The Colt Model 1851  Revolver has typically been thought of as a distinctly American pistol, with many of these revolvers seeing service with the Union and Confederate military during the course of the American Civil War, as well as seeing significant civilian service on the frontier, particularly in the hands of the iconic James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok. However, many collectors are unaware that the Colt Model 1851 Revolver was the first revolver to be accepted into service and issued by the British military. 

Colt’s revolver designs were first brought to prominence in England during the great Crystal Palace Exhibition in London during 1851. Two major events that would affect the future of Colt with the British military occurred at that time. First, the Admiralty requested some sample Colt revolvers to be tested against those being manufactured by Deane, Adams & Deane under Robert Adams’ 1851 patent. Second, Samuel Colt was invited to speak at the English Institute of Civil Engineers on November 25, 1851. Colt took advantage of this opportunity to extol the virtues of the “American System of Manufacture” that he used in his Hartford facility; in other words, the use of machinery and interchangeable parts to manufacture items using an assembly line process, resulting in higher quality, more consistent items, and increased output. He even noted that unskilled workers, including women and children could be used with this system of manufacture, as only a handful of skilled workmen were required to operate and oversee the machinery, while unskilled laborers could assemble the parts that were created. Colt’s presentation flew in the face of the English handmade manufacturing process in which every worker was a skilled craftsman who had gone through an appropriate, and often lengthy, apprenticeship to acquire the necessary skills to do his job. 

The leading revolver maker in England during that period was Robert Adams. Adams was present at the meeting and took umbrage to Colt’s statements and challenged their validity in what apparently became a fairly heated exchange between rival handgun manufacturers. In the end, Colt pointed out that Adams’ manufacturing process was slow and inefficient, and that Adams’ double action lock work design resulted in a heavy trigger pull that could only be a detriment to accurate shooting. The best Adams could do was point out that in the trials held by the Royal Navy between the Colt and Adams designs, the Colt was “not recommended.” However, as no Board of Ordnance or Admiralty report exists regarding these trials that I am aware of, it is not clear what the actual conclusion of the testing was. More than likely any failing in the Colt design was simply that it was not “British” or British-made as the Board of Ordnance had always been very protective of their own arms making industry and rarely went outside their country for small arms unless forced to by the exigencies of war. Interestingly, during the exchange Thomas Hastings, a member of the Board of Ordnance, who was privy to the trials, made a point of noting that Adams’ version of the trial results was not an official one and essentially said any negative comments should be taken with a grain of salt. Hastings then proceeded to make a number of positive comments about the Colt design. By the conclusion of the meeting, it was clear that Colt’s revolver and production methods would find at least some favor in Great Britain, and Colt proceeded to set his sights on opening a London based manufactory.

With the advent of the Crimean War and the sudden need for handguns in the field, the British Ordnance Department placed orders for a total of 23,700 of Colt’s “Navy” pistols. The .36 caliber revolver was a departure from British military handgun doctrine in many ways, as it was both a very small caliber (.36) when compared to the traditional British military pistols that were typically between .58 and .65 caliber, and it was a multi-shot weapon. The general acceptance of modern repeating handguns was still very much up in the air with the British military at that time, but they proceeded with the order anyway. These revolvers were delivered between March of 1854 and February of 1856, when the Crimean War ended. While many of these guns were delivered from Colt’s London production facility, additional revolvers were delivered from his US based Hartford manufactory as well. Of these revolvers, 9,600 were issued to the Royal Navy, 5,000 were issued to the army in the Crimea and 9,000 remained in storage at the Tower of London as of February 1856. 

Period accounts indicate that the Royal Navy found the revolvers quite useful, particularly for boarding parties. In fact, after the conclusion of the Crimean conflict, the Royal Navy continued to utilize the Colt revolvers in Chinese waters during the Second Opium War that broke out in the fall of 1856. Within the British army, the use of revolvers was much more limited. The issuance of the revolvers was confined to officers and infantry sergeant majors, and then only in those rare cases where sufficient numbers of single shot pistols were not available for mounted troops. All Lancers were authorized pistols, as were sergeant majors of Dragoons and Hussars, as well as trumpeters. Due to shortages of appropriate arms, it was acceptable to issue the revolvers on an emergency basis if the single shot pistols were unavailable. It is worth noting that at the end of the conflict the revolvers were returned to stores and with the smaller, peacetime army in the field, a return was made to single shot pistols. Only the Royal Navy used Colt revolvers would remain in service after the conclusion of the Crimean War. At the time these revolvers were returned to storage it appears that many were refurbished and refinished so that they would be ready for issue if needed.

The majority of the British purchased military guns were standard London production Colt Model 1851 Revolvers. These guns featured iron backstraps, large iron rounded triggerguards, the standard Colt London address, small “severe” London style serial numbers, rounded head frame screws and “Slim Jim” grips. Some American-made revolvers were delivered to complete the order, with the usual brass backstraps and triggerguards. However, all of these British military purchased Colt Navy revolvers were standard six-shot, .36 caliber revolvers with 7 ½” octagonal barrels. Other than the 23,700 Colt Model 1851 Navy revolvers acquired during the Crimean War period, there are no additional records regarding the purchase of Colt Model 1851 Navy revolvers, or any other Colt revolvers that I am aware of, by the War Department or British military. Regarding the disposition of these Colt revolvers after the war, English arms authors Chamberlain & Taylerson note: “With peace, these small-calibre Land Service revolvers were quietly abandoned to naval or Colonial needs.”  The British military did acquire a small number of Adams patent revolvers during the Crimean War as well, but they were larger caliber 54-Bore (.442 caliber) and 38-Bore guns (.50 caliber), thus the authors’ comments about the Colts being “small-calibre” revolvers. It is worth noting that the War Department was obviously not impressed with the revolver at this time, as in 1856 they adopted a single shot, .577 caliber muzzleloading pistol for most mounted branches. This was no doubt due to the European military doctrine that still saw the saber as the primary weapon of the cavalry, with the lance a close second. Carbines were standard arms for dragoons, but for most mounted soldiers in England and Europe, the handgun was a very much a secondary weapon. This orthodoxy would hamper the arming of English and Continental cavalry well into the 20^th Century and the opening months of World War I. Strangely, the revolver would not be widely adopted for military service in England until more than a decade after the end of the Crimean War, at a time when the change over from muzzleloading Enfield pattern percussion arms to Snider pattern breechloading arms was taking place. The relegation of the Colt handguns to Royal Navy and Colonial use in the post-Crimean period would no doubt explain the lack of British military marked Colt revolvers on the modern collector market, as the number was fairly small to begin with. Colonial and Royal Naval service was most certainly a death sentence to most of those handguns, due to both the service environment and potential for loss or theft. This type of post-war service, combined with the harsh conditions experienced by the men and materiel that had served in the Crimea, are no doubt the reason that surviving examples tend to be in heavily used, and well-worn condition.

Eventually nearly all of the British military acquired Colt Navy revolvers were marked with the usual London commercial proof marks, as well as the government ownership mark of a small {Broad Arrow} and WD (War Department) mark. Due to their acquisition on the open market and the speed with which the revolvers were issued, many went into the field during the Crimean War without British military markings. I had always assumed that the rather strict proof laws in England required them to at least bear London proofs prior to their issuance. However, some extant guns disprove that assumption as they do not show any London proofs but still have their expected War Department markings. Apparently, in some cases the British ownership marks were placed on the guns after they were turned in at the conclusion of the war. As noted, some of the revolvers were also refurbished and refinished at that time, which is why some appear from time to time with blued frames, hammers and loading levers, parts that had originally been casehardened in mottled colors. 

The Arsenal Refurbished British Military Marked Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolver offered here is in VERY GOOD as arsenal refurbished condition and is a solid example of one of the guns assembled in the early days of the London manufactory, using parts supplied from the United States. The gun is a London produced Colt Navy with the serial number 1055 placing its production in early 1853 likely about six months prior to the outbreak of the Crimean War. Due to the arsenal refurbishment and refinishing, the top barrel flat no longer has an address. The standard London commercial proof marks are found on the left side of the barrel web, just forward of the wedge and between the chambers of the cylinder. The revolver shows the standard War Department ownership mark consisting of a small {BROAD ARROW}/WD on the left barrel web, forward of the wedge. A crisp {CROWN}/BR/7 inspection mark is found on the upper right side of the grip. This is probably a refurbishment inspection mark, and my feeling is that the “BR” stands for “Birmingham Repair” or “Birmingham Refurbished” with the “7” being the inspector’s number. The bottom of the grip has a clear set of block initials stamped in it, an unidentified GF, who may have been the workman who did the refurbishment of the revolver. The cylinder is marked with the usual COLT’S PATENT No followed by the serial number. These markings are very weak due to the polishing and refinishing of the gun and the Texas-Mexican Navy engagement scene on the cylinder has been almost completely obliterated by the refurbishment process as well. The left side of the frame is marked with the usual two-line COLTS/PATENT. There are no “Opposed Broad Arrows” (two arrows meeting point to point) to indicate that this gun was “sold out of service,” which may indicate that it was lost or stolen in service, rather than being properly marked and sold as surplus. As noted, the gun is serial number 1055and is matching throughout, with the exception of the unnumbered wedge which was likely replaced during the arsenal rebuild. The full serial number appears on the bottom of the gripstrap, on the triggerguard, on the frame, on the barrel web, on the cylinder arbor pin and on the cylinder. The original production ink serial number in the gripstrap cut out of the grip is nearly illegible but does appear to match, but the number was reapplied in pencil in a period hand, likely during the rebuild, and is clearly 1055. The matching partial number 055 is on the loading lever.

As noted, the gun survives in VERY GOOD as arsenal refurbished condition overall and retains a some of its arsenal applied finish. The barrel retains traces of this blue in protected areas, primarily on the three lowest barrel flats and the barrel web. The balance of the barrel has a mostly attractive, evenly oxidized plum brown patina. Despite the polishing that removed the barrel address prior to refinishing, the barrel retains sharp edges. As is often the case with Colt percussion revolvers, the obverse of the barrel web shows some small impact marks around the wedge where it has been driven out of the revolver over the years. The bore of the revolver rates about VERY GOOD as well. It remains partly bright with some moderately scattered oxidation, discoloration, and some scattered pitting. The cylinder retains none of its period finish. The cylinder has an evenly oxidized brown patina similar to much of the barrel, with some scattered areas of darker age discoloration.  As noted, it retains only the most minute traces of the Texas-Mexican naval engagement scene, and its markings are weak as well. The rear of the cylinder retains only traces of the original safety pins. All of the cones (nipples) are period and are in place and in useable condition. The frame retains much of the refurbished blue finish and has a rich, dark blue color with some moderate oxidation. The loading lever and hammer have a mottled and oxidized brownish patina with some traces of the arsenal blue on the lever. As this gun was produced with some American supplied parts typical of the early production London guns, the triggerguard and backstrap are of brass rather than iron. The gun is mostly smooth and is essentially free of any serious pitting, with only some oxidized roughness and pinpricking in the cone recesses of the rear of the cylinder and some light etching on the cylinder face and some similar caustic erosion on the muzzle. The revolver retains its original brass cone shaped front sight, and all of the frame screws appear to be original to the period as well. The screws are the correct, domed head screws found on London produced Colt Navy revolvers and most retain at least some of traces of their fire blued finish, although most have faded and dulled to some extent. The screw heads are all in very nice condition, with only some minimal slot wear. The pistol is mechanically FINE and the action functions perfectly with good timing, indexing and tight lockup. The one-piece walnut grip is in about VERY GOOD condition as well. The grip was probably refinished as part of the arsenal rebuilt and the marks remain clear and crisp in the wood. The typical British military lanyard hole that was drilled through the center of the grip was filled at some point, again likely during the refurbishment process. This is a feature often encountered on English military revolvers of the mid-19^th century, whether they left the factory with such a hole or not. The grip remains solid and complete and is free any and breaks, cracks, or repairs. The grip does show a moderate number of handling marks, as well as scattered bumps, dings and mars which are commensurate with carry and use, as well as with the condition of the balance of the gun. As would be expected there are some minor impact marks on the butt and bottom of the grip, where the revolver was apparently used as an ersatz hammer at some point during its service life. These marks are so common, even on high condition guns, that they are hardly worth mentioning. The grip also shows some edge wear along the sharp flared edges.

Overall, this really a very nice example of a very scarce British military accepted Colt revolver from the Crimean War period. These are historic guns as they were the first British military revolvers to be purchased and issued. Many of these revolvers went on to see additional Royal Navy service and service around the British Empire in various colonial outposts during the third quarter of the 19^th century, following the Crimean War. Very few were acquired, and even fewer survive. When they do appear on the collector market they are almost always in fairly rough and very well used condition. However, this one is very attractive because it was arsenal refurbished. The gun appears to be 100% period complete and correct as rebuilt by the War Department. This is nice example of a scarce gun that belongs in a Crimean War or British military percussion revolver collection, or in a Colt Model 1851 Navy collection. These guns are significantly less common than US Marital Colt Navy revolvers, but a US Martial Colt Navy in this condition would be at least twice as expensive. I am absolutely positive you will be exceptionally pleased to add this very scarce Arsenal Refurbished Crimean War British Military Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolver to your collection. 

ON HOLD/LAYAWAY