Colt Army Model 1860
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| Colt Army Model 1860 | |
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 Colt Army Model 1860 |
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| Type | Revolver |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Service history | |
| Wars | American Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Colt's Manufacturing Company |
| Produced | 1860 to 1873 |
| Number built | Over 200,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 43 oz (1219 g) |
| Length | 14 in (355.6 mm) |
| Barrel length | 8 in (203.2 mm) |
| Height | 5.25 in (133.35) |
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| Cartridge | Paper-wrapped .44 caliber round ball (paper cartridge) |
| Caliber | .44 |
| Action | Percussion |
| Feed system | 6 round cylinder |
The Colt Army Model 1860 was a muzzle-loaded cap & ball .44-caliber revolver used during the American Civil War. It was favored as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, and artillery troops.
The Colt 1860 Army uses the same size frame as the .36 caliber 1851 Navy revolver. The frame is relieved to allow the use of a rebated cylinder that enables the Army to be chambered in .44 caliber. Also, the barrel on the 1860 Army has a forcing cone that is visibly shorter than that of the 1851 Navy, allowing the Army revolver to have a longer cylinder. A major distinguishing feature introduced with the 1860 revolver was the "creeping" loading lever. This arrangement employs a cam interface between lever and barrel and ideally, prevents the lever from dropping and tying up the revolver if it should recoil loose from the barrel catch during firing.
More than 200,000 were manufactured from 1860 through 1873. Colt's biggest customer was the US Government with over 127,000 units being purchased and issued to the troops. The weapon was a single-action, six-shot weapon accurate up to 75 to 100 yards, where the fixed sights were typically set when manufactured. The rear sight was a notch in the hammer, clearly visible only when the revolver was cocked.
The Colt .44-caliber “Army" Model was one of the most widely-used revolvers of the Civil War. It had a six-shot, rotating cylinder, and fired a 0.454-inch diameter round lead ball, or a conical projectile, that was propelled by a 30 grain charge of black powder ignited by a copper percussion cap that contained a volatile charge of fulminate of mercury (a substance that explodes upon impact). The percussion cap, when struck by the hammer, ignited the powder charge. When fired, balls had a muzzle velocity of about 750 feet per second.
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[edit] Variations
There are very few variations on the 1860 Army Revolver but there was limited production of a 7.5-inch barrel model.(Wilson 1985), and a lightened model with cylinder flutes. According to importer, Cimarron Arms Company, this was called the "Texas Model" because a number of them came into Texas shortly after secession. The goal was to make use of silver spring steel of controlled carbon content and greater strength but the thinned cylinder proved inadequate and sometimes exploded.(ibid wilson)
Military 1860s had elongated screw lugs on the side of the frame to mount a detachable shoulder stock
[edit] Operation
Loading is a somewhat lengthy process, with each of the six chambers drilled into the revolving cylinder being loaded from the front, or "muzzle" end. A measured amount of black powder is poured into a chamber. Next a lead ball is placed at the opening of the chamber and seated by firmly pressing it in with the pivoting loading lever which is attached beneath the barrel of the revolver. For sealing each chamber, an over-size 0.454-inch diameter lead ball would be trimmed slightly by the loading ram to enter the chamber. Today, most shooters place a lubricated wad between balls and powder, or, alternatively, pack lard or a commercially-sold bore lubricant at the mouth of each chamber to prevent powder in one chamber from being ignited when another is fired, which is known as a chainfire. At the time the Colt model 1860 was originally used, shooters most often used pre-made paper cartridges. These cartridges consisted of a pre-measured load of blackpowder and a ball wrapped in flammable paper. To load each chamber, one only had to slip the cartridge in the chamber, seat the ball with the loading lever ram, and break open the paper wrapper by poking a small stick or needle through the fire hole (nipple) at the rear of the chamber. Finally, a percussion cap is placed on the hole, called a nipple, at the end of the chamber. At the time that this gun was manufactured, it cost the army around $20 per gun, which was rather expensive for the time.
The Colt "Army" revolver is to be distinguished from the Colt "Navy" revolver of which there were two models, the octagonal barrel Model 1851 Navy, and the round-barreled Model 1861 Navy, both Navy models being in the smaller .36-caliber. Replica Navy revolvers sold today are often sold in the historically-incorrect .44-caliber; originally, all Navy revolvers were only manufactured in .36-caliber.
[edit] References
Wilson, R.L, Colt, An American Legend New York, London:Atabras, A Division of Abbeville Publishing Group 1985
[edit] See also
- Colt 1851 Navy Revolver
- Colt M1861 Navy
- Colt's Manufacturing Company
- Paper cartridge
- Saturday night special for history of attempts to ban handguns other than Army and Navy models such as M1860 Army
