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Pedersoli Mortimer Pistol. Click here for details. |
Reenactors of the Mountain Man era pride themselves in historical accuracy in dress, manners, and equipment. As shooters, we use single-shot, muzzle loading pistols in either flint or percussion, with rifled barrels and functional front and rear sights. In the Trail Walk environment, they are potentially safer when loaded only when a shooter arrives at the station, and carried empty to the next shooting station. Historically (pre-1838), single shot muzzle loading pistols were the only type readily available, save multi-barreled oddities like the duck's foot pistol.
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| Charleville Pistol. Photo Source: Click here. |
As a weapon, pistols played a secondary role on the frontier. Possessing neither power nor accuracy, one might prefer a big knife when push came to shove. It is documented that Meriwether Lewis carried a pair of smooth-bore North and Cheney pistols, modeled after the French Charleville pistol of 1777. When I attempted to model my persona after an "unidentified" member of the Corps of Discovery, I purchased a Palmetto Arms replica of the Charleville pistol from Dixie Gun Works to accompany my 1803 Harpers Ferry Rifled Musket.
Trail Walks: For the record, revolvers may be used if the shooter loads only one chamber at each shooting station. Safety is the primary concern, as we can't have shooters coming back to camp wondering, "Did I fire six shots or did I fire five?" One load, one shot. Safe and simple.
This begs the question: Did any Mountain Man ever carry a revolver? The answer lies in our interpretation of the phrase Period Correct. In fact, the Colt Model of 1836, aka the Colt Paterson, did indeed exist *, and some were known to have found their way onto the prairie. Frontiersman and trapper Kit Carson was known to have owned and used such a revolver in the 1840s, but it is not known if the revolver was acquired during his exploits in the late 1830s.
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| Colt Patterson, "Texas" Model with 9" barrel. Read more about it here. |
The Paterson was fragile, lacking any on-board loading capabilities, and had a cylinder that held only five shots. Known at the time for having "one shot for every finger on your hand", the description was accurate. Judging from the price that will be asked should this replica ever become available for purchase, shooting it will prove to be an expensive and exasperating experience. Trust me. I know.
It is interesting to note that the Patterson was designed to be loaded by removing the barrel and utilizing a special tool that served as a rammer, nipple pick, nipple wrench, and screwdriver. If you're curious, you can watch the loading process by clicking here. In 1839, Colt added a loading lever below the barrel, a feature that would re-appear in later revolvers. In addition, a relief cut was made in the right side of the recoil shield to facilitate capping with the cylinder and barrel in place. A concise video on the these two additions can be seen here. This is a photograph of a Texas Patterson replica that includes both the capping cutout and the loading lever on a later large frame (#5) Patterson revolver. Its very existence is a nod to the authenticity of these later modifications. The gun was sold as a tribute to the late Johnny Cash. I am not sure how the singer's life relates to Texas, as he was born in Kingsland, Arkansas. "Orange Blossom Special" refers to one of Cash's hit songs. Image source can be found here.
I'll close this post by saying that a Colt Patterson could pass muster as period correct, and history suggests that Kit Carson may have actually carried one before the presumed ending of the Fur Trade (1838). The evidence is circumstantial, although somebody with access to more detailed research might suggest otherwise. My goal is to simply give shooters another option.
If you already own, or have access to, a percussion revolver, consider shooting it if you do not already own a more suitable Trail Walk pistol.
More on the subject of percussion revolvers will follow.
* "...In 1803, Lewis picked up a set of two horse pistols from the Schuylkill Arsenal in Philadelphia, where records indicate there were several hundred pairs on hand. The standardized U.S. military pistol of that period was the Model 1799 single-shot flintlock gun made under contract with North & Cheney of Berlin, Connecticut. This would most likely be the weapon Lewis chose because it could use the same .69 caliber ball as the standard U.S. military musket. It was 14½ inches long overall, and weighed three pounds." Source post can be found here.
** "...In 1835 Samuel Colt obtained the first of numerous patents in regards to the design of his pistol. By 1836 he formed the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company, which began operations in an unoccupied section of a silk mill in Paterson, N.J. (producing the Colt-Paterson pistol)...Approximately 2,000 of these were manufactured between 1836 and 1842..." Source post can be found here.
