As the American civil war drew to a close in 1865, it became evident that the prevailing method of igniting gun powder in a firearm by a percussion cap was cumbersome, slow and outdated. Although self-contained brass and copper shell cartridges had been in use for some time by then, Americans did not appreciate their usefulness and convenience until they had opportunity to use them during the war. The pin fire cartridges used in the “Frenchies”, the Lefaucheux revolver, and Smith & Wesson’s rim fire cartridge, spurred the desire by military and civilian users to have self-contained cartridges in all of their guns. Like so many developments of the Industrial Revolution, technical advancements came fast and furious from the late 1700’s until the close of the 19th century. Manufacturers were often challenged to keep up with the changes. Competition among the various firms was fierce. Some enjoyed patent protection of their inventions for a while, but the advancements would eventually become publicly available, and nothing could stop a manufacturer from either copying the invention, or improve on it. So it was that the revolving cylinder actuated by the action of the trigger, for example, was a patent granted to Colt in 1836, and other makers had to find a way around it, if they wanted to participate in this business. Manually revolved cylinders, and those revolved by a separate lever from the trigger, were just two of the methods used to get around Colt’s patent. Another, perhaps the most famous, was Rollin White’s patent for the bored-through cylinder. While White did not have an express patent for the rim fire cartridge, his method of loading the cartridge from the rear of the cylinder was covered by the patent. Some tried to circumvent this by manufacturing guns which loaded the cartridge from the side or front of the cylinder, others used a cluster of stationary barrels and made the firing pin rotate to strike each cartridge in succession.
White’s patent expired at the end of 1869, 15 years after it had been granted. White, who had assigned the patent to Smith & Wesson, tried to lobby the US government to extend his patent protection. The “Rollin White Relief Act” of 1870 was passed in Congress, but vetoed by then-president Ulysses Grant. Grant, the former commander of the Union forces during the war argued that S&W’s refusal to share the patent with other makers during the war had extended the duration of the war and cost many more lives. Every gun manufacturer in the US was watching this moment with great anticipation, and a degree of apprehension. If White had been granted an extension, none of the major makers would have been able to manufacture cartridge guns without paying White a 50 cent royalty for each. Many smaller makers did so “on the sly”, without paying the royalty. Some got away with it, others got caught. Once it became clear that there would be no extension, the race was on. Every maker, from the largest – Colt, Remington, Hopkins & Allen, - to the smallest “cottage industry” gun smiths entered the market of manufacturing cartridge revolvers. Although the post war years saw a glut of surplus firearms for sale, the demand for cartridge guns was great. Smith & Wesson, who only made cartridge guns were in a favourable position to dominate the market. They had already begun to tool up their factory for larger caliber cartridge gun production, while Colt and Remington were still trying to catch up. Once it became clear that the patent was no longer an issue, Colt and Remington busied themselves to come up with methods of converting their remaining inventories of percussion guns to cartridge use. The earliest were true conversions – guns which had not been sold, and could be disassembled and modified to chamber a cartridge. Later models would be manufactured using the old percussion frames, but fitted already with bored-through cylinders, cartridge extractors and appropriate hammers. Remington was perhaps the only large manufacturer who attempted to convert percussion guns to cartridge use before the Rollin White patent had expired. This required them to deliver the guns to Smith & Wesson and have them perform the work. Not only did Remington have to pay for this service, they also had to pay the 50 cent royalty on each gun. Needless to say, this was not a cost-effective way to produce cartridge guns.
Of the conversions, those by Colt (Mason, Richards and Thuer), and those by Remington (Beals, Rider and Smoot) are of the greatest interest to collectors. The conversions were usually from the “navy” calibers (.36 percussion) to .38 rim or center fire, and from the “army” calibers (.44 percussion) to .44 center fire. Remington also performed conversions on some of their pocket revolvers from .31 percussion to .32 rim fire. Initially, Colt converted a very few of the 1849 pockets and 1851 Navies to cartridge use, employing a proprietary tapered “Thuer” cartridge. The Thuer conversions, having been Colt’s first cartridge guns, were not practical and did not enjoy a great following. By the mid-1870’s most of Colt’s former percussion handguns could be had as a conversion to metallic cartridge, either an alteration of an unsold percussion gun, or an outright factory conversion. Pockets, Police, Navies, and Armies were all made to fire metallic cartridges, and there are many variants available to collectors. These converted models were made at the same time as the new cartridge models, namely the 1873 Single Action Army and later the 1877 Lightning.
Remington’s conversions began with the pocket revolvers in 1873, fitting a new cylinder with a backing plate to hold the cartridges in place. They soon applied the same method to the belt and police models. Some were furnished with two cylinders, one for cartridge use, and one for cap-and-ball. Only their large caliber guns were made without the backing plate, and were fitted with a proper loading gate and ejector. These were the “New Model” Armies and Navies. Among them, there are a few variants however not nearly as many as those seen from Colt. A very few early conversions can be found with the cylinder marking identifying Rollin White’s 1855 patent. Those would have been converted under contract by Smith & Wesson. Remington, too, manufactured the conversions at the same time as they produced other cartridge revolvers, like the 1875 Single Action Army. These conversions came about as a result of the large amounts of finished and semi-finished percussion guns and parts still in inventory at Colt and Remington at that time. This represented a significant amount of money tied up, and could not easily be liquidated.
Collecting metallic cartridge revolver conversions is a specialty for some enthusiasts of late 19th century firearms. The many methods utilized, both by the factories as well as enterprising gunsmiths, is astounding. One must remember that the engineers and gunsmiths were working without having any previous knowledge or designs to draw on, and everything they did, was a first-time effort. The results, by today’s standards, are sometimes scary, but mostly quite ingenious.
Colt M1860 Army Conversion to .44 Colt Center Fire
Adaptation of a Colt 1860 Army to cartridge use: recoil shield milled out, integral floating firing pin housed inside the breech plate, cylinder ratchet extended to reach the hand, bored-through cylinder, loading gate, extractor. The rammer was removed and the lug used to mount the extractor.
Remington New Model Navy Converted to .38 Rim Fire
Cartridge conversion of a Remington New Model Navy: recoil shield milled out, breech plate with loading gate inserted, bored-through cylinder with extended ratchet, extractor. Note that the hammer has not been changed, and the rammer was left intact. This method of conversion would likely have been cheaper than the Colt conversions.
White’s patent expired at the end of 1869, 15 years after it had been granted. White, who had assigned the patent to Smith & Wesson, tried to lobby the US government to extend his patent protection. The “Rollin White Relief Act” of 1870 was passed in Congress, but vetoed by then-president Ulysses Grant. Grant, the former commander of the Union forces during the war argued that S&W’s refusal to share the patent with other makers during the war had extended the duration of the war and cost many more lives. Every gun manufacturer in the US was watching this moment with great anticipation, and a degree of apprehension. If White had been granted an extension, none of the major makers would have been able to manufacture cartridge guns without paying White a 50 cent royalty for each. Many smaller makers did so “on the sly”, without paying the royalty. Some got away with it, others got caught. Once it became clear that there would be no extension, the race was on. Every maker, from the largest – Colt, Remington, Hopkins & Allen, - to the smallest “cottage industry” gun smiths entered the market of manufacturing cartridge revolvers. Although the post war years saw a glut of surplus firearms for sale, the demand for cartridge guns was great. Smith & Wesson, who only made cartridge guns were in a favourable position to dominate the market. They had already begun to tool up their factory for larger caliber cartridge gun production, while Colt and Remington were still trying to catch up. Once it became clear that the patent was no longer an issue, Colt and Remington busied themselves to come up with methods of converting their remaining inventories of percussion guns to cartridge use. The earliest were true conversions – guns which had not been sold, and could be disassembled and modified to chamber a cartridge. Later models would be manufactured using the old percussion frames, but fitted already with bored-through cylinders, cartridge extractors and appropriate hammers. Remington was perhaps the only large manufacturer who attempted to convert percussion guns to cartridge use before the Rollin White patent had expired. This required them to deliver the guns to Smith & Wesson and have them perform the work. Not only did Remington have to pay for this service, they also had to pay the 50 cent royalty on each gun. Needless to say, this was not a cost-effective way to produce cartridge guns.
Of the conversions, those by Colt (Mason, Richards and Thuer), and those by Remington (Beals, Rider and Smoot) are of the greatest interest to collectors. The conversions were usually from the “navy” calibers (.36 percussion) to .38 rim or center fire, and from the “army” calibers (.44 percussion) to .44 center fire. Remington also performed conversions on some of their pocket revolvers from .31 percussion to .32 rim fire. Initially, Colt converted a very few of the 1849 pockets and 1851 Navies to cartridge use, employing a proprietary tapered “Thuer” cartridge. The Thuer conversions, having been Colt’s first cartridge guns, were not practical and did not enjoy a great following. By the mid-1870’s most of Colt’s former percussion handguns could be had as a conversion to metallic cartridge, either an alteration of an unsold percussion gun, or an outright factory conversion. Pockets, Police, Navies, and Armies were all made to fire metallic cartridges, and there are many variants available to collectors. These converted models were made at the same time as the new cartridge models, namely the 1873 Single Action Army and later the 1877 Lightning.
Remington’s conversions began with the pocket revolvers in 1873, fitting a new cylinder with a backing plate to hold the cartridges in place. They soon applied the same method to the belt and police models. Some were furnished with two cylinders, one for cartridge use, and one for cap-and-ball. Only their large caliber guns were made without the backing plate, and were fitted with a proper loading gate and ejector. These were the “New Model” Armies and Navies. Among them, there are a few variants however not nearly as many as those seen from Colt. A very few early conversions can be found with the cylinder marking identifying Rollin White’s 1855 patent. Those would have been converted under contract by Smith & Wesson. Remington, too, manufactured the conversions at the same time as they produced other cartridge revolvers, like the 1875 Single Action Army. These conversions came about as a result of the large amounts of finished and semi-finished percussion guns and parts still in inventory at Colt and Remington at that time. This represented a significant amount of money tied up, and could not easily be liquidated.
Collecting metallic cartridge revolver conversions is a specialty for some enthusiasts of late 19th century firearms. The many methods utilized, both by the factories as well as enterprising gunsmiths, is astounding. One must remember that the engineers and gunsmiths were working without having any previous knowledge or designs to draw on, and everything they did, was a first-time effort. The results, by today’s standards, are sometimes scary, but mostly quite ingenious.
Colt M1860 Army Conversion to .44 Colt Center Fire
Adaptation of a Colt 1860 Army to cartridge use: recoil shield milled out, integral floating firing pin housed inside the breech plate, cylinder ratchet extended to reach the hand, bored-through cylinder, loading gate, extractor. The rammer was removed and the lug used to mount the extractor.
Remington New Model Navy Converted to .38 Rim Fire
Cartridge conversion of a Remington New Model Navy: recoil shield milled out, breech plate with loading gate inserted, bored-through cylinder with extended ratchet, extractor. Note that the hammer has not been changed, and the rammer was left intact. This method of conversion would likely have been cheaper than the Colt conversions.
