Colt Dragoon Revolver
Encyclopedia
The Colt Model 1848 Percussion Army Revolver is a .44 caliber revolver designed by Samuel Colt
for the U.S. Army's Mounted Rifles, also known as "Dragoons". This revolver was designed as a solution to numerous problems encountered with the Walker Colt
. Although it was introduced after the Mexican-American War, it became popular among civilians during the 1850s and '60s, and was also used during the American Civil War
.
revolver replaced it. All the improvements in design of Colt revolvers were applied to the Dragoons as well to the smaller models of Colt revolvers. For collectors, there are three different types. The First Model Colt Dragoon Revolver has oval-shaped cylinder notches, a V-type mainspring, no wheel on the rear of the hammer, no pins between the nipples on the cylinder and a squareback triggerguard. Colt produced about 7,000 first models between 1848 and 1850. The Second Model has rectangular cylinder notches. Until the no. 10,000 the V-shaped mainspring was standard and then replaced with a flat leaf mainspring and a wheel on the hammer at its bearing on the mainspring. All the Second Model Dragoons have the squareback triggerguard. The company made about 2,550 Second Models in 1850 and '51. The Third Model Dragoon numbers stand at ten-thousand from 1851 through 1860. This design had more variations as compared to its earlier counterparts. Some of the third model Colt Dragoon Revolvers had frame cuts for detachable shoulder stocks, horizontal loading lever latches and folding leaf sights. Third Colt Dragoon Revolvers had a round trigger guard. Government records showed an order for 8,390 Dragoons.
Other variants included the Colt "1848 Pocket Pistol" now known as the Baby Dragoon, marketed in California with success during the Gold Rush days. With the addition of a loading lever this evolved into the 1849 pocket revolver (see Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers
).
Total production of Colt Dragoons including the 1,100 Walkers, from 1847 to 1860: 19,800; plus 750 Dragoons in a separate number range for the British market.
In the troublesome events that led to the Civil War, Colt Dragoons became extremely popular. In the beginning Colt Dragoon Revolver were issued for the U.S. Army's Mounted Rifles. They were carried in pommel holsters on the saddle. The Colt Dragoon Revolver gained popularity among civilians in the Southwest where many had served in the Mexican-American War. The Dragoon became a master weapon for civilians who hailed it as a powerful weapon of the time.
Famous users included Joaquin Murietta, the California bandit, Charley Parkhurst
, California teamster, Union general George B McClellan, probably Harriet Tubman
of the Underground Railroad
, and fictionally Mattie Ross in the 1969 version of "True Grit". Parkhurst, while driving freight, was confronted by two bandits whom she dispatched with the Colt Holster Pistol. According to Harper's Weekly, James Butler (Wild Bill
) Hickock arrived in Springfield, Missouri carrying a Dragoon though it is generally accepted that he used a Navy
in his street duel with Davis Tutt.
Non-firing replicas of the Colt 1848 Dragoon were manufactured at Denix in Spain. In 2005, a fire burnt down the factory and destroyed the mold for the gun, which has since gone out of production. Denix has since reintroduced the non-firing model of the Colt 1848 Dragoon in Nickel.
Quality Replica Dragoons are currently produced by the Aldo Uberti Company of Brescia, Italy and distributed in the United States by Taylors, Inc.; Cimarron Firearms,and others. They are quite accurate and potentially more powerful than the belt sized revolvers of the same bore diameter. Velocities with .451-457-inch round balls of approximately 141 grains over the full 50 grains of powder frequently show chronographed readings in the 1,000 to 1,100 foot per second range depending upon the powder used.
Samuel Colt
Samuel Colt was an American inventor and industrialist. He was the founder of Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company , and is widely credited with popularizing the revolver. Colt's innovative contributions to the weapons industry have been described by arms historian James E...
for the U.S. Army's Mounted Rifles, also known as "Dragoons". This revolver was designed as a solution to numerous problems encountered with the Walker Colt
Walker Colt
The Colt Walker is a single action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six charges of black powder behind six bullets. It was designed in 1846 as a collaboration between Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker and American firearms inventor Samuel Colt....
. Although it was introduced after the Mexican-American War, it became popular among civilians during the 1850s and '60s, and was also used during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Production
The Colt Dragoon Revolver was produced with several variations between 1848 and 1860, when the Colt Model 1860Colt Army Model 1860
The Colt Army Model 1860 is a muzzle-loaded cap & ball .44-caliber revolver used during the American Civil War, made by Colt's Manufacturing Company. It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces....
revolver replaced it. All the improvements in design of Colt revolvers were applied to the Dragoons as well to the smaller models of Colt revolvers. For collectors, there are three different types. The First Model Colt Dragoon Revolver has oval-shaped cylinder notches, a V-type mainspring, no wheel on the rear of the hammer, no pins between the nipples on the cylinder and a squareback triggerguard. Colt produced about 7,000 first models between 1848 and 1850. The Second Model has rectangular cylinder notches. Until the no. 10,000 the V-shaped mainspring was standard and then replaced with a flat leaf mainspring and a wheel on the hammer at its bearing on the mainspring. All the Second Model Dragoons have the squareback triggerguard. The company made about 2,550 Second Models in 1850 and '51. The Third Model Dragoon numbers stand at ten-thousand from 1851 through 1860. This design had more variations as compared to its earlier counterparts. Some of the third model Colt Dragoon Revolvers had frame cuts for detachable shoulder stocks, horizontal loading lever latches and folding leaf sights. Third Colt Dragoon Revolvers had a round trigger guard. Government records showed an order for 8,390 Dragoons.
Other variants included the Colt "1848 Pocket Pistol" now known as the Baby Dragoon, marketed in California with success during the Gold Rush days. With the addition of a loading lever this evolved into the 1849 pocket revolver (see Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers
Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers
The family of Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers evolved from the earlier commercial revolvers marketed by the Paterson Arms Company of Paterson, NJ. The smaller versions of Colt's first revolvers are also called "Baby Patersons" by collectors and were produced in .24 to .31 calibers...
).
Total production of Colt Dragoons including the 1,100 Walkers, from 1847 to 1860: 19,800; plus 750 Dragoons in a separate number range for the British market.
Size
The Dragoon was produced because of the problems seen with the fielded Colt Walker revolvers, namely, the Walker's large size, four and a half pounds, making it suitable only for use as a saddle-mounted revolver, the Walker's propensity for cylinders exploding on occasion when fired (due to the chambers being loaded with too much powder), and the Walker's habit of dropping the loading lever upon discharge, locking up the revolver action in the middle of combat. The Colt Dragoon Revolver had a comparatively shorter cylinder (thus preventing overloading the cylinder) and held up to 50 grains of powder, whereas the Walker had used up to 60 grains of powder. The Dragoon Revolver had a shorter barrel at 7.5 inches (some later revolvers 8 inches) as compared to the 9 inches (228.6 mm) barrel on the Walker. A loading lever latch in front of the lever replaced the spring to keep the lever from dropping during recoil, thereby preventing jamming of the revolver. These variations made the Colt Dragoon Revolver 4 pounds two ounces. These changes also reduced the risks of the Colt Dragoon Revolver from exploding when fired, unlike the risk that had been demonstrated with the Walker revolvers.Popularity
Famous users included Joaquin Murietta, the California bandit, Charley Parkhurst
Charley Parkhurst
Charley Darkey Parkhurst, often Charlie/Charlene/Charlotte or Parkurst, born Mary Parkhurst , was an American stagecoach driver and early California settler...
, California teamster, Union general George B McClellan, probably Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
of the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, and fictionally Mattie Ross in the 1969 version of "True Grit". Parkhurst, while driving freight, was confronted by two bandits whom she dispatched with the Colt Holster Pistol. According to Harper's Weekly, James Butler (Wild Bill
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
) Hickock arrived in Springfield, Missouri carrying a Dragoon though it is generally accepted that he used a Navy
Colt 1851 Navy Revolver
The Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber , later known as the Colt 1851 Navy or Navy Revolver, is a cap and ball revolver. It was designed by Samuel Colt between 1847 and 1850. It remained in production until 1873, when revolvers using fixed metallic cartridges came into widespread use...
in his street duel with Davis Tutt.
Present
The Dragoon is now a collectible arm and sold for high prices.Non-firing replicas of the Colt 1848 Dragoon were manufactured at Denix in Spain. In 2005, a fire burnt down the factory and destroyed the mold for the gun, which has since gone out of production. Denix has since reintroduced the non-firing model of the Colt 1848 Dragoon in Nickel.
Quality Replica Dragoons are currently produced by the Aldo Uberti Company of Brescia, Italy and distributed in the United States by Taylors, Inc.; Cimarron Firearms,and others. They are quite accurate and potentially more powerful than the belt sized revolvers of the same bore diameter. Velocities with .451-457-inch round balls of approximately 141 grains over the full 50 grains of powder frequently show chronographed readings in the 1,000 to 1,100 foot per second range depending upon the powder used.
See also
- Colt PatersonColt PatersonA Colt Paterson is a revolver. It was the first commercial repeating firearm employing a revolving cylinder with multiple chambers aligned with a single, stationary barrel. Its design was patented by Samuel Colt on February 25, 1836, in the United States, France, and England, and it derived its...
- Colt's Manufacturing CompanyColt's Manufacturing CompanyColt's Manufacturing Company is a United States firearms manufacturer, whose first predecessor corporation was founded in 1836 by Sam Colt. Colt is best known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms over the later half of the 19th and the 20th century...
- Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers
- Walker ColtWalker ColtThe Colt Walker is a single action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six charges of black powder behind six bullets. It was designed in 1846 as a collaboration between Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker and American firearms inventor Samuel Colt....
- Colt 1851 Navy RevolverColt 1851 Navy RevolverThe Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber , later known as the Colt 1851 Navy or Navy Revolver, is a cap and ball revolver. It was designed by Samuel Colt between 1847 and 1850. It remained in production until 1873, when revolvers using fixed metallic cartridges came into widespread use...