Obscure and Rare Handguns
    by: Kerry Barlow

    Portions of this article were published in Civil War Times

    Adams & Deane

    Imported from Great Britain,it is said officers liked the .44 calibre revolver. No other information available at this time.

    Ansley or Rigdon and Ansley

    This was also called a Rigdon revolver. .36 caliber, only 1000 produced in Augusta Georgia. This had an iron frame and brass grip strap.A unique feature are 12 bolt locks on the cylinder. 2nd Photo

    Bacon

    Bacon pocket revolver .31 cal Excelsior or first model that was also a favourite during the Civil War.
    Photos and text courtesy of A. J. Hare
    2nd Photo   3rd Photo

    Belgium

    Belgium copy of the Webly patent of 1860. One of the arms used by Confederate officers in the Civil War.
    Photos and text courtesy of A. J. Hare
    2nd Photo   3rd Photo

    Beaumont Adams

    British made revolver, Photo of holster

    Clark Sherrard and Co.

    supposedly 400 made under contract to the state of texas,yet only 1 produced before the end of the war. I would say it is doubtful this weapon had any part in the wars termination. Barrel length 7 and 1/2"
    2nd Photo   3rd Photo 4th Photo

    T.W. Cofer

    T.W.Cofer revolver second model .36 caliber

    Columbus Firearms Company

    Dance & Park Brothers Revolver


      Designed in 1863 by several brothers: James Henry Dance, James P. Dance, David Dance, and Claudia Dance along with the Parks brothers Jesse and Anderson Parks. The gun was labeled "Dance and Park Brothers Revolver". Constructed in Columbia, Texas. This handgun was both .36 and .44 caliber 14 inches long with an 8 & 3/16 " barrel. Approximately 350 of these handguns were produced. Being an obscure weapon it was still possible that this weapon was used by some of the Confederate forces. It is patterend after a 3rd model dragoon. The photo shown is an Army version, see photo 7 for the navy version.


    2nd Photo   3rd Photo    4th Photo   5th Photo   6th Photo   7th Photo .36 Navy version

    Freeman

    .44 caliber only 2000 produced

    French PinFire

    A popular weapon in Europe, which used a French percussion system invented in the 1820's

    J & F Garret

    Shown with integral ramrod stowed

    Griswold and Gunnison

    .36 caliber only 3700 produced in Griswoldville Georgia. This was used by the Confederates
    2nd Photo   3rd Photo

    Harpers Ferry Horse pistol

    Kerr

    Confederrate Horseman were known to use the British made.44 caliber Kerr Revolver.
    No other information is available at this time.
    2nd photo  Kerr Holster



    Leech and Rigdon

    Manufactured in Columbus,Mississippi & Greensboro Georgia in 1863-64 around 1500 produced. Used by the Confederates. 2nd photo



    Manhatten

    Manhatten pocket model revolver. Used by Union forces.

    Marsten


    No information available at this time.



    Massachusetts

    Massachussetts Arms Company Adams Patent Navy revolver. This is an Adams revolver, however it was made in the U.S. and not in Europe.

    Palmeto model 1842

    Shown with Integral ramrod unstowed

    C.S.Pettengil

    Army .44 caliber hammerless,3,400 produced

    Plant 3rd Model

    Used by Union forces.


    Rogers and Spencer


    Manufactured in Albany, NY towards the end of the war. This was reportedly a highly accurate handgun. It saw service as late as the Spanish-American war.




    Root

    Savage



    Schneider and Glassick

    Supposedly a duplicate of Colt model handguns it was made in .36 caliber, supposedly produced in Memphis Tennesee

    Spiller and Burr

      The Spiller and Burr .36 caliber revolver was originally produced in Atlanta, Georgia between 1862 and 1864. The Confederacy ordered 15,000 of such revolvers,only 1451 were ever produced. The Atlanta company was unable to make delivery and the company was then moved to the Macon Armory for further production. This was a confederate weapon.

    2nd photo   3rd photo  4th photo


    Starr

    The Starr Model 1858 Double Action Revolver allowed the user to fire a chamber without first manually cocking the hammer. The 1858 DA was a .44 caliber 6-shooter whose design failed to meet Army specifications for a barrel longer than the 1858's 6 inches. The 23,000 produced were purchased, due to war conditions, and Starr then produced the Model 1863 Single Action Revolver. With an 8-inch barrel and fewer parts to break, the 1863 production of 32,000 was almost completely consumed by the military. Both models were manufactured in Binghamton and Yonkers, New York. The large numbers of Starr revolvers purchased by the military is only surpassed by the Colt and Remington companies. 2nd photo

    Tranter Double action revolver

    This was an English made double action revolver, made in 6 calibers, three of which I know of at this time.  .36,  .44,  .50 caliber with .50 being the most popular. It was made in Army and Navy versions. One model of Tranter shown above used a dual trigger mechanism to provide both single and double action options for the soldier. A second spur trigger projected below the trigger guard and would be operated by the middle finger of the soldiers hand. Pulling both triggers together produced the double action mode. The hammer did not have a spur to grip with the thumb,so manipulation of the spurr trigger was required if single action firing mode was desired. Notice the attached loading lever, it is a flat plate of metal that is alongside of the barrel. In the Single trigger version the revolver looked typical, and had a hammer at the rear of the revolver in normal placment. Navy version   Tranter Single Trigger version.

    Tucker & Sherrard Company.

    This looks to be a direct copy of a Colt Walker revolver.

    William P Uhlinger revolver

    .32 caliber made 1861-1865 in Philadelphia PA. Total quantity around 10,000 Uhlinger bought the tools and stock in process of William Hankins,when Hankins entered partnership with Christian Sharps in 1861.To avoid patent infringment on Smith and Wesson. Uhlinger made these revolvers under 4 differant trade names.
    2nd Photo  3rd Photo   4th Photo

    Unknown Manufacturer

    I suppose at this time, this is the rarest of the rare. I have a photo but no other information is known about this weapon. Notice the hammer is underneith the barrel. Imagine placing a cap on the nipple, and having it fall off before you could shoot! I doubt many of these guns were made. It also appears to be a double action, single shot pistol. I see no visible cocking mechanism, and it looks like the simple action of pulling the trigger aft would drop the hammer down, and then at full trigger travel, it would allow the hammer to spring back up and strike the cap. It has an octagon barrel. These type barrels were used in the early days. Probably vintage 1840's.

    Virginia Manufactory

    Virgina Manufactory first model alteration shown above. Unalterd flintlock 2nd model

    Warner pocket pistol

    Produced early in the war only 2000 were manufactured

    Webley Double Action

    British made Double action.

    Wesson and Leavitt Dragoon

    .40 caliber 800 produced army revolver. 2nd photo

    Whitney

    This was an all steel percussion revolver of .36 caliber originally made in 1861.

    Whitney's first pistol was a .36 caliber, 6-shot revolver with a 7 1/2 inch barrel and solid frame, similar to the Remington. From 1857 to 1862, Whitney produced more then 33,000 of these pistols. Early production was marked "Eagle Co." on the barrel. Whitney sold these to the military as the Navy Model Percussion Revolver. Nearly half of the production was purchased by the government. 2nd photo