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Firepower and accuracy were almost certainly what Floeck was after when
he ordered this rifle, and he definitely got it. While far from the Battle of Little Bighorn, Texas had more than its fair share of violence in the 1870s, including many raids and battles with the Comanche, outlaws operating mainly in the northern part of the state, violence between freedmen, Republicans, and the State Police on one side and the Democrats and former Confederates on the other, and of course the range wars and family feuds famously depicted in many westerns. Whether Floeck used this rifle during his militia service or not is unclear, but we know that he was quite the marksman and sportsman. For example, in addition to the article about him taking a large buck with his fine Winchester, Floeck is listed in local newspapers as a member of the Houston Schutzenverein and won the first prize, a silver medal and silver plated castor, in their competition in 1871 and was coronated “King Peter I.” He won other prizes at other German-American shooting events in Texas in the 1870s as well. As a talented marksman, he would certainly have been attracted to the Winchester 1 of 1,000 program and an extra long barrel. While we don’t think of Winchester repeaters as target rifles today, we know that Granville Stuart and likely others like Floeck intended to use their One of One Thousands in rifle matches.
The included
documentation and
further research provides
additional details of Floeck’s biography.
Peter Emil Floeck of Houston was born in
Germany on August 11, 1834, died on November 6,
1887, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston,
Texas. He came with his family to Texas in 1848, a period of massive immigration of “Forty-Eighters” following the March Revolution of 1848. By the time of the Civil War, he was a businessman in Houston and owned Floeck’s Brewery among other establishments. He was also an alderman, enlisted
as a member of the Houston Guard, and issued Confederate currency. After the war, he became an even more prominent businessman with numerous business ties and was also was captain of Company A (Houston, Harris County) of the 16th Regiment of the Texas Reserve Militia starting on Sept. 6, 1870. The state militia was reformed in 1870 after Texas officially rejoined the Union. The Reserve Militia was formed from all men not enrolled in volunteer companies of the Organized State Guard.
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