This revolver was originally part of contract order dated June 13th, 1862 and was delivered in December of 1862 along with 501 .44 caliber and 1501 .36 caliber Remington revolvers. During the last two years of the Civil War more Remington revolvers were bought by the Government then Colt revolvers.

The Remington 1861 Army revolver is a .44 caliber percussion revolver with a 8 inch octagonal barrel and 6 shot cylinder. The model pictured on this page is a transition version of the 1861 or "Remington Old Army". On the later manufactured specimens safety notches were introduced at the rear of the cylinder and the loading lever utilized was the New Model type as the earlier type of loading lever and long spur hammer found on the early production "Old Army" was found not suitable for military use. This revolver has the "New Army Model" short spur hammer and loading lever configuration making it a transition revolver (shortened hammer was requested so a person with a small hand could cock it more easily).

According to Flaydermans guide to antique firearms three varieties of the transition have been observed in the serial number range of 10,000 and 22,000. The barrel legend on the 1861 is two lines and reads "Patented Dec. 17, 1861/Manufactured by Remington's Ilion, N.Y." all in upper case. The later "New Model Army" has a 1858 patent date in three lines of print on the barrel with the third line reading "NEW MODEL", this is one way to differentiate the two revolvers along with the serial number range. Serial numbers are found on the barrel, cylinder and butt under the grips/stocks.

Total production of the "Old Army" was between 10000 and 12000 revolvers in 1862. Some reference books state only 10,000 were manufactured and the serial number range starts at where the Remington-Beals model ended at approximately 1900 and runs through serial number 12,000. The later New Army Model had approximately 135,000 manufactured and ran in the serial number range of 12,000 to 148,000.

While the exterior exhibits the ware of 142 years, the fit and function of this gun is excellent with tight lock up and very good rifling. It amazes me that this revolver could still be shot today and how it has remained in its original configuration with all matching serial numbers.

I am still doing research on the Civil War revolvers so expect this page to be updated soon. Found on this page are images of all markings found on this Model 1861 Army revolver. Are you a Civil War firearms collector? Would like to hear from you so we can share research and compare specimens. Regards, Ty Moore

From the collection of T. Moore

The Civil War started on February 9th, 1861 - The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis as president.
The Civil War Ended in May, 1865 - Remaining Confederate forces surrender. The Nation is reunited as the Civil War ends. Over 620,000 Americans died in the war, with disease killing twice as many as those lost in battle. 50,000 survivors return home as amputees.

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