Confederate Purchased JS-Anchor Marked Kerr Revolver
- Product Code: FHG-2208-SOLD
- Availability: Out Of Stock
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$0.00
The London Armoury Company Kerr’s Patent Revolver is one of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable of all Civil War era handguns. The side mounted hammer and removable side plate were not common features in large bore handguns of the era and result is a unique silhouette. The Kerr patent revolver was invented by James Kerr, who was awarded two patents for improvements to Roberts Adams’ earlier revolver designs. Kerr had been a founding member of the London Armoury Company, which was established on February 9, 1856 and of which Adams was the Managing Director during the late 1850s. It is interesting to note that Kerr was Adams’ cousin and had previously worked with him at Deane, Adams & Deane as well. Initially, the London Armoury Company (LAC) focused on producing Model 1854 Beaumont-Adams patent revolvers, with an eye towards obtaining lucrative English military contracts for the handguns. When significant orders were not forthcoming, the company shifted its focus to manufacturing of the British Pattern 1853 “Enfield” rifle musket for both the English government and private commercial sale. This caused a rift within the company management that culminated with the departure of Adams from L.A.C. and the elevation of Kerr to the position of factory superintendent. With the departure of Adams, and the perceived need to offer some form of revolver for sale, the company purchased Kerr’s patent rights and started to produce the Kerr patent revolver in 1859. The first pistol was completed in March of 1859 and was tested at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock on April 25, 1859. The pistol was typical of large bore English handguns of the era, in that it the standard offering was 54-Bore (about .442 caliber) and had a 5-shot cylinder. The gun was manufactured with barrel lengths that varied slightly, with the earliest guns having barrels around 5 7/8” in length and the later pistols having slightly shorter barrels that varied between about 5 ½” and 5 ¾”. While the large majority of the pistols produced were in 54-Bore, a small number of very early and very late production pistols were manufactured in 80-Bore (approximately .387 caliber). Most the pistols used a single action mechanism, not a double action mechanism, as the trigger position makes many people believe. The hammer could only be cocked by pulling it back manually but pulling the trigger could rotate the cylinder. This was a byproduct of the cylinder locking system, which relied upon a pivoting arm that was actuated by the trigger. This arm locked the cylinder in place when the gun was fired. This was very different from the standard spring-loaded cylinder stop found in the frames of most American made revolvers. This system also eliminated the need to machine stop slots in the cylinder, as the rear face of cylinder was where the arm locked it into position. Only a handful of Kerr revolvers were manufactured as “self-cocking” (double action) revolvers, and they are extremely rare today. The Kerr also featured a unique, frame mounted cylinder arbor that was removed from the rear of the pistol (much like on the Colt side hammer, aka “Root” designs), instead of the more common location at the front of the cylinder. This made the pistol easier and safer to manipulate when the cylinder had to be removed from the pistol. The early production Kerr revolvers had a small setscrew on the left side of the frame, forward of the cylinder that prevented the cylinder arbor pin from being withdrawn from the rear of the frame. The later production revolvers had a frame mounted spring on the rear of the left side, similar in appearance to the Model 1851 Adams patent safety, which retained the arbor pin. Early production revolvers had a wide groove in the topstrap, while the later production guns had a flat topstrap without a groove. The early guns also had a loading lever that pivoted on a screw located at the lower front edge of the frame, under the barrel. The later production guns moved this pivot point higher and closer to the cylinder, making it somewhat stronger and allowing more torque to be applied to the lever when loading tight fitting ammunition. This minor redesign of the location of the loading lever screw helped to solve a problem with loading lever plungers breaking at the hinged connection to the loading lever itself. After the adoption of the new loading lever screw location, some of the older frames that had already been machined had the original pivot hole filled and a new one drilled in the new location. The engraved marking on the lock plate also changed with time, starting out reading London Armoury and eventually reading London Armoury Co. Most of these early features were phased out in the upper 2,XXX to middle 3,XXX serial number range, although some of the features appear somewhat randomly through about the middle of revolver production, suggesting that sometimes older parts were used to complete orders when time was of the essence. One other small cosmetic change that occurred over time was a change in the way in which the front of the grip was checkered. The early guns were generally checkered very close to the front strap of the frame. However, as the Confederate inspectors stamped their JS / {ANCHOR} acceptance mark in the front of the grip directly below the end of the front strap, it was often concealed by the checkering. Later production guns do not have this part of the grip checkered, leaving a smooth surface for the inspectors to apply their stamp.
Although the design was reliable and fairly robust, the London Armoury Company did not find any British military contracts forthcoming for their pistol. Between the introduction of the Kerr in 1859 and the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, only about 1,000-1,500 of the revolvers were manufactured, and even fewer were sold. Most of these pistols were sold commercially (both in Great Britain and in the US), with about 100 of them purchased by an English Volunteer unit – the 1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers.
With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Caleb Huse (the South’s primary purchasing agent in England) engaged the London Armory Company to produce all the Kerr’s Patent revolvers that they could for delivery to the Confederacy. It is believed that nearly all of the L.A.C.’s output of Kerr revolvers from April of 1861 through the close of the Civil War was produced on contract for the Confederacy, with about 9,000 pistols produced and shipped to the south during that time. It is also estimated that the London Armoury Company produced about 70,000 Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle Muskets during the same time frame. The estimate regarding revolver production is based upon the extant examples with Confederate provenance or marks, which tend to exist in the 1,5XX to about the 10,XXX serial number range. However, a handful of legitimate CS inspected Kerr’s do appear in the 7XX to 1,5XX range, indicating that some of the earliest purchases were filled from already assembled revolvers on hand. To date, at least three separate Confederate government contracts have been identified for the purchase of Kerr revolvers. Two were army contracts, and one was a 1,000-gun contract for the Confederate Navy. The Naval contract was quite early, as reference to the purchase of Kerr revolvers by CSN Commander James D. Bulloch was made in a diary entry by Confederate purchasing agent Major Edward Anderson dated August 6, 1861. Many of the army contract Kerr revolvers were financed through the Charleston, SC based firm of Fraser, Trenholm & Company and delivered by their subsidiary John Fraser & Company. A minimum of 3,160 Kerr revolvers were delivered directly to Confederate arsenals by Fraser. In addition to the three government contracts, an unknown number of Kerr’s Patent revolvers were acquired speculatively for sale privately and to the Confederate military once they reached the south. This may account for the number of Kerr revolvers that exist today with unquestionable Confederate provenance, but without the JS / {ANCHOR} Confederate inspection mark. One of the standard indicators of CS importation and usage of a Kerr revolver is the presence of the JS / {ANCHOR} inspection mark that is found on the front of the wooden grip of the pistols, below the grip frame tang. This is the inspection mark of John Southgate, who acted as a “viewer” (arms inspector) for the Confederacy. However, the absence of this mark is not necessarily an indication that the pistol was not a CS purchase. As the information above outlines, the majority of Kerr’s over serial number 1,5XX and through the lower end of the 10,XXX were produced on contract for the Confederacy. To date, the lowest numbered Kerr to bear the JS / {ANCHOR} inspection mark that I am aware of is in the lower third of the 7XX range, and the highest verifiable mark is just under 10,000. Over the years, a number of Kerr’s with spurious JS / {ANCHOR} marks have been noted, often found on guns that did not have them when they were first documented during the past 20-30 years but have had them “magically” appear over the course of time.
The best concrete documentary evidence of how high the CS used serial numbers of Kerr revolvers ranged is the Squad Roll of Lt. Julian Pratt of Company H of the 18th Virginia Cavalry. This document lists the pistols in possession of his squad of cavalry in July of 1864. On the list are seven Kerr revolvers that range between #9240 and #9974. Since the Confederacy would continue to import Kerr pistols throughout the end of the war (the last documented shipment was 8 cases in March of 1865), it is not unreasonable to extrapolate CS purchases into the low 10,XXX serial number range. It is interesting to note that two of the Kerr revolvers on the Pratt Roll are known to survive today, and revolver #9974 does not have a JS/Anchor mark.
While very scarce today, a number of Kerr revolvers were imported with a complete set of accouterments and accessories that would have been included in a cased set. According to The Payne Ledger, some 900 Kerr revolvers arrived at the port of Wilmington, NC on October 31, 1864 (more than 3 months after Lt. Pratt’s guns were logged in his roll). These guns also had the following accessories: “Spare Nipples & Cloth Bags, 900 Powder Flasks, 900 Cleaning Rods, 450 Steel Nipple Keys, 180 Bullet Moulds, 180 Mainsprings, 180 Trigger Springs, 90,000 Skin Cartridges, 108,000 Percussion Caps”. The guns were delivered by the blockade-runner Hope and were part of the consignment purchased through John Fraser & Company. Five hundred of the guns and their associated accouterments were subsequently delivered the Selma Arsenal, and the other four hundred and their accessories were delivered to the Richmond Arsenal. The presence of accessories like cleaning rods, powder flasks, cloth bags and the combination gun tools (“steel nipple keys”), suggest that the guns were purchased as cased sets, and were subsequently repacked into the standard 20 guns per box lead lined cases that most Kerr revolvers were delivered to the Confederacy in. The powder flasks and cloth bags were certainly of limited utility for guns that were designed to be used with pre-made paper or skin cartridges. Bullet molds were typically delivered to the Confederacy at a ratio of 1 for every 20 long arms, but in this case, they were delivered at the ratio of 1 for every 5 pistols. The cleaning rods would certainly have been useful in the field, but this is the only report I can find of cleaning rods being purchased by the Confederacy for use with revolvers. All of this suggests that these accessories originated in cased Kerr revolver sets. It seems quite likely that additional cased sets were acquired on a speculative basis for delivery to the south as well. Today all of these accessories are extremely rare, most especially the special Kerr revolver combination gun tool and cone (nipple) wrench.
With the conclusion of the American Civil War, the London Armoury Company quickly succumbed to the loss of its largest, and only, major customer. The company closed exactly one year after the end of the American Civil War, in April of 1866, and it is believed that the remaining factory assets and machinery were sold to a gun making company in Spain the following year. The Spanish had been producing an unlicensed copy of the Kerr since 1862, primarily assembling the guns from Belgian made parts. This had proved a somewhat unreliable system of production and made it difficult to obtain parts for repairs. By obtaining the actual machinery, it was possible to keep Kerr patent revolvers in Spanish service through the Spanish American War period (primarily as cartridge altered guns). James Kerr himself did remain in business for some time after this and assembled and sold Kerr revolvers from the existing stock of parts. This accounts for the post 11,000 serial numbered pistols occasionally encountered – occasionally in relatively nice condition.
On a side note, collectors and researchers have long debated the correct pronunciation for James Kerr’s last name. According to Val Forgett Jr.; gun collector, researcher and current owner of Navy Arms, his extensive research indicates that even the British disagree about the pronunciation, but the most correct pronunciation would almost certainly be KARR, while the next most common pronunciation would be KARE. The Americanized pronunciation is CUR and is almost certainly incorrect.
The Kerr’s Patent Revolver offered here is a well-used Confederate inspected example is in about VERY GOODcondition. The gun retains a very clear Confederate JS / {ANCHOR} inspection mark in the checkered grip on the front strap. The gun is serial numbered 8814 on the right side of the frame and on the cylinder. Based upon the known serial numbers from the Pratt list in the 9XXX range (in the field in mid-1864), this gun was probably doing service the south by the beginning of that year. The lock plate of the pistol is clearly marked with the early production LONDON ARMOURY mark. The right side of the frame is marked: KERR’S PATENT 8814 and the matching serial number 8814 appears on the cylinder as well. The left side of the frame is marked with the two-line arced cartouche that reads LONDON / ARMOURY. Alternating (Crown) / V and (Crown) / GP London commercial view and proof marks are also found between the chambers of the cylinder. The left upper flat of the octagonal barrel is marked near the frame: L.A.C. along with the commercial London view and proof marks of a {Crown} / GP and {Crown} / V, reading from the muzzle to the frame. The pistol is marked with the typical London Armoury Company assembly numbers. The assembly number 279 is present on the face of the cylinder, inside the trigger guard, inside the frame on the bottom and under the topstrap. The assembly number is indistinct but is 3-digits and the pattern appears to match in each location. The original cylinder pin retention spring is present and fully functional. This part is rather fragile par was often broken or lost. The action of the pistol works well, with the revolver timing, indexing and locking up as it should. The nose of the percussion hammer is broken and missing, likely a period defect. This is supported by the presence of old brass brazing residue inside the recess for the nose on the hammer face, suggesting an old, period repair that did not last. The south imported large numbers of replacement Enfield hammers, but I have not seen evidence of revolver hammers being imported; in this case it looks like some of these parts should have been purchased! The original loading lever is present and functions smoothly also. The gun retains some strong traces of its original blued finish, possibly as much as 10%. The remaining finish is primarily found on the topstrap of the revolver and left forward portion of the frame. The gun has a mottled gray-brown patina over most of the metal surfaces, with patches of darker surface oxidation mottling the metal further. The metal is partly smooth, with the balance showing evenly some distributed pinpricking and some patches of light pitting over much of the surfaces. There are also some scattered patches of light surface oxidation. Despite the wear and finish loss the revolver retains good edges and line, although some scattered bumps, dings and mars are present on the metal as well. The bore of the revolver remains in about VERY GOOD condition as well. It has strong rifling its entire length, and remains fairly bright, with light pitting the entire length of the barrel. Like most Kerr revolvers, this one has a lanyard ring in the butt cap. The butt cap and lanyard ring have a smooth plum-brown patina that matches the balance of the pistol well. The original brass post sight is present on the end of the barrel near the muzzle and appears to remain full-height with the original crowning to its end. All of the original cones (nipples) remain in the cylinder and all are in fairly crisp condition with minimal wear and battering. The one-piece checkered walnut grip is in about VERY GOOD condition as well and shows light wear commensurate with the balance of the pistol. The grip retains strong checkering over most of its surface, with only light wear and some minor flattening to the points of the checkering. A clear Confederate JS / {ANCHOR} inspection mark is present on the face of the grip and remains quite visible.
Overall this is a nice, solid example of a Kerr’s Patent Revolver complete with a clear JS / {ANCHOR} inspection mark. The pistol is in about VERY GOOD condition and is a nice looking example of a real Confederate revolver that likely saw significant military service during the final year and half of the war. This will be a good example of a well-used and absolutely real Confederate Kerr revolver, and is one of the more reasonably priced examples of a revolver made on contract for the Confederacy that you will ever have the opportunity to acquire.
Tags: Confederate, Purchased, JS, Anchor, Marked, Kerr, Revolver