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Title:	REVOLVER -  COLT REVOLVER MODEL 1873 S.A.A. .45 SN# 116673
Maker/Manufacturer:	COLT
Date of Manufacture:	1885
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1031
Measurements:	OL: 27.9CM 11" BL: 13.9CM 5 1/2" 2 lbs. 7 oz.

Object Description:

COLT REVOLVER MODEL 1873 S.A.A. .45 SN# 116673
Manufactured by Colt, Hartford, Ct. in 1885 - Standard Colt Single Action Army 6-shot "Artillery" Model revolver. Blued barrel and cylinder, casehardened frame and hammer. Solid frame, hand-operated rod ejection. One piece smooth walnut grip. V-notched rear, large steel blade front sight. Weapon weighs approximately 2 lbs. 7 oz.

Markings:
Frame: PAT. SEPT, 19. 1871./JULY, 2. - 72/JAN. 19 - 75. U.S. Underneath: DFC/116673. DFC = David F. Clark.
Barrel: COLT PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD CT. U.S.A.
Grips: R.A.C. (Rinaldo A. Carr).
Buttstrap: 5.
Butt: 116/673. All matching serial numbers.

Notes: The Colt Single-Action Army with a 5 1/2" barrel was the official side arm of the Rough Riders. It is also known as the "Artillery Model." The "Artillery Model" was reworked at the Colt factory and the Springfield Armory between 1895-1903.

"A letter from the Chief of Ordnance regarding the alteration and refurbishment of Colt revolvers in 1895 states: 'It is intended to shorten the barrels of all the .45 caliber Colt's revolvers on hand to a length of 5.5 inches as provided for the 250 revolvers which you have been directed to prepare and issue to the batteries of light artillery. This alteration for the new revolvers (cal. .45) on hand can it is thought be done at the Armory, whilst those requiring renovation may be altered at the least expense to the Government by the Colt's Arms Company at the same time with the work of renovation to be done under the contract of Aug. 20, 1895, with that company.
Of significance is the fact that the government intended that older guns (needing renovation) be altered by Colt, while Springfield altered guns that were in new condition. At that point in time most Colts still in government service would have been turned in to Springfield. As stated, it was the government's intention to alter all the Cavalry models available. The low serial numbered guns still in government's possession by that time had seen 20 years of hard usage and would not have been in new condition. Therefore it seems very likely that all, or nearly all of these first-order guns that the government still had in service would have been sent to Colt for alteration in 1895.
But from Parsons' survey we know that the total number of first-order guns worked on by Colt during the 1895-1903 period was 1,178, out of the total 8,000 procured. It could be assumed that about 1,200 or so are all that the government had in their possession in 1895, and all that were altered to 5 ˝" barreled Artillery models! That means that the majority of first-order guns, perhaps as many as 6,800, were left unaltered - simply because the government no longer had them in their possession. Even if we assume that Springfield altered some of the older guns too, despite the government's stated intention, if both Colt and Springfield altered about the same proportion of the first-order guns, this would account for 2,700 early guns so altered (1,200/7,200 numbered altered by Colt) = .167 or 16.7%; assumed total altered = 16,097 x 16.7% = 2,700. This assumption would mean that 5,300 of the first 8,000 were no longer in the government possession instead of 6,800, but it is still a very large proportion missing. Why were they no longer in the government's possession? Some of course would have been lost or stolen over the years, but not in that proportion. Documented losses seem to number only in the hundreds out of the 37,000 total of these guns. It does not seem that losses could account for the whereabouts of the other 5,300-6,800 first-order guns, so another explanation is required.
The guns returned to Springfield for repair by Army units could then have been either put in storage, sent back to the field, or sent to militias and other governmental departments. Had they been put in storage or sent back to the field the government would have had them in their possession for conversion. Again, logic points too many of these early guns having been repaired by Springfield and re-issued to militias and ot
"Every ranchman carries a revolver, a long... Colt or Smith & Wesson, by preference the former." - Teddy Roosevelt

"The sidearm issued to the Rough Riders was known officially as 'Colt's revolver, caliber .45, short barrel.' This revolver is a modified version of the Colt Single Action Army revolver, which was introduced into military service in 1874 and officially superseded by the Colt double-action .38 revolver in 1893. The modification consisted of reducing the barrel length form 7 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches. This alteration was performed in connection with overhaul and refinishing of these arms, and it was carried out by both Colt and Springfield Armory. This short-barrel revolver was originally intended for use by light artillery units, thus the designation 'Artillery Model'. Some Artillery model revolvers retain matching serial numbers, but most have components with mixed numbers. Research performed by noted Colt authority C. Kenneth Moore indicates that SAAs altered by Colt and Springfield before 1898 retained matching numbers; whereas those altered by Springfield in 1898 as well as those overhauled by Colt after the war have mixed numbers. It is probable that many of these revolvers were overhauled twice, first by Colt or Springfield before the Spanish-American War, then again by Colt after the war.
Roosevelt had been responsible for requisitioning the arms and equipment of the Rough Riders, and he may have selected the Colt single action revolver because most of his men were more familiar with it than with the newer double action .38. If so, he set the pattern for such issues to virtually all other volunteer units throughout the Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection. Officers had to furnish their own weapons, and Roosevelt carried (and used) a revolver that had been recovered form the sunken battleship Maine and presented to him by his brother-in-law, who was a Navy captain. This would have been a Colt model 1889 double-action .38 revolver. Another Colt double-action .38 revolver was carried by Capt. Allyn Capron, commander of Co. L. Capt. Capron was the lone officer killed in the action at Las Guasimas. His father, who was an officer in the regular artillery, went on to fight at San Juan.
Although the Rough Riders mainly relied on their Krag carbines in pressing the attack at Santiago, there are several accounts of revolvers being used in the close-in fighting in and around the Spanish trenches that followed the famous charge; and there is no doubt that the Artillery revolvers were used in this action.
Following the armistice and prior to the embarkation of the Rough Riders for the voyage to Montauk Point, their weapons were turned in for shipment to Springfield Armory. Volunteer soldiers were later given the opportunity to purchase the weapon they had used during the war; but this information was received too late by the Rough Riders, and the records of Springfield Armory state that none were purchased by them. There were, of course, numerous arms 'lost in battle'; and it is altogether possible that some of these were smuggled home by Rough Riders as well as other troopers.
COLT REVOLVERS OF THE ROUGH RIDERS
SERIAL TROOP NAME
1204 G Richard Richards
1334 I Ben F. T. Morris
2186 G Eustace E. Van Horn
2202 G Sgt. Raymond Morse
2685 I Alexander McGowan
2954 I Jacob H. Miller
3268 I Henry K. Duke
3927 G Alfred J. Conover
4238 I Horton A. Bennett
5420 I John T. To6343 I Harry B. Wiley
6919 I John H. Tait
6929 I Cpl. August Roediger
7253 I 2nd Lt. John C. Greenway
7425 G John S. Kline
7464 I Charles M. Armstrong
7581 I Max Reisig
7708 I Charles A. Brush
7811 I Wm. H. Bates
8033 I Wm. H. Waffensmith
9932 I Daniel J. Zigler
10139 I Geo. Thompson
10643 I Carl J. Schornhorst, Jr.
10813 I Joseph F. Flynn
11397 I Cal Jopling
13288 I Alfred C. Giller
17264 G Wm. C. Gibson
18296 G Lyman E. Whithead
18448 I John P. Roberts
18720 I Thomas C. Williams
18754 I John P. Roberts
28754 I Hyman Rafolowitz
32878 G Earl Stillson
33321 I Sgt. Percival Gassett
33549 G Bert T. Keeley
33912 I Cpl. Numa C. Freuger
34361 I Wm. H. Tritz
34474 I Franklin H. North
34708 G Wm. D. Wood
35015 I Frank M. Clark
35182 I Wm. H. Jones
41906 I Henry J. Arendt
48319 I John Reidy
48864 I Geo. M. Coe
50112 G Thomas W. Phipps
50487 G Malcolm D. Lincoln - "Krag carbine serial no. 68140 was issued to Private Malcolm D. Lincoln on 9 July 1898. Lincoln was 32 years old when he enlisted at Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 25 June 1898. Lincoln was born in Lucknow, India, but the Descriptive Book lists his place of birth as the 'W. Indies' and his service records lists Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. Lincoln's civilian occupation was as a 'cow man.' He was single at the time of enlistment. The Descriptive Book shows him as being 5'9" tall with blue eyes, light complexion and brown hair. Probably recruited in anticipation of a longer war, Lincoln joined too late to participate with his company in the Cuban campaign. The records showing his issue of arms and equipment is titled 'New Recruits.' Lincoln joined his company after its return to the States and was mustered out of service with the rest of the regiment on 15 September 1898. The records show that Lincoln was also issued 'Six Shooter' (Colt SAA revolver) serial number 50487." - Charles Pate, MAN AT ARMS, February, 2006.
50587 I Wagoner Everett E. Holt
50596 I Harry Peabody
54135 I Geo. Shafer
54331 I Joseph L. Bawcome
62817 I Roy O. Wisenbery
82206 I Sgt. Schuyler C. Morgan
91891 I Michael Hogan
91891 I Wm. W.O. O'Dell
92160 I Blkssmith Chas. A. Nehmer
93046 G George H. McCarthy
93583 I Percy A. Geiger
93710 I Joseph R. Adkins
94324 I 1st Sgt. John B. Wylie
94618 I David R. Miller
95384 G Geo. H. Quigg
95770 I William A. Fennell
96743 I Joseph H. Crockett
98162 I Cpl. Hiram T. Brown
98223 G U.S.G. Morgan
98255 I Frank Temple
113224 G Samuel P. McCullogh
113456 I Edwin H. Miller
113792 G Antonio Larson
113944 G Elias M. Littleton
114368 I Louis Larsen
114460 I Louis Larsen
114545 I William J. Love
115022 I Stewart R. Price
115061 G Louis B. Bishop
115162 I Sgt. John V. Morrison
115195 I Farrier Haynes Donnelly
115413 G Frank P. Miller
115564 I Lee Sennett
115739 I Oscar W. Groves
116694 I 116700 I George D. Alexis
119148 G Fred Fornoff
120113 I Saddler Leo G. Rogers
120214 I Trump. Robert E. Lea
120427 I Thomas P. Dolan
120550 I Howard G. Young
120760 I Sgt. James S. Cate
120770 I Cpl. Wm. J. Nehmer
120788 G U.S.G. Morgan
120987 I Michael Saville
120945 G Arthur T. Anderson
121022 G Archibald Petty
121162 I John McCoy
131282 G Henry C. Rayburn
131498 I Cpl. Errickson M. Nichols
131548 I Edw. J. Spencer
131720 G Frank W. Cotton
131944 I Morris J. Storms
132188 G Wm. C. Andrews
132599 I John L Twyman
132663 I Robert W. Denny
132697 G Frank F. Healey
133251 I Cpl. George M. Kerney
134095 I John Martin
130495 I Walter Hickey
136315 I Henry C. Davis
136603 G Sherman Detweiler
137729 G Frank W. Copetal
137970 I Cpt. Abraham L. Bainter
138229 I Joseph Brito
138271 I Frank C. Brito
138725 I Cpl. Wm. S. Sullivan
138733 I Charles Raulett
138940 I Albert C. Bassage
139122 I Edward Pierce
189503 G Walter D. Quinn"
- Frank Mallory, MAN AT ARMS, January/February, 1989.

"Many of my cavalry friends in the past had insisted to me that the revolver was a better weapon than the sword...they (the Rough Riders) were then armed with what might be called their natural weapon, the revolver." - Teddy Roosevelt

What U.S. troops encountered in the Philippines at the beginning of the century is very similar to what policemen encounter on the streets of American cities today. It is called ambulation after death. Although the body is clinically dead, the brain continues to work. While the characteristic is most often found with people high on drugs, it has been exhibited in people later found with no controlled substance in their bodies, including alcohol. Police files, especially in and around the Los Angeles area, have probably documented this better than the U.S. Army did in the Philippines, or the British in the Sudan. There are recorded cases where suspects have taken anywhere from 10 to 15 rounds from a 9mm pistol and the suspect not only continues to pose a threat, but more than one police officer has been killed despite his/her ability to accurately fire their weapons. A recent case in South Carolina saw a police officer return fire on a suspect armed with a .22 caliber pistol. The officer put 5 rounds from his .357 Magnum into the suspect. That police officer is dead today, and the suspect survived his wounds. While police departments throughout the country are taking another look at their 9mm, the options for the U.S. Army in 1899 were limited. There were simply no options other than the "Peacemaker." The frequent encounter with Moro tribesmen necessitated the recall to active duty of the Colt Single Action Army. According to Colonel Louis A. LaGarde, "In 1907 a Moro charged the guard at Jolo, PI. When he was within 100 yards, the entire guard opened fire at him. When he had reached within 5 yards of the firing party he stumbled and while in the prone position a trumpeter killed him by shooting him through the head with a .45 caliber Colt's revolver. There where ten wounds in his body from the service rifle. Three of the wounds were located in the chest, one in the abdomen and the remainder had taken effect in the extremities. There were no bones broken."

"The Americans had bec
"Madrid's concession of defeat in 1898 brought no cease-fire for the United States. Initially receptive to America's removal of the Spanish yoke, proud Filipinos seemed less grateful once they understood the Yankees planned to stay, perhaps forever. Eighty thousand native rebels joined Emilio Aquinaldo's February 1899 revolt, providing the United States with an uncanny four-year preview of the war in Vietnam.
Outnumbered four to one, the Yankee soldiers learned to deal with Moro tribesmen, high on the delusion of their own invincibility, who would attack a Gatling gun with spears and bolo knives. Against such fervor - like policemen of another generation, faced with suspects 'wired' on PCP - the troopers found their Krags inadequate. Their side arms were Colt Model 1892 double-action revolvers, easy to load with their new swing-out cylinders, but the .38 Long Colt cartridge lacked the stopping power of the old single-action .45s." - Michael Newton

"The Colt single-action .45 was to see even more service during the Philippine Insurrection, when the light bullets from the army's .38s proved incapable of stopping Moro attackers. For Ordnance officers the Philippine experience settled once and for all the question of a suitable caliber for service pistols; the handguns subjected to the trials of 1907 were all of .45 caliber." - Louis A. Garavaglia & Charles G. Worman
(NPS note - Actually the issue was not "settled once and for all." Despite all the lessons learned over the years, the Army has returned to the 9mm.)

Belle Starr carried a M1873 "Artillery" Revolver, serial number 85272.

According to one account, Gordon Lillie, alias Pawnee Bill, carried two Colt SAA 5 1/2" barrel. The serial numbers are: 14844 & 14845.

"Revolvers up to number 160,000 should be used with black powder only. After this number, they have heat treated cylinders designed to use smokeless powder." - Hatcher

References:
Elman, Robert. FIRED IN ANGER. Doubleday & Co. Inc. Garden City, N.Y. 1968.
Flayderman, Norm. FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS...AND THEIR VALUES. 7th Edition. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.
Garavaglia, Louis A. & Charles G. Worman. FIREARMS OF THE AMERICAN WEST 1866-1894. University of New Mexico Press. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1985.
Hatcher, Julian S. HATCHER'S NOTEBOOK. The Stackpole Co. Harrisburg, Pa. 1962.
Johnson, George B. INTERNATIONAL ARMAMENT. 2nd Ed. George B. Johnson. 2002.
Newton, Michael. ARMED AND DANGEROUS: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO WEAPONS. Writer's Digest Books. Cincinnati, Ohio. 1990.
Potocki, John. THE COLT MODEL 1905 AUTOMATIC PISTOL. Andrew Mowbray Publishers. Lincoln, R.I. 1998.
Roth, Russel. MUDDY GLORY - AMERICAN INDIAN WARS IN THE PHILIPPINES, 1899-1935. Christoper Publishing. Hanover, Ma.
Wilson, R.L. COLT: AN AMERICAN LEGEND. Abbeville Publishing Group. N.Y., N.Y. 1985.

See, “COLT SAA ARTILLERY MODEL,” by Jim Supica. American Rifleman, June 2006.

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The National Park Service is interested in any information on the following revolver: NPS Accession # 41 - Colt-Bisley Revolver SN# 255277.