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LOT 1014
Historic and Well-
Documented “First Colt
Commemorative” Antique Colt
Single Action Army Revolver Inscribed to
Captain J.R. Hegeman and with Secret Service 1898, Fort Wingate, and Wounded
Knee with Factory Letters - Serial no. 168554, 45 Colt cal., 4 3/4 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut grips. Due to the inscriptions on the barrel, this revolver
owned by legendary early Colt collector John R. Hegeman Jr. has been dubbed by collectors
as the “first commemorative Colt.” The inscriptions were inscribed to commemorate tragic battles between Native
Americans and U.S. forces in the 19th century. The included factory letters list this revolver in .45 caliber with a 4 3/4 inch barrel, blue finish, and
ivory grip and indicates it shipped to John R. Hegeman Jr. of New York
City on December 8, 1896. According to a February 21, 1984, letter to Charles Schreiner II of the famous Y-O Ranch in Texas from R.L. Wilson,
this revolver and a now absent holster were worn by Hegeman as a guest cowboy in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show per family tradition as well as on his ranch in Wyoming near Cody. Wilson sold the revolver to Schreiner to go with the Model 1895 carbines Schreiner purchased from Norm Flayderman: one presented by Hegeman to General Nelson A. Miles and the one ordered for Hegeman’s own use in the following lot. Wilson’s notes
Life Insurance Co. [Hegeman Sr. actually did not become its president until Oct. of 1891] Ledger ‘Sales Book’ of the late 1890s noted such specific information as: ‘1 5 1/2” 45/c S.A. Army Pistol Ivory Blue #168554 with extra 4 3/4” barrel Fitting extra barrel & Engraving on barrel SECRET SERVICE 1898 FORT WINGATE WOUNDED KNEE Engraving on backstrap CAPTAIN J.R. HEGEMAN. 1 Pkg Ad Ex.’ The ledgers also noted no charge for the revolver or extra barrel, but what appears to have been $1.75
for the inscriptions! Factory ledgers also list number 168554 as shipped on December 8, 1896, to Hegeman.” Copies of records from Hegeman’s collection are also included. The revolver is also mentioned in “A Matter of Provenance” by Wilson in the November/December 1979 issue of
“Man At Arms.”
The barrel has a “P” proof and “D.F.C.” inspection mark on the bottom at the breech indicating it was inspected by Sub-Inspector David F. Clark
in 1880-1887. It has the partial serial number “2144” under the ejector housing near the breech. Some of the early D.F.C. inspected Single Action Army revolvers are documented in “Colt Cavalry and Artillery Revolvers...a Continuing Study” by Kopec and Fenn as issued to the 7th Cavalry in 1888, including sn. 42152 and 42188. If this barrel came from sn. 42144, it would have been within the same batch of revolvers. Others within the 42000 range, including the very close 42138, are also documented as issued to the New York National Guard, so perhaps the barrel came from Hegeman’s own service revolver. A “G” and “J” are marked under the housing towards the muzzle. The barrel has a blade front sight, the one-line address, and then “Secret Service 1898/Fort Wingate/Wounded Knee” inscribed on the left. The frame has the two-line patent marking and the circled Rampant Colt trademark on the left. The loading gate has assembly number “954.” The frame, trigger guard, and butt have the matching full serial number. The back strap is inscribed “Captain J.R. Hegeman.” The grip has two “kill
state that the revolver was inscribed for Hegeman by the factory per the sales book. The revolver is also featured on page 246 of “Colt Engraving” by Wilson where it is described as: “Fully documented in Colt ledgers, Single Action Army 168554 was customized for renowned pioneer Colt collector John R. Hegeman, son of the first president of the Metropolitan
notches” on the lower right edge. Hegeman’s Winchester Model 1895 in the following lot also has numerous “kill notches” on the stock.
The barrel inscriptions have been attributed as commemorating the killing of Navajo at Fort Wingate in New Mexico in 1861, the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, and an investigation of the Battle of Sugar Point in 1898 by the Secret Service. Given the barrel was inspected in the 1880s and the order of the inscriptions, the barrel may have also been inscribed not in commemoration of three tragic events but to commemorate the barrel’s use at Wounded Knee, then at Fort Wingate, and then by the Secret Service in 1898 before being installed on Captain Hegeman’s revolver while he was still an active member of the New York National Guard.
The lower inscription on the barrel, “Wounded Knee,” references the infamous site of the massacre of Lakota under Chief Spotted Elk in December 1890 when the U.S. 7th Cavalry under orders from General Nelson A. Miles moved to intercept and disarm them after they fled
their reservation following the killing of Chief Sitting Bull during an
arrest attempt as tensions flared due to the Ghost Dance movement and poor conditions on the reservations. Given Captain Hegeman identified himself as a friend of General Nelson A. Miles, it may have been chosen in recognition of the event as an atrocity as previously theorized given Miles spoke out against the massacre and relieved the 7th Cavalry’s
leader of command.
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