The 1858 Remington

Old and New Model 1858 Remington Revolvers. Photo Source: Click here.

From a shooting perspective, the best percussion revolver was not the Colt. While it was a highly desirable weapon, it was the newer 1858 Remington and its derivatives that would prove to be the better revolver. They are commonly referred to as the Model 1858 due to the patent markings on its New Model barrels, "PATENTED SEPT. 14, 1858/E. REMINGTON & SONS, ILION, NEW YORK, U.S.A./NEW MODEL."; although wide scale production did not start until 1861.

Whitney Navy, Second Model. Photo Source: Click here.

The Whitneyville Connection: The Whitney Arms Company had been struggling since Whitney Eli Jr. took over the company. When the initial government order for 1,100 Walkers was completed, Samuel Colt took possession of all the machinery needed to resume manufacture, as stipulated in the original contract. However, in 1854 Whitney and designer Fordyce Beals  began working on several products, the most successful being the Whitney Navy Revolver. It was released in 1857 after Colt's US patent over firearms using revolving cylinders ended.

Whitney Revolver. Photo Source: Click here.

When field stripped, it is easy so see some of the design departures made by Beals. First, the cylinder frame, back strap, and the front strap are one piece, adding to the strength of the grip. The trigger guard itself was reduced in size and held in place with a single screw. This also allowed the wooden grip to be simplified to include a left and a right panel, rather than the meticulously fitted one-piece grip of the Colt. The pivot point for the rammer is on the cylinder pin and not on the barrel. Because of the solid top frame design, the wedge was no longer needed to hold the barrel in place. Instead, a rotating "key" is used to engage a notch in the cylinder pin. 

Whitney obtained a contract with the US Army in 1862, and provided about 7,602 revolvers through 1863.  The Army also obtained Whitney revolvers through other private vendors as well, resulting in over 10,000 Whitney Navy revolvers being used by the Army.   The US Navy purchased 6,226 Whitney revolvers during 1863-1865.   About 50% of the 34,000 Second Models were purchased by the Army and Navy.

It is interesting that the Whitney revolver would be copied by the Confederacy and become the rare, brass-framed .36 caliber Spiller and Burr revolver.

Remington-Beals 3rd Model Pocket Revolver. Image Source: Click here.

The Remington Connection: Beals was hired by Remington in1858. While there, He designed a spur-trigger, single-action, .31 caliber pocket revolver. Unlike the Whitney, the cylinder pin was not attached to the loading lever. In its place was a cross screw in the barrel extension of the cylinder frame which served as the lever pivot point and the retainer to hold the cylinder pin captive in the frame. The cylinder pin itself had two ears to help the user extract the pin when removing the cylinder. It was the 1858 patent date of this new cylinder pin that gave the revolver its "name". This first iteration of a full-sized Remington revolver would not come until the introduction of the Remington Beals .36 caliber Navy Revolver in 1861.

"Old Model" Remington Beals .44 Army revolver #187 of 2,000. Photo Source: Click here.

Like the Whitney that preceded it, the new Remington had a solid frame for greater rigidity, and included Beals's patented sliding cylinder pin. The revolver was a six-shot, .36-caliber, percussion with a 7 1/2-inch octagonal barrel and walnut grips. The term Navy revolver refers to .36-caliber revolvers, while Army revolver refers to .44-caliber revolvers. Union Chief of Ordnance General James W. Ripley ordered 5,000 Remington Beals revolvers at $15 each; however, the order was a mixture of .44 Army and .36 Navy calibers. The cost of the Remington was less than the $20.00 demanded by Colt for his 1860 Army.

"New Model" Remington Beals .44 Army revolver. Photo Source: Click here.

The Remington evolved during its production run. In 1863, an improved model was introduced with the following upgrades:

• Front Sight: The front sight was changed from a dovetail mounted sight to a simpler vertical pin.
• Low Profile Hammer: The hammer was given a lower contour to minimize the chances of snagging or breakage.
• Frame Cuts: Clearance cuts were made in the frame that exposed portions of the barrel thread. These were machined into the frame to reduce the "freezing" of the cylinder when fowling accumulated at the cylinder/barrel interface.
• Safety Slots: Another innovative feature (first appearing in the 1863 New Model production series) were the "safety slots" milled between chambers on the cylinder. The milled slot positively secured the hammer between chambers for safe carry by placing the hammer's firing pin where it did not rest on a percussion cap, eliminating the risk of an accidental discharge if the gun was dropped or the hammer struck.

Elliot Patent 1858 Remington. Image Source: Click here.

The 1861 Elliot Patent: In this photo you can clearly see a gap between the barrel and the loading lever. Early production revolvers were fitted with Dr. William H. Elliot's patented loading lever that would allow the cylinder to be removed without first lowering the lever to allow extraction of the cylinder pin. In theory, this would allow rapid removal of the cylinder, but in reality, the pin often slipped out on its own, thus allowing the cylinder to bind, or worse, fall out of the revolver. Existing stocks of loading levers were modified by installing a short screw to prevent the cylinder pin's forward movement when the lever was locked in place.

This particular revolver is a mixture of older and newer parts. The dovetail front sight and tall hammer would suggest that this was an older gun. However, the frame has cuts by the barrel and the cylinder has safety slots, suggesting older parts installed on a newer frame.

Final Thoughts: In my opinion, the Remington 1858 is superior to the Colt in a variety of ways. 

• It is simpler to detail strip, as it has fewer parts. 
• During a detailed disassembly, the hand is removed from the hammer (it's held in place by an easily accessible screw) so when re-assembling the revolver, you can position the two parts separately, and once properly aligned, you simply replace the screw.
• The simplified cylinder removal makes field stripping a breeze.

But on the down side:

• The small-diameter cylinder pin has no provision for lubrication, so deposits of powder fouling can harden and make disassembly difficult. I had that happen to me, and I found that the best way to get the cylinder pin free was to completely disassemble the revolver and use a brass punch to push the pin out from the breech end. 
• The grip isn't as comfortable as the 1851 Colt Navy, or the 1860 Colt Army.

Buy yours here.

21st Century Loading: The ease of cylinder removal served as the catalyst for the creation of specialized loading tools. With the cylinder out, you can charge all five/six chambers, insert your Wonder Wads, then seat the round balls one at a time. I've used a tool similar to this one for my 1873 percussion Colts with great success, and recommend it to anybody who plans to shoot their 1858. They claim they can be adapted to work with the 1851 Navy and the 1860 Army, but I've never tried it, primarily because I wanted to avoid the convoluted cylinder removal process of the open topped Colts.

Coming soon, the 1860 Colt Army, and my favorite Civil War revolver, bar none, the Rogers and Spencer.