by Charles Pate

It has generally been reported that the first Colt Model 1860 Army revolvers bought by the Union forces were ordered by the U.S. Navy on May 1st, 1861, and delivered later that month. That was not actually the case. The North’s first Model 1860 revolvers, called the “New Model Army” by Colt and hereafter abbreviated as the “NMA,” were actually purchased by the Army in very early April and delivered on April 4th. But this was a purchase made under extraordinary circumstances and through non-standard procedures. Both factors played a role in confusing the records associated with the purchase and led to the above error. This article presents the story of these historic pistols, which were made all the more significant because of their association with an important, though often overlooked, event in American Civil War history. 

Every student of the Civil War knows that the firing upon Fort Sumter, in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, signaled the start of the Civil War. Southern state forces had already taken U.S. garrisons, arsenals, and forts throughout the seceding states, and the small group of U.S. artillerymen and engineers holding out in Fort Sumter was a major point of contention between the North and South. But there was also another flash point at the time, one that is rarely mentioned in modern accounts of how the war started – Fort Pickens, Florida. 

Florida passed a Secession ordinance on January 10th, 1861. Prior to that act, on January 2nd, Florida Senators David Levy Yulee and Stephen Russell Mallory asked the Secretary of War what troops were in Florida and what their arms were. Incredibly enough, the Army Chief of Ordnance, upon the order of the Secretary, answered the request, giving the details on the guns at each of the Florida forts. He did not, however, give the order of battle and arms of the troops assigned there. In the week before secession, the Florida militia seized the Federal arsenal at Chattahoochee and the fort at St. Augustine. The forty-four-man garrison at Key West moved into the defensible Fort Taylor, and through reinforcement, Key West remained under Federal control throughout the war. But the situation in Pensacola was more uncertain and dangerous.

The following quote from the Florida National Guard website summarizes the situation: 

“The federal garrison in Pensacola, only slightly larger than that at Key West, was stationed on the mainland in completely indefensible barracks and in two forts whose defenses were oriented seaward. Even before secession, some 500 Florida militia had been ordered to Pensacola. There, they were joined by an equal number of Alabama militia. It was a tense situation for the Federal commander.” – Lieutenant Adam Slemmer

It could be said that the war’s first shot was fired at Pensacola. A mob of local citizens with Confederate sympathies, advancing by night on the Federal arsenal building at Fort Barrancas, received a warning shot over their heads from an alert Federal soldier. The local citizens withdrew. But Swimmer’s position was untenable. On the night preceding Florida’s secession, he destroyed the stocks of gunpowder and other military supplies, spiked the fort’s guns, and withdrew his small garrison across the bay to the uncompleted Fort Pickens [which guarded the entrance to Pensacola harbor] on Santa Rosa Island. The next day, Florida and Alabama Militia troops occupied the city and mainland Federal positions without opposition. The new Confederate government of Florida asked Lieutenant Slemmer to surrender his position, but he refused. The local Confederate command was in a quandary. There were certainly enough Florida and Alabama militia troops present to storm the Federal position on Santa Rosa Island, but that would be an overt act of war. Many people, North and South, doubted that secession must lead to war. After a consultation with outgoing President James Buchanan by Florida’s U.S. Senators David Yulee and Stephen Mallory, both still in Washington, decided not to fire the first shot if neither side would accept reinforcements. President Buchanan’s policy was very cautious. He promised not to reinforce any Federal garrisons in the South if the Southern states would refrain from attacking them. Thus, at Pensacola, both sides settled into the routine of an uneasy, armed truce on Santa Rosa Island. Additional Confederate troops, mostly Florida militia, waited on the mainland, and Union ships stood offshore either to reinforce the Federal garrison or evacuate it as future events might dictate. The honor, or dishonor, of formally firing the first shot would eventually go to South Carolina when it bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861.

This was the situation President Lincoln faced when he took office on March 4th. As one can imagine, just the challenge of getting the new administration in place and functioning was daunting, but deciding what to do about the political crisis had to be high on the President’s order of business. According to Nicolay & Hay, Abraham Lincoln, Volume Three, the initial majority opinion of the cabinet was against attempting to provision and reinforce the southern forts because they felt doing so would immediately bring about open warfare. But in a meeting on March 29th, that position was reversed, and the cabinet recommended to the President that expeditions be readied to succeed both Sumter and Pickens. Nicolay & Hay relate that the President had already made up his mind to do just that and had given preparatory orders the previous day. The expedition to relieve Sumter was to be formed in New York City and to sail from that place on April 6th or as soon thereafter as possible. President Lincoln sent a “preliminary requisition” to the Secretaries of War and the Navy for any needed supplies and instructed them to cooperate in outfitting the expedition. Captain Gustavus Fox, an Assistant Secretary of the Navy, left for New York to supervise preparations for the Fort Sumter operation. This seems to have been a reasonably organized beginning, but the lack of coordination and unity of command soon became evident.

Army Captain Montgomery Meigs,3, who had personally accompanied reinforcements sent to Key West and Tortugas earlier, was brought into the effort to save Fort Pickens by Secretary of State Seward and ultimately played a significant role so well that it undoubtedly contributed to his selection as the Quartermaster General. On March 31st, Secretary William H. Seward and Col. Erasmus Keys, General-in-Chief Lt. General Winfield Scott’s secretary, asked Meigs to prepare an estimate and project for relieving and holding Fort Pickens.4 This was rapidly done, and the President instructed Lt. General Scott to carry out the plan. Nicolay & Hay state that The substance of Meigs’ plan was, that while a transport vessel bearing troops and stores landed them at Fort Pickens, outside the harbor, a ship-of-war, arriving simultaneously, should boldly steam past the hostile batteries of Fort McRae, enter the harbor, and take up such a position within as to be able to prevent any crossing or landing by the rebels. Lieutenant David Porter was chosen to lead this naval force. Meigs, Keyes, and Porter developed detailed plans on April 1st, which were duly approved by the President. But it was thought necessary to keep these plans secret to prevent their disclosure and disruption by southern forces. Unfortunately, the secrecy was such that those preparing the Sumter expedition were not informed of the plans being made by the Pickens expedition and vice versa. Consequently, the commander of the Brooklyn Navy Yard received two telegrams to outfit the steam frigate USS Powhatan,5 one for Fort Sumter, signed by the Secretary of the Navy, and one, signed by the President, for Fort Pickens. Having little or no time to get the matter clarified, the officer naturally chose to follow the President’s orders.  

Later on April 1st, General Scott gave the following order to Brevet Lt. Col. Harvey Brown:

You have been designated to take command of an expedition to reinforce and hold Fort Pickens in the harbor of Pensacola. You will proceed with the least possible delay to that place, and you will assume command of all the land forces of the United States within the limits of the State of Florida. You will proceed to New York, where steam transportation for four companies will be engaged, and putting on board such supplies as you can ship, without delay, proceed at once to your destination. The Engineer Company of Sappers and Miners [commanded by 1st Lieutenant James C. ]; Brevet Major Hunt’s Company M, Second Artillery; Captain John’s Company C, Third Infantry; Captain Clitz’s Company E, Third Infantry, will embark with you in the first steamer. Other troops and full supplies will be sent after you as soon as possible. Captain Meigs will accompany you as engineer and will remain with you until you are established in Fort Pickens, when he will return to resume his duties in this city. The other members of your staff will be Asst. Surg. John Campbell, medical staff, Capt. Rufus Ingalls, assistant quartermaster; Capt. Henry F. Clarke, assistant commissary of subsistence; Bvt. Capt. George L. Hartsuff, assistant adjutant-general, and First Lieut. George T. Balch, ordnance officer. The object and destination of this expedition will be communicated to no one to whom it is not already known. The naval officers in the Gulf will be instructed to cooperate with you and to afford every facility in their power for the accomplishment of the object of the expedition, which is the security of Fort Pickens against all attacks, foreign and domestic. Should a shot be fired at you, you will defend yourself and your expedition at whatever hazard, and, if needful for such defense, inflict upon the assailants all the damage in your power within the range of your guns. Lieutenant Colonel Keyes, military secretary, will be authorized to give all necessary orders, and to call upon the staff department for every requisite material and transportation, and other steamers will follow that on which you embark, to carry reinforcements, supplies, and provisions for the garrison of Fort Pickens for six months. Captain Barry’s battery will follow as soon as a vessel can be fitted for its transportation. Two or three-foot companies will embark at the same time with the battery. All the companies will be filled up to the maximum standard, those to embark first from the recruits in the harbor of New York. The other companies will be filled, if practicable, with instructed soldiers…” 

On the same day, President Lincoln signed a blanket order instructing all officers of the Army and Navy to supply Col. Brown with whatever he requested and to support him fully in carrying out his unspecified orders.10 Given the secrecy, there is little or nothing in the Army Chief of Ordnance files at the National Archives specific to the expedition except orders to Capt. Balch reports to Col. Brown in New York and orders supplies to various arsenals. While there were several orders for artillery and related supplies, the author noted no orders specific to a purchase of Colt revolvers.11 But the Colt financial records show a purchase was made by “The United States” on April 4th, 1861.12 The purchase was actually made by the U.S. Army (Col. Brown), for the records of the Treasury Department show settlement of an account for NMA revolvers on July 8th, 1861. The account was for $8,104 for 300 NMA revolvers and cartridges, which agrees with the Colt factory records. There was no inspection or certification other than from Chief of Ordnance Ripley, and Ripley himself certified the arms had been received by the U.S. government. The account contained an invoice from Colt showing the pistols had 7 1⁄2 inch barrels and were shipped to the Quartermaster in New York on April 4th. The purchase included 30,000 ball cartridges ($17.50 per thousand), 45,000 percussion caps ($1.30 per thousand), six packing boxes at $1.25 each, and  26 packing boxes at $0.50 each. No other items were mentioned, but the price of $25 for each pistol probably included moulds and screwdrivers, etc. The Colt shipping ledger, Book 1, shows the shipment included pistols ranging from 131 to 3864 in serial number, with the majority being over serial number 2000. Two of the 300 revolvers, number 2698 and number 3096, are pictured here. It is not clear when Colt first tried to obtain payment for the pistols, but the first mention of them in the Chief of Ordnance records was in June. Sometime in that month, the Chief’s office received a bill from Colt for the 300 plus 1000 more that Col. Ripley had ordered in May. This appears to have been the first that the Colonel knew about the April purchase. Before he would recommend settlement of the claim, he wrote Colt on June 28th that he required evidence from the U.S. Quartermaster at New York that they had been received and a statement as to what was done with them. Hugh Harbison of Colt replied on July 3rd: 

“On receipt of your note of the 28th ultimo, we immediately addressed a note to the U.S. Quartermaster, New York, in reference to the arms we forwarded to his Department April 4/61, in accordance with the order received from Col. Brown. We also forwarded him a copy of your letter, together with our letter to Capt. Whiteley with invoice, express receipt, etc. We now beg to hand you his reply and to ask if it will be necessary for us to procure Col. Brown or Lt. Balch’s receipt, or will the evidence forwarded be sufficient?”

The reply Colt forwarded to Col. Ripley was from Col. D. D. Tompkins, Assistant Quartermaster in NY, and was dated July 2nd: 

“Your favor of the 29th ultimo was received, in which you make inquiry about thirty-two boxes containing Colt pistols & etc. marked “U.S. QuarterMaster.” I received on April 5, 32 boxes with that mark, but no letter of advice or invoice accompanied them. They were delivered to Lieut. G. T. Balch Ord. Dept. with Col. Brown’s command on Steamer “Atlantic” and are no doubt the same of which you require information, and I would suggest that you address him on the subject at Fort Pickens, Fla.”

Col. Ripley sent the package to the Treasury Department on July 5th. That is why all earlier published accounts of the purchase indicate it was made in July instead of April. The only record of the April date has been buried in a box of Treasury Department files since 1861. 

Returning to our chronology of events, on April 12th, Col. Brown gave Lt. Col. Keyes a status report: 

Headquarters, Steamship ‘Atlantic’ 

In obedience to the special instruction of the General in-Chief, I proceeded to New York on the 2nd, and arrived there on the morning of the 3rd instant, and was engaged until Saturday, the 6th, in preparing for this expedition. On the afternoon of that day Barry’s battery (Company A, Second Artillery), Hunt’s company (M, Second Artillery), Duane’s company of Sappers and Miners, and Companies C and E (Johns’ and Clitz’s), Third Infantry, and twenty Engineer carpenters were embarked on board the steamship ‘Atlantic,’ Captain Gray. We hauled out in the stream at dark, but continued to take in cargo through the night, and on Sunday morning at 3 ½weighed anchor and went to sea. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had a heavy gale, dead ahead, the horses of the battery suffering very much from the heavy sea, the wet, and the cold, and were preserved only by the substantial excellence of our ship and the vigilant care of the officers. Only two died during the gale, and the rest are doing well. My command is all healthy and in good spirits.

I have directed Lieutenant Balch, ordnance officer, to make the proper office requisitions for various articles, which were not to be procured at our departure. I respectfully urge that they be sent immediately. 

I ordered the purchase of two 6-pounder rifled guns, which are said to be at Fort Columbus, and that a 42-pounder rifled gun, also at that post, be sent, with all the necessary implements and projectiles, by the first vessel. I have also directed Lieutenant Balch to make a special estimate of guns for Fort Jefferson, which may be of vital importance, and which should be furnished without delay. 

I would respectfully and earnestly urge that six 42-pounder rifled guns, with implements complete, and one thousand rounds of ammunition to each gun, as specified in the requisition of Lieutenant Balch, be immediately prepared and sent by steamer to Fort Pickens. Their value will be inestimable. With them we shall be able to act, if need be, with great efficiency against Fort McRee, Barrancas, and the navy-yard, and place our opponents from an offensive to a defensive position. I earnestly solicit the approbation of the General-in-Chief on this subject, and that the guns may be prepared and sent by steam without a moment’s delay. James’s apparatus for rifling guns is at Fort Columbus, and the guns, if diligence is exercised, may be prepared for shipment in a week. 

We go into Key West for two or three hours on important duty enjoined by the General-in-Chief, and from thence to Fort Jefferson for some indispensable articles, where we shall be delayed only a short time, and shall then proceed to our destination. 

The “important duty” that was performed at Key West appears to have been to reassure the U.S. government representatives there of the government’s willingness and ability to sustain them and to convince them to remain in their positions. 

On the 13th, in General Order #1, in Key West, Col. Brown assumed command of the Department of Florida (just established by the General-in-Chief and approved by the President). The Department consisted of the State of Florida and the contiguous islands in the Gulf.

Col. Brown established Ft. Pickens as his headquarters by G.O. #3, dated April 18th. The previous day he sent a letter to Brigadier General (BG) Braxton Bragg, Commanding General of the Confederate troops near Pensacola, telling Bragg that he had arrived at Ft. Pickens had made a disposition of his forces to “act only on the defensive … as is necessary to protect them from any enemy, foreign or domestic.” He added, “I have also to inform you that no movement of the troops of my command or of United States vessels in this vicinity will have any other than a defensive object, unless we shall unhappily be compelled to act offensively, repelling aggression against the flag, persons, or property of our   

against the flag, persons, or property of our country.”  

Col. Brown had good reason to make every effort to avoid combat at that time. On the 19th he reported to Lt. Col. Keyes that upon arrival he had found Ft. Pickens “in the worst possible condition for hostilities – the batteries out of order; some of the largest and most important guns dismounted; the necessary traverses and other protections for the troops unprepared; the garrison deficient; the subsistence nearly exhausted; the ammunition (except powder) not sufficient in important articles for one day’s service; a total want of Engineer, Quartermaster, and Ordnance tools and implements; and the fort in a complete state of confusion…”16 At that point the stores on the steamer Atlantic had not been landed. He added that his remarks should not be taken as reflecting on Lieutenants Slemmer and Gilman and that too much praise cannot be awarded for their energy, zeal, and perseverance in keeping this post… 

Capt. Meigs’ April 25th report to General J. G. Totten, the Chief of Engineers and Meigs’s normal superior, gives more information on the operation. The Atlantic left on the 7th, and the steamer Illinois was to follow on the evening of the 8th. The U.S. Navy ship Powhatan had sailed on the 6th in support of the expedition. The Atlantic was anchored off the Pensacola bar the evening of the 16th (Fort Sumter had surrendered on the 13th). Captain Vogdes with his company and 110 marines had landed the night of the 12th (he had not landed earlier due to confusing, contradicting orders between those of General Scott to Vogdes and those of the Secretary of the Navy to USN Captain Adams) after Lieutenant Slemmer told Captain Adams that he felt an attack on the fort was imminent. This account is confusing, but it appears that they had not seen the Powhatan until the 17th, while they were landing some of the horses, and at that time, Col. Brown advised Meigs not to have the warship enter the harbor. Meigs stopped Capt. Porter stopped taking that ship closer to the mainland, and she instead anchored near the Atlantic, as did the Brooklyn and the Wyandotte. On the 20th, the Illinois arrived. It took until the 23rd to land all the supplies from the Atlantic, after which Meigs returned her to Washington. He reported on the status of the guns and fortifications and also said, The enemy did not seem to be ready to commence hostilities … but they continued to work the naval foundry night and day, Sundays included, casting, as was reported, solid shot for their 10-inch and other guns, and they moved artillery from Fort McRee to other positions in preparation for hostilities. 

It is not clear how many of the 300 NMA pistols were for the troops deploying with the expedition. Revolvers would have been appropriate for the horse artillery and, perhaps for some noncommissioned officers, but the deploying infantry and artillery troops probably were armed, or partially so, before they left New York. Major Thornton of the New York Arsenal reported that he had issued 500 rifled muskets, with accoutrements and ammo, and four “spy glasses” to the expedition before its departure, but there was no mention of handguns. Surviving documentation provides only a little information on the issue of these revolvers. Col. Brown approved a requisition from 1st Lieutenant Duane (Engineer Company of Sappers and Miners) for 75 “Colt Army Pistol (NP)” with bullet moulds, screwdrivers, belt holsters, and cartridges. The date of this issue to the engineer soldiers is not clear, but it appears to have been before April 16th. The only other documented issue was mentioned in a July 8th letter from Lt. Balch to the Chief of Ordnance in which he reported he had sent 177 “NM” Colt revolvers to Fort Jefferson, which was to be an ordnance depot for the Department of Florida. 

With the beginning of the war, and especially the Union defeat at 1st Manassas on July 21st, 1861, priorities for arms and trained military units changed significantly. Some of the artillery batteries and Duane’s engineers were transferred north to protect the nation’s capital and it is likely that some unissued NMA pistols were also used to arm units in what was to become the Army of the Potomac. One surviving pistol that had been supplied to General McClellan by Governor Dennison of Ohio now has the barrel and wedge from one of these 300 pistols. Given the appearance of the barrel matches that of the frame very well, it is likely that the parts have been together for many years. 13 – James C. Duane as a colonel during the Civil War. 

Those pistols that remained at Fort Pickens probably did see some action. The standoff at Pensacola continued for several months, but Union forces conducted a raid in which they burned a southern ship, and in early October of 1861, the Confederates launched a large, nighttime raid on Santa Rosa Island. On the 9th of that month, Confederate forces landed approximately 1,000 troops on the island in an assault that overran the camp of a Union army regiment. However, the southern troops were forced to withdraw after Union reinforcements from Fort Pickens joined the battle. But the need for southern troops elsewhere soon brought their transfer out of the state. By May 1862, Confederate forces had completely withdrawn from Pensacola, and Fort Pickens was saved for the Union.

 

Obviously, these pistols are significant for their known history. They are also quite rare, being the only 7 1⁄2 inch barreled Colt NMA revolvers that the U.S. bought directly from Colt. Lieutenant Treadwell of Frankford Arsenal bought approximately 132 more on the open market in August 1861, but the total of 432 is still quite small and is a tiny fraction of the total NMA revolvers bought by the U.S. during the war.