LeMat Revolver
Overview
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
was a .42 or .36 caliber
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
cap & ball
Percussion cap
The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather.Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the...
black powder revolver invented by Dr. Jean Alexandre LeMat
Jean Alexandre LeMat
Dr. Jean Alexandre Francois LeMat , is best known for the percussion cap revolver that bears his name .LeMat, then a New Orleans physician, secured for his design on October 21, 1856. British patents for the same design were issued in 1859, and he later designed a revolver rifle of similar concept...
of New Orleans, which featured a rather unusual secondary 16 gauge
Gauge (bore diameter)
The gauge of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the diameter of the barrel. Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm, and is expressed as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound . Thus...
smoothbore barrel capable of firing buckshot, and saw service with the armed forces of the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
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...
of 1861–65.
The mid-19th century was a time in American history that gave birth to a number of innovative firearm designs.
