High Noon Western Americana

Colt's 1851 Navy -
From California to the Crimea

Although when most people think of the guns of the Wild West, they generally visualize the 1873 Colt Single Action Army, but this cap and ball sixgun was taming the world's frontiers a full two decades before the Peacemaker!

By Phil Spangenberger

Certainly the handsome 1851 Navy Colt would rate at the top of anyone's list of classic firearms. It could be argued that this caplock six-shooter was the first truly practical revolver, since those Colt that preceded it were either lacking in ergonomics and design refinements, or were simply too big and cumbersome. The '51 Navy model represented the peak of firearms technology of its day. It married light weight, excellent balance, natural pointing and handling characteristics and man-stopping power, all in a one-hand gun.

Interestingly, although the 1851 Navy Colt is referred to as a .36 caliber revolver, which means that the gun's bore should measure 36/100ths of an inch in diameter. Actually, its true bore size measures .375-inch in diameter-making it closer in size to a true .38 caliber than our modern .38 caliber revolvers, which only mike out to .357-inch. However, a Navy Colt's loading of black powder and lead ball or conical bullet is roughly similar to a modern .32 S&W Long cartridge, a low powered handgun cartridge by today's standards. Nonetheless, the soft lead bullet flattened out quickly upon impact with a solid object and resulted in a serious wound-especially given the lack of medical technology of the mid-19th century.

During its 23 years of production, 257, 348 Navies were turned out by the Colt facilities, both in Hartford, Connecticut, and in their London, England armory. Of the 215,348 of these 7½-inch octagon barreled revolvers made in America, the federal government purchased only 3,005 during the Civil War, although a great many more were privately purchased and used during the conflict, making it one of the most popular sidearms of this bloody struggle. This streamlined cap-and-ball revolver was highly valued by Confederate soldiers who were fortunate enough to capture one from their northern foes, and the Confederacy actually produced a variety of copies of the Colt for their troops. In fact, an engraved Colt Navy '51 was the personal sidearm of none other than Confederate General Robert E. Lee!

Actually introduced in 1850, and produced until 1873, the Model 1851 Navy Colt reigned as a favorite fighting handgun with knowledgeable gunmen until shortly after Colt's famed Single Action Army revolver was introduced in the Navy model's final year of production. Even then, many Navies were converted to take the then-new metallic cartridges, giving them a longer practical life. This sixgun could easily be dubbed the "Peacemaker" of the percussion era. It was the sidearm of choice of such historic figures as James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, often called the "Prince of Pistoleers," as well as many of his gun-savvy contemporaries like John Wesley Hardin, the James-Younger gang, the Pinkertons, many U.S. Dragoons of the pre-Civil War years, the Pawnee scouts, and frontiersman Major Frank North, to name a few.

In its early years, the Navy Colt was highly regarded by those hardy Argonauts who flocked to the untamed California gold fields in search of their fortunes, and later it saw use in the Australian "Outback" country by civilians and police troopers alike. In other lands, the Navy was packed by the government forces of Austria, Canada, and England. Always in the forefront of action, a number of British sailors were issued the .36 caliber Colts during the Crimean War. Too, while campaigning in Balaklava, more than a few Navy Colts thundered into the valley of death with the "noble six hundred" during Great Britain's ill-fated, but legendary Charge of the Light Brigade.

Even in modern times, the Navy's fame lives on. Perhaps no greater testimony to the historical status of this mid-19th century percussion revolver can be given than when in the late 1950s, modern black powder pioneer Val Forgett, selected a Confederate copy of the 1851 Navy to introduce the first replica Civil War-type firearms for shooters. Today, the '51 Navy Colt is perhaps the most replicated of black powder handguns in the world. Among firearms enthusiasts, it is considered by many as the archetypical percussion revolver. Indeed marks of a true classic!

PHOTOS ABOVE:
TOP: During its 23 years of production, 257, 348 Navy Colts were turned out by the Colt facilities, both in Hartford, Connecticut, and in their London, England armory. In its early years the '51 was a favorite sidearm in the untamed California goldfields and sold for several times the price as their eastern cousins. MIDDLE: Colt's '51 Navy revolver could easily be called the "Peacemaker" of the percussion era. It was the sidearm of choice of such historic figures as the "Prince of Pistoleers," James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, as well as many of his gun-savvy contemporaries. BOTTOM: The '49er in this reverse image daguerreotype looks "rough and ready" to hit the Mother Lode country with 1851 Navy Colt tucked into his waistband. For those who could afford one, this .36 caliber six-shooter was one of the best choices a man could make for personal defense.

Phil Spangenberger writes for Guns & Ammo magazine, appears on the History Channel and other documentary networks, produces Wild West shows, is a Hollywood gun coach and character actor, and is a Field Editor and regular columnist for True West.

Colt's 1851 Navy - From California to the Crimea

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Colt's 1851 Navy -
From California to the Crimea