Help Needed To Decipher Markings on Colt New Service Revolver

Captain Benoit was a Department of Militia & Defence purchasing agent. Lewis Bros. were a Montreal hardware firm which was a Colt dealer. The Boer War order for New Service Colts (943 of them) was the first time the Department purchased through a Canadian retailer, having dealt directly with Colt directly on previous handgun purchases.

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The caliber stated by Lewis Bros. in the period advertisement reproduced above certainly tends to confirm that many (likely the majority) of the "Boer War New Service revolvers" were actually .455 -

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Not sure I can lay my hands on specific supporting documentation without a lot of effort which I am quite frankly unwilling to put in, since I know it to be the case.

However, my question back to you would be: "Why else would one individual be buying a batch of 350 revolvers in one go?" (Did you miss that detail, by any chance? ;) )

Canada's "Permanent Militia" (from which such a position would be filled) was very small - a total of 1,750 personnel of all ranks (if I recall correctly .... or maybe 2,000 by 1900.) Captain was in fact a fairly high rank in the Permanent Militia to be delegated to such a duty.
 
I would be thinking more along the lines that Lewis Bros and Company bought them . and was selling them as private purchase. Capt. Benoit purchased one and his name was sent back to Colt for the Warranty.
What do you think?
 
I was rushed for time when I posted the above last night, but have now extended the text highlighting on the page posted above .... note that Capt. Benoit was actually department head of the purchasing branch - presumably why he was named as the purchaser. Fourteen years later, when Colt sold Government Model semi-automatic pistols directly to the Department of Militia & Defence, they recorded the purchaser as "Government of Canada", and that they were shipped to "H.W. Brown" (who was the purchasing agent at that time.)

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Col. Whittington has done a great amount of research into the Boer War colts.

The monograph I have shows purchases of 1878s and New services during 1901 and 1902 chambered in .45 Colt.
 
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