This is FINE condition example of a scarce US Navy marked Whitney “Navy” Percussion Revolver. The Whiteny Navy was made in a number of versions and variations, which were a combination of evolutions of the design and Eli Whitney Jr.’s parsimoniousness, with some changes based upon running out of parts and adopting new ones. In general, the revolvers were single action .36 caliber percussion revolvers with nominally 7 ½” octagonal barrels screwed into the solid frames. The standard finish was blue, with color casehardened hammers and loading levers, brass triggerguards and smooth two-piece walnut grips. The sights were rudimentary with a sighting groove in the topstrap for the rear sight and a brass post front sight. Loading levers were of Colt style toggle link design, with the early guns using a ball detent loading lever retention catch and later production guns using the Colt style retention catch. The unfluted cylinders were roll engraved with multi-panel scenes, but the roll engraving tended to be so light that a Whitney Navy with any amount of cylinder scene remaining today is the exception and not the rule. This particular example is known as a 2^nd Model; 5^th Type by collectors and generally applies to the revolvers that fall into the 25,000 to 29,000 serial number range. The primary difference between the 4^th Type and 5^th Type was a change in the size of the brass triggerguard, with the 5^th Type guns having larger triggerguards than their predecessors. About 33,000 of the Whitney “Navy” revolvers of all varieties were produced from late 1850s through the mid-1860s and quite a number of them, in fact more than half of the 2^nd Model production, ended up seeing use by the US military during the Civil War. The robust design of the gun, which included a top strap, made them much sturdier than the Colt models that it competed with. 

The US Navy purchased some 3,450 Whitney “Navy” revolvers during the US Civil War. The guns were relatively late additions to the Navy’s small arms arsenal, with the initial order being placed in February of 1863. Additional orders continued through the rest of the year and into 1864. The majority of the Whitney Navy revolvers delivered under these contracts were not marked USN or with naval inspector marks. The exception being the approximately 900 guns delivered between February and May of 1863 and inspected by Frank C Warner, a civilian arms inspector working for the Washington Navy. Warner’s FCW initials appear on some Whitney Navy revolvers that he inspected at the Whitney factory as well as the Model 1861 Naval Rifles that Whitney produced. In February of 1864, an additional 42 Whitney “Navies” were inspected and test fired by William Jeffers at the Washington Navy Yard. It appears that all other Whitney Navy revolvers that bear US Navy markings were guns that were marked towards the end of the Civil War or in the immediate aftermath of the war, as arms were inventoried, reinspected and decisions were made about what to keep and what to sell as surplus. These reinspected guns were usually revolvers that were returned to the various Naval Yards from ships stores of small arms. At this time, many of the guns were refurbished, repaired and were then inspected and marked with an Anchor stamp on the top barrel flat, forward of the frame, and often with the inspectors’ initials on the face or side of the cylinder. This inspection process was codified by the navy in August of 1864, and after that time any new deliveries were supposed to be inspected in the manner mentioned above. Whitney “Navy” revolvers saw significant service with the North Atlantic Blockading squadron during the course of the American Civil War, and many of the guns can be identified by serial number in Navy documents.

This US Navy marked Whitney “Navy” Revolver is in about FINE condition. It is one of the late war inspection guns and falls in the upper range of the guns issued to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. It is also one of the guns likely delivered after the new inspection process was put into effect in late August 1864. The revolver is marked with an {ANCHOR} on the top flat of the barrel, just forward of the frame and is also marked P/GG on the face of the cylinder. This is the mark of US Navy Commander Guert Gansevoort. Gansevoort was a career naval officer whose first posting was a three-year cruise on the frigate USS Constitution, where he served as a midshipman. Gansevoort was only 10 years old when the ship departed in 1823 for that three-year tour. Interestingly Herman Melville was Gansevoort’s cousin, and the author would draw inspiration from a plot to commit mutiny on the ship Somers, which Gansevoort was the executive officer of in 1842. The whole affair was quite sordid and impacted the lives and careers of both the ship’s captain and Gansevoort and formed the basic structure for the Melville novella Billy Budd. During his service, Gansevoort was the inspector of ordnance at the New York (Brooklyn) Navy Yard from 1860-1862 and in 1865.

As noted, the gun is in about FINE condition. It retains a clear and fully legible two-line barrel mark that reads

E WHITNEY

N. HAVEN

The revolver is serial number 28535, which puts it at the upper range of known Atlantic Blockading Squadron issued Whitney Navy Revolvers. The matching serial numbers appear under the barrel, on the loading lever, on the cylinder arbor pin, on the rear face of the cylinder and inside both grips. No number was found on the frame, which is typical. As is typical of the Whitney Navy revolvers that saw military service, only some traces of the lightly roll engraved cylinder scene remains visible. The gun retains about 30%+ of its finish overall, with most of the remaining finish on the barrel. The barrel retains about 60%+ thinning bright blue with some high edge wear, fading and showing freckled surface oxidation shot through the blue. The frame retains some small areas of blue, probably less than 10%, in the protected areas and seems to have lost most of its finish due to flaking. The frame has a mostly lightly oxidized brownish-gray patina with scattered freckles of surface oxidation and discoloration. The backstrap has a thicker, brown patina and shows some lightly scattered minor surface roughness and some pinpricking. The cylinder retains some traces of scene and shows a moderately oxidized brownish-gray patina as well, sightly darker than the frame. The cylinder shows some light pitting on the face around the chambers and on the rear around the percussion cones (nipples). They remain in fairly crisp and usable condition, with moderate wear. The hammer retains about 30%+ dulled and faded mottled case colors with some patches of more vibrant color in the protected areas. The loading lever retains a similar amount of dulled and faded case colors with a more dusky, bluish-gray patina. The brass triggerguard has an attractive medium golden patina. The action of the revolver is mechanically FINE and the gun times, indexes and locks-up exactly as it should. The original brass-post front sight is in place at the end of the barrel and is in good condition. The bore is in about GOOD+ to NEAR VERY GOOD condition. It is partly bright with some moderate oxidation with scattered light to moderate pitting but retains strong rifling. There is a ring of pitting a couple of inches from the muzzle suggesting that something was lodged in the barrel long enough to cause the pitting. The original arbor pin retention thumbscrew is in place and still operates, although it is very tight. This original part being intact is uncommon as this part is usually broken, missing or damaged in some way. The two-piece oil finished walnut grips are in about FINE condition as well. The grips show light to moderate wear. Both grips are numbered to the revolver on their interiors, and both grips show scattered bumps, dings and mars from handling and use.

Overall, this is a very nice condition and solid example of a late Civil War US Navy contract Whitney Navy revolver with a Brooklyn Navy Yard cylinder inspection and the classic naval anchor inspection mark as well. This gun would be a nice addition to your collection of Civil War naval small arms, or to a collection of martially marked Civil War secondary martial revolvers.

ON HOLD / LAYAWAY