The US Model 1842 Pistol as produced by the firms of Henry Aston and Ira N Johnson represented both the beginning and the end of an era in US military handguns. This series was the last of the large bore, single shot, smooth bore pistols to be issued in any quantity and would essentially be replaced by the various multi-shot percussion revolvers that the US Government would begin to purchase during the 1850s and would continue to procure through the end of the Civil War era. It was also the first official percussion ignition pistol to be adopted by the US army, with the Ames Model 1842 Percussion Pistol being the US Navy’s first general issue percussion handgun. 

The Johnson and Aston companies produced a total 40,000 of these single-shot pistols, not including William Glaze’s “Palmetto Armory” production of the same pattern pistol, with Aston producing some 30,000 of the guns. The Model 1842 had a .54 caliber 8.5” long smooth bore barrel and was intended to use the same round ball as the US Model 1841 Mississippi Rifle. The 14” long pistol was the general service pistol of the time for the US military and saw use with the infantry, cavalry, dragoons, and artillery. Eventually some even saw limited service with the US Navy. Like previous single shot military pistols used by the US military, this one had a large bulbous, metal-capped butt that was designed to allow the pistol to be used as a club after discharging it. The end result of this type of use is that cracked and damaged stocks are quite commonly encountered on these pistols today.

This pistol is in VERY FINE condition, with very crisp markings and an excellent cartouche. The lock is marked in three vertical lines behind the hammer:

MIDDTN

CONN

1847

And

US

H. ASTON

in two lines horizontally forward of the hammer. The tang of the pistol is dated with the matching 1847 date, and the breech is marked: 

US

SK

P

in three lines. The initials “SK” are those of Springfield Armory sub-inspector Samuel Knous, a civilian arms inspector for the Ordnance Department. The barrel flat is also clearly marked with a small M inspector’s mark. This tiny M is also found at tail of the counterpane, behind the cartouche. Small W sub-inspection marks are found on the brass side plate, backstrap and triggerguard. The stock flat opposite the lock retains a single excellent inspection cartouche. At the rear is the script WAT final acceptance mark of Captain William Anderson Thornton of the US Ordnance Department. Interestingly the gun does not have a sub-inspector’s approval cartouche. During the period of the Seminole Wars there were some deliveries of US Model 1836 Pistols that only received a single cartouche. This was due to the war time exigencies to get the guns into the field as quickly as possible and due to the limited numbers of inspectors available to view the guns. My assumption is that as 1847 was the height of the Mexican American War, some guns were delivered without the usual strict adherence to the inspection protocol due to the need to get them into inventory as quickly as possible and, as during the Seminole Wars, the limited number of inspectors available to view so many contract arms being delivered during the same time frame.

The lock functions very crisply and is mechanically excellent, with most of the internal parts retaining the large majority of their brilliant, fire-blued finish. The original captive, swivel mounted iron rammer is present and functions exactly as it should. The iron barrel of the gun has a very pleasing, medium pewter patina, and was probably lightly cleaned at some point in time. The barrel is mostly smooth, with some lightly scattered pinpricking that is most evident at the breech and bolster area as well as near the muzzle. There are also some evenly scattered flecks of minor surface oxidation and minor discoloration present on the metal. The lock and hammer are lightly oxidized with some surface mottling and have a dulling steel patina with freckles of discoloration. The screw heads that retain the lock, barrel tang, butt cap, etc. are all in good condition and retain trace hints of their original heat blued finish. The brass furniture has an attractive mellow, golden patina. The smooth bore is moderately oxidized to a grayish-brown color and shows some lightly scattered pitting along its length. The original brass front sight blade is present and in fine condition. The stock is in VERY FINE condition and is in slightly better condition than the metal. It is extremely crisp and sharp throughout. The stock is solid and free of any breaks or repairs, although a tiny grain crack is present at the rear lock screw, due to that screw being over tightened as some point in time. The wood does show some scattered minor bumps and dings from service and use but retains very sharp edges and crisp lines and has never been sanded.

Overall, this is an extremely nice and very crisp example of the last of the big bore martial single shot pistols used by the US government. The gun is 100% complete, correct, and original and has the great Mexican American War date of 1847 on both the lock and the barrel. This US Model 1842 Aston pistol shows minor, real-world use, but absolutely no abuse and is a really solid example of this pattern of pre-Civil War US pistol. This would be a great addition to any collection and has one of the better stocks that I have seen on one of these pistols.