” in starting in the mid-1890s. It was this 5 1/2 inch barrel length that would have been carried by Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill.
This revolver may be the first with a 5 1/2 inch barrel manufactured in .45 Colt unless others
were made as prototypes for testing at the factory. “The Official Record of the Colt Single Action
Army Revolver 1873-1895” by the Wilkersons and Kathleen Hoyt also list the birth of the 5 1/2 inch version
as originating from orders for the London agency shipped on March 30. Agent Frederick von Oppen had wanted barrels no longer than the ejector housing, but he and the officials at Colt in Hartford settled on 5 1/2 inches to prevent the revolver from looking “stumpy.” The authors state that this barrel length was only shipped in .450 Boxer until 1876. Clearly the 7 1/2 inch model was preferred by the U.S. government following the tests and remained the standard until the Single Action Army was replaced. As the U.S. commercial market expanded in 1876, the “short” 5 1/2 inch version also became available in the U.S. though in very limited numbers compared to the standard “Cavalry Model.” Both the 4 3/4 inch and 5 1/2 inch barrel revolvers remained limited compared to the “Cavalry Model.” For example, among the standard finish .45 Colt Single Action Army revolvers between serial number 1 and 164100, 36,286 had 7 1/2 inch barrels compared to just 2,796 with 5 1/2 inch barrels and 11,704 with 4 3/4 inch barrels per the chart on page 326 of “The Official Record.” This does not include the 37,060 revolvers sold to the U.S. Government, just the commercial revolvers.
The revolver has a rounded blade front sight, the one-line “+COLT’S PT. F. A. MFG. Co. HARTFORD. CT. U.S.A.+” address with italicized and serifed letters, the two-line “PAT. SEPT. 19. 1871/PAT. JULY. 2. 1872” and “U.S.” markings on the left side of the frame, all-matching visible serial numbers, assembly number “86” on the loading gate, “C” on the rear of the cylinder and above the firing pin hole in the hammer well, an Orville W. Ainsworth “A” sub-inspection mark on the side of the cylinder which has a restamped/double stamped
number, and no additional inspection marks visible.
CONDITION: Excellent with 85% plus original blue finish showing some holster type wear, 90% original case colors, some streaking of the finish on the trigger guard, and general mild overall wear. The grip is also very fine and has an attractive dark oiled finish, light dings and scratches, minor lower edge wear including small chips at the toe, and proper proud edges at the junction with the rear of the frame. Mechanically excellent. This is a historically significant early Colt Single Action Army revolver used by the factory and U.S. Ordnance Department in penetration and accuracy testing. Kopec notes that this revolver overall remains in “near-new” condition and “this revolver could be the very first or a forerunner of the Artillery revolvers.”
Provenance: The Colt Factory Collection; The Mel Guy Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 50,000 - 80,000
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