Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very attractive patinated example of an original Remington Model 1861 Army Percussion Revolver manufactured in approximately January 1863, at the height of the American Civil War. With matching serial numbers on the barrel, frame, and cylinder, and an honest patina developed through age and use, it has the unmistakable character of a genuine wartime revolver. The addition of the aged period holster adds to the display potential, even though it is in relic condition, typical for Civil War Era leather items.

The revolver is in .44 caliber percussion, and usually referred to as the "Old Model" Army. It is a 6 shot single-action revolver, with an 8-inch octagon barrel, which replaced the earlier "Remington-Beals Army Model Revolver". The top of the octagonal barrel still has the original barrel markings, which are mostly clear, with a bit missing due to pitting:-

This revolver has matching serial number 8319 appearing on the underside of the barrel, on the frame under the grip, and is even still faintly stamped on the back of the cylinder! We very seldom get "All Matching" examples of Remington revolvers, as unlike Colt, Remington did not consistently number every component of its revolvers, particularly the cylinder. The company also supplied spare cylinders, and the easily removable cylinder pin allowed another loaded cylinder to be installed relatively quickly.

We checked the revolver for inspection markings, and there are JS markings on the left side on both the barrel by the front of the frame, and on the frame by the barrel threads, with another J on the left side of the frame by the hammer joint. The side of the cylinder is marked with a B near the rear, and there is the same marking on the left side of the frame just forward of the grip scale. The left grip scale also has a three letter cartouche near the bottom, which we unfortunately cannot quite be read.

The bottom of the grip frame has what looks to be J. S. Craig, or possibly J. L. Craig engraved into the metal. We performed some preliminary research, and found dozens of possibilities for both, so unfortunately we were not able to make any definitive link to a Civil War soldier.

Other versions of this revolver were often called the "Model 1858" due to the patent date on the barrel, however this version had the 1861 patent date listed, which refers to patent #33,932, dated December 17, 1861, shown at this link. This covered design improvements from William Elliott, which allowed the cylinder arbor pin to be withdrawn without lowering the loading lever. Other refinements included a re-contoured frame exposing the barrel threads at the rear, reducing both weight and manufacturing cost.

Unfortunately, some of these "improvements" were in name only, and only Approximately 6,000 were produced before transitioning to the "New Model 1863". The new arbor pin design of the Model 1861 sometimes caused the pin to shift forward under recoil, locking the revolver solid. As a result, many Model 1861 revolvers were later returned to the factory for modification or retrofit with the older Beals-style solid loading lever, however, this example still retains the original loading lever and arbor pin! There has been a screw put into the channel to keep the arbor pin from moving forward however, so it was not completely left as is, and the end of the arbor pin was broken off. As this was the primary "improvement" of the 1861 patent, later models returned to the 1858 patent marking used previously.

Ultimately the "New Model 1863" that replaced the "Old Model" was the result of numerous other incremental improvements suggested by the Army ordnance department, in addition to getting rid of the 1861 style arbor pin and rammer. One of these was the "Safety Slots" milled between chambers on the cylinder. The milled slot positively secured the hammer between chambers for safe carry by placing the hammer's firing pin where it did not rest on a percussion cap, eliminating the risk of an accidental discharge if the gun was dropped or the hammer struck. As this revolver retains the original cylinder, there are correctly no safety slots present.

Overall condition is very good with a lovely aged oxidized patina overall, showing areas of past light pitting, now cleaned away. This has given it an overall light gray matte finish, with none of the original bluing still retained. There is some more serious rusting on the barrel, which has made some portions of the barrel address hard to read. The front of the barrel still retains the correct nickel silver cone-shaped sight. The grips are in very good shape, with some chipping and wear around the bottom edge. The bottoms show numerous dents, suggesting that the butt was used as a hammer for some purpose when the proper tool could not be found.

The revolver has a strong smooth action, with a good mainspring and tight cylinder lockup. However it should be cycled slowly, as pulling the hammer back to fast will cause the hand to miss, and the cylinder will not advance. The bore is in very good condition, showing a mostly bright finish with relatively crisp lands and grooves. There does not look to be much wear, but there is fouling and past oxidation, particularly near the forcing cone, indicating that it was not fired much, but was also not properly cleaned after it was. Still for a black powder percussion arm of this age, it is far above average. All of the cap nipple cones are in very good shape and clear, showing oxidation and fouling to the exterior, now removed, and very little "mushrooming" from hammer strikes. 

The included flap holster is the correct type for civil war use, designed to be worn "butt-forward" on the left hip for a right hand draw. It is in delicate relic condition, and is really for display only, as we do not recommend putting the pistol in it to avoid damage.

Serial-number research places this revolver within the estimated January 1863 production range. The Remington Society of America lists serial numbers 7,585 through 10,885. Serial number 8,319 falls solidly into this range indicating production or Ordnance Department delivery towards the beginning of that month. The Society notes that these estimates are based on monthly deliveries to the Ordnance Department with an allowance for defective revolvers.

This is an especially interesting U.S. military-issued Civil War Remington Model 1861 Army revolver, retaining matching serial number 8319 on the barrel, frame, and cylinder, along with its martial grip cartouche and military inspection markings. With a great honest used look, and a solid place in history, this would make a worthy addition to any civil war collection, representing one of the rarest variations of the Remington Army percussion revolver lineage. One of only about 6000 made and still with the original but problematic hollow loading rammer, complete with an original aged period leather holster.

Specifications:-

Year of Manufacture: 1863
Manufacturer: Remington & Sons
Model: 1861 "Old" Army
Caliber: .44cal
Ammunition Type: Cap and Ball
Barrel Length: 8 inches
Overall Length: 14 inches
Action: Single
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver
Federal Classification: Pre-1899 Antique

History of Remington 1861 Army "Old Model" Revolver:

Remington, like Colt, was in business of arms making long prior to the Civil War. They had been producing handguns since 1857 when they introduced the Remington Beals Pocket Revolver. With the outbreak of the Civil War all of the company's energy became devoted to the military production of longarms and hand guns. The martial hand guns produced during the Civil War period included the Remington-Beals Army and Navy Model revolvers, the Remington Models 1861 Army and Navy Revolvers, (a.k.a. as the "Old Model Army" and "Old Model Navy") and the Remington New Model 1863 Army and Navy revolvers.

The Remington is a single-action, six-shot, percussion revolver produced by E. Remington & Sons, Ilion, N.Y., based on the Fordyce Beals patent of September 14, 1858 (Patent 21,478). The Remington Army revolver is large-framed revolver in .44 caliber with an 8-inch barrel length. The Remington Navy revolver is slightly smaller framed than the Army and in .36 caliber with a 7.375 inch [Beals Navy 7.5 inch] barrel length. There were three progressive models made: the Remington-Beals Army & Navy (1860–1862), the 1861 Army & Navy (1862–1863), and the New Model Army & Navy (1863–1875). The three models are nearly identical in size and appearance. Subtle but noticeable differences in hammers, loading levers, and cylinders help identify each model. The 1861 Remington actually transitioned into New Model appearance by late 1862, slowly transforming throughout 1862, due to continual improvement suggestions from the U. S. Ordnance Department.

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IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

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