The London Armoury Company Kerr’s Patent Revolver is one of the most distinctive and 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 in a unique silhouette. The Kerr patent revolver was invented by James Kerr, who was awarded two patents for improvements to Roberts Adams earlier revolver design. Kerr had been a founding member of the London Armoury Company, which was established on 9 February 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. Initially the London Armoury Company (LAC) focused on producing Model 1854 Beaumont-Adams patent revolvers with an eye towards obtaining lucrative English military contracts. When significant orders were not forthcoming, the company shifted its focus to manufacturing the British Pattern 1853 “Enfield” Rifle Musket for both the English government and private 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 was 54-Bore (about .442 caliber) and had a 5-chambered cylinder. The guns were 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 5/8”. While the large majority of the pistols produced were in 54-Bore, a small number of very early and very late production revolvers were also manufactured in 80-Bore (approximately .387 caliber). 

The majority of the pistols used a single action mechanism, not a double action mechanism as the trigger position in the center of the triggerguard implies. However, a very small number of double action Kerr revolvers were apparently produced. For the standard, single action variant, the hammer could only be cocked by pulling it back manually, however pulling the trigger could rotate the cylinder. This was a byproduct of the cylinder locking system, which relied on 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 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 very rare today. 

The Kerr also featured a unique, frame mounted cylinder arbor pin that was removed from the rear of the pistol, much like on the Colt 1855 Side Hammer “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 left side, similar in appearance to the Model 1851 Adams patent safety, which retained the arbor pin. Adams had used a similar arbor pin retention spring on the frame of his 1854 patent revolvers.  Early production revolvers had a wide groove machined 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. 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. Sights were rudimentary at best, with a tiny notch rear sight at the rear of the topstrap and a brass post front sight with a tapered cone tip.

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 far fewer were sold. Most of these pistols were sold commercially, both in Great Britain and in the US, with about 100 of the revolvers being purchased by an English Volunteer (militia) 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 of 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 were produced on contract for the Confederacy, with about 9,000 pistols produced and shipped to the south during that time, and possibly as many as 10,000. 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 borne out by the extant examples with Confederate provenance or marks, which tend to exist in the 1,500 to about the 10,500 serial number range. 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 a 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 government 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 enigmatic JS/{Anchor} that is often located 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 that the majority of Kerr’s over serial number 1,500 and below 10,500 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 30 to 40 years but have had them magically appear over the course of time. The best concrete primary source evidence of how high the Confederate used serial numbers of Kerr revolvers reached is the “Squad Roll” of Lt. Julian Pratt of Company H of the 18th Virginia Cavalry. This document lists the revolvers 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, and with the last documented shipment of eight cases arriving in March of 1865, it is not unreasonable to extrapolate CS purchases into about the 10,500 serial number range. It is interesting to note that two of the Kerr revolvers on the Pratt Roll are known to survive today in collections, and revolver #9974 does not have a JS/Anchor mark! This indicates that the gun was a speculative purchase and not a government contract purchase, which would have received the JS/{Anchor} inspection 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. 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. 500 of the guns and their associated accouterments were subsequently delivered to the Selma Arsenal, and the other 400 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 (listed as “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 “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 of the 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 single largest customer. The company closed exactly one year after the end of the American Civil War, in April of 1866. It believed that the remaining factory assets and machinery were sold to a gun making company in Spain the following year. 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, usually 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 and Old Western Scrounger, 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.

The Kerr’s Patent Revolver offered here is a lovely example of one of the extremely rare Double Action Kerr Revolvers and has an equally rare New South Wales, Australian retailer mark. As such, it is unlikely to have any connection to the Confederacy, although southern privateers and commerce raiders did occasionally dock in Australian ports. The most notable example would be the CSS Shenandoah, which spent some time in Hobson’s Bay off Melbourne in January of 1865 to effect repairs and take on coal.

The revolver is a Civil War period gun with the serial number 4097. The cylinder has the matching serail number 4097as well. The revolver has a number of unique features that are rarely encountered on Kerr Revolvers. As noted, the gun has the very rarely encountered conventional double action lock mechanism, which allows it to be used as a standard single action Kerr or to be used as a double action revolver with the long heavy pull of the trigger cocking the hammer, rotating the cylinder and firing the gun. The revolver also has a hammer blocking sliding safety, which keeps the hammer from moving when it is engaged. The lock plate of the revolver is unmarked and does not have the usual LONDON ARMORY Co legend on it. The revolver also has a rarely encountered Australian retailer marking on the top strap and barrel and is engraved:

HY CHALLONER 61, KING ST WEST. SYDNEY. N.S. WALES.

Henry Challoner (1829-1877) (sometimes spelled “Challener”) appears to have been part of a family of gunmakers and retailers with that name, who worked in Birmingham from the 1830s through the 1870s. Henry apparently immigrated to Australia in 1853 and then worked in Sydney, New South Wales circa 1853-1875, with his 1855 address being at 49 York Street. In 1855 he relocated to 9 King Street and in 1859 he moved to 61 King Street West, the address on this revolver. He remained at the 61 King Street West address through 1869. In 1870 he relocated to 59 King Street West, where he ended his career in 1875.

The lower right side of the frame is marked in two lines: 

P. 979

KERR’S PATENT 4097.

The top line, reading “P.979” is not commonly  encountered on Kerr revolvers and is likely a patent tracking reference number for the double action mechanism. The double action mechanism, sliding safety, unmarked lock and Australian retailer marks are all extremely uncommon features to find on a Kerr Revolver. Another uncommon feature is the lack of typical London Armoury assembly numbers that are usually encountered on Kerr Revolvers. The left side of the frame is marked with the usual two-line oval cartouche of the London Armoury Company and reads LONDON in an arc over ARMOURY, which is arched in the opposite direction. The left upper flat of the octagonal barrel is marked near the frame with the usual L.A.C. initials, along with the commercial London view and proof marks including a {Crown}/GP and {Crown}/V. Alternating {Crown}/V and {Crown}/GP proof marks are also found between the chambers of the cylinder. 

The revolver remains in about VERY GOOD+ to NEAR FINE condition retains some strong traces and flashes of original bright blue finish, primarily in the protected areas. Strong traces of blue remain on the barrel, where about 15%+ of the bright blue remains intact. The lower web of the frame retains about 15%+ of original bright blue as well. The balance of the metal has a mostly smooth, moderately oxidized mottled bluish-gray patina that is very attractive. Some traces of muted case colors are present on the lock plate and hammer, which have a mottled and lightly oxidized bluish-brown and gray patina. The revolver retains clear and legible markings throughout. The metal of the frame and the 5 ¾” barrel is primarily smooth with some scattered areas of minor surface roughness and freckled oxidized discoloration. The cylinder shows some more small patches of minor surface roughness and some very light pitting along with the oxidized and mottled brownish gray patina. Like most Kerr revolvers, the gun has a lanyard ring in the butt cap, and it remains in very good, completely functional condition. The ring and butt cap have a rich, uncleaned brownish-gray patina matching the balance of the revolver well. The original post front sight is present on the end of the barrel near the muzzle and remains full height, which is not common on these revolvers as the sight was often worn down from holster wear. This is not the more common brass post front sight found on most Kerr Revolver, but rather a more traditional tapered post with tapered cone bead, similar to those found on some Tranter pattern revolvers. The barrel retains its original crowning at the muzzle and sharp edges along the octagonal barrel. The bore of the pistol is in VERY GOOD condition. The bore is mottled and partly bright with some scattered oxidation and some light to moderate pitting scattered along its length. The bore also retains strong rifling throughout. The one-piece checkered walnut grip is in about FINE condition and remains solid, complete and free of breaks, cracks or repairs. It retains mostly crisp checkering and shows some scattered minor bumps, dings and marks with some minor wear to the sharp edges of the checkering. The action of the revolver is in VERY GOOD condition, and the revolver operates as it should mechanically. The double action trigger pull is very heavy and very long with some hesitation at the release as the trigger stacks near the end of the travel. The single action mechanism works in the traditional way and feels more like a typical Kerr revolver. The revolver times, indexes and locks up as a Kerr typically does, with a small amount of cylinder wobble except when the trigger is pulled fully to the rear where it trips the sear and releases the hammer. This is typical of the Kerr mechanism and actually of most English revolver mechanisms that use the ratches on the rear face of the cylinder to achieve the mechanical lock up. The sliding safety works as it should as well, locking the hammer and trigger when it is slid forward when the hammer is in the down or “fired” position. The original loading lever is in place and functions smoothly.

Overall, this is a really nice and crisp example of a very rare Double Action Kerr’s Patent Revolver with a New South Wales retailer mark. In more than 30 years of dealing with English revolvers and Kerr revolvers in particular, I have heard of the ever-elusive double action variations, but I don’t remember ever handling one and I have certainly never had one to offer for sale. Interestingly, an internet search only turned up one double action example with the sliding safety and that was Kerr Revolver #1, which looks like a cross between an Adams and a Kerr Revolver. For any advanced collector of English percussion revolvers this is an extremely special gun that belongs in a very advanced collection and would be wonderful to display alongside a traditional single action Kerr revolver.