The two most widely used revolvers by the U.S. Cavalry during the Civil War.
M1860 Colt Army and M1858 New Model Remington revolvers.
The holster used for both of these revolvers....E. ###lord marked.
Two other revolvers that were used.
This Model 1851 Colt Navy was manufactured in 1857 and purchased by the U.S. Government and shows the US frame marking and the
M.M. inspectors cartouche on the left grip (M. Moulton)
This U.S. Martial model is known as a Navy-Army as it has the brass back strap, and small rounded brass trigger guard. It was purchased by the U.S. Government for use by the army.
NOTE;
The '51 Navy-Navy had U.S. stamped on the frame with an "iron back strap" and U.S.N stamped on the metal butt of the back strap.(Later versions had no U.S.N. markings but had the U.S frame marking)
Model 1858 Starr Army revolver, also US Government purchased.
Three of the most common carbines used by the U.S. Cavalry during the Civil War.
Sharps,Smith and Spencer.
The two principal U.S. Cavalry sabers Model 1840 and Model 1860.
Model 1840 top(aka Old Wrist Breaker) Model 1860 bottom.
Both were manufactured by Ames.
600 Model 1840 sabers were first manufactured by Ames in 1845 in time for the Mexican/American War (1846-1848) and later used during the Civil War.
Additional inspector acceptance markings on this M1840 saber.
JCB-Joseph C. Bragg ASI 1841-49
NWP –Nahum W. Patch ASI 1831-51
WAT-William Anderson Thornton, Captain USA 1840-66
He held several positions in the inspection system as Inspector Contract Arms;Commanding Officer at Watertown and New York.
Brevet BG, 1865.
1863 date marking on the Model 1860 Ames saber.
A.D.K. inspector Andrew D. King
Ames manufacturers address marking.
David
An excerpt from a much longer article about the Ames Mfg Co.
Two mill villages settled along the Chicopee River in northern Springfield were called Factory Village and Cabotville. Cabotville was where Nathan and James Ames eventually chose to establish their firm in 1834. The swords were stamped variously “NP Ames, Cutler, Springfield” and “Ames Mfg Co., Cabotville,” as the firm evolved, and the year the weapon was made. In 1848 this most northern section of Springfield split off and became a separate town called Chicopee, and their swords were now etched with this name, just as it was on the gold presentation sword made for Mexican War figure Brigadier General John A. Quitman, presented to him by President James Knox Polk, ordered on April 18, 1848, when the new town of “Chicopee” was a week old.
By 1845, the railroad had come to Chicopee. The Republic of Texas was born, followed by the Mexican War, and by virtue of its government contracts for swords and side arms, Ames had a part in both events. It is interesting to note that the many of the members of the community, indeed in the state, did not support the war against Mexico. It would not be the last time conscience clashed with business interests in the soon-to-be Town of Chicopee.
At the beginning of the Civil War, about 500 employees worked at Ames; later in the war, it grew to around 1,000. According to author Robert V. Bruce, “From the start Lincoln liked rifled cannon. As early as April (1861) he helped the James T. Ames Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, get a large order for rifled cannon.”
However, Ames was best known, for its swords. Over one-third the total contracts for swords issued by the Ordnance Department during the Civil War went to the Ames Manufacturing Company, almost 160,000 swords. The workers were noted for their ability to produce 1,000 swords in a 24-hour shift. During the war, Ames introduced an uncommon night shift, but demands continued to be so great that the company found it necessary to import swords from abroad to fill U.S. government contracts.
The coming war would create a maelstrom of contradiction for James T. Ames. He was already a prominent man in Chicopee, and representing an industry which was now of top importance to the United States government once the Southern states seceded, but he also turned a profit selling to the soon-to-be enemy before the embargo on such sales was enforced. Ames swords were purchased by the states of Virginia, Mississippi, Maryland, and Georgia as late as 1860. War, by this time and to most people, seemed unavoidable, and these customers would soon be the enemy.
Soon, there would be no more orders from the South with the coming hostilities, and the U.S. Government due to the loss of Southern arsenals would come to depend more upon the independent manufacturer. By 1864, the Ames Manufacturing Company would be among the Union’s most important private manufacturers of side arms, swords, and light artillery, and the third largest producer of heavy ordnance.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ames also manufactured very elaborate presentation swords which are beautiful pieces to behold, and superb examples command “big bucks”.
I don’t own any of those.
Ames manufactured the first knife blade bayonet shown below.
The Model 1861 Dahlgren knife bayonet... (Named after Admiral John A. Dahlgren, U.S. Navy)... one of two bayonets associated with the Whitney Model 1861 Percussion Navy ("Plymouth") .69 caliber Rifle.
The Whitney "Plymouth" rifle, named after the U.S.S. PLYMOUTH, a naval ordnance testing ship which had been built under Dahlgren's supervision, has the distinction of being the only U.S. contract arm to be originally rifled in .69 caliber.
U.S. Navy inspector's initials DR for Daniel Reynolds.
This piece is dated 1864.
Model 1840 Musician’s swords were also manufactured by Ames.
This example is 1864 dated.
Ames manufactured the Model 1850 Foot Officiers sword....I don't own one.
The one I own is described below.
W.H. Horstmann was the importer of this sword; the manufacturer “might” have been Gebruder Weyersberg, in Germany.
The left ricasso marking is;
HORSTMANN
& SONS
PHILADELPHIA
W.H. Horstmann & Sons, NY and Philadelphia
William H. Horstmann was a German immigrant arriving in Philadelphia in 1816. He established a military goods business in the mid 1820s and with his two sons William J. and Sigmund H. The Horstmanns conducted business in Philadelphia and New York under a number of corporate names.
Horstmann was more of a reseller (importer) (assembler) rather than a manufacturer. Many versions of the Horstmann’s mark have been seen, most on a variety of officer’s sabers. They carried a range of sword varieties rivalled only by the Ames Company. Most standard issue models were sold, as well as a huge variety of related military equipment. Most, if not all, blades were imported from Germany, and some still carry marks from their German makers. Horstmann held government contracts for 1043 cavalry sabers, 1143 NCO swords, 270 musician swords, and 87 light artillery sabers, and is the only known maker of the M1840 Marine sword.
M1860 Colt Army and M1858 New Model Remington revolvers.
The holster used for both of these revolvers....E. ###lord marked.
Two other revolvers that were used.
This Model 1851 Colt Navy was manufactured in 1857 and purchased by the U.S. Government and shows the US frame marking and the
M.M. inspectors cartouche on the left grip (M. Moulton)
This U.S. Martial model is known as a Navy-Army as it has the brass back strap, and small rounded brass trigger guard. It was purchased by the U.S. Government for use by the army.
NOTE;
The '51 Navy-Navy had U.S. stamped on the frame with an "iron back strap" and U.S.N stamped on the metal butt of the back strap.(Later versions had no U.S.N. markings but had the U.S frame marking)
Model 1858 Starr Army revolver, also US Government purchased.
Three of the most common carbines used by the U.S. Cavalry during the Civil War.
Sharps,Smith and Spencer.
The two principal U.S. Cavalry sabers Model 1840 and Model 1860.
Model 1840 top(aka Old Wrist Breaker) Model 1860 bottom.
Both were manufactured by Ames.
600 Model 1840 sabers were first manufactured by Ames in 1845 in time for the Mexican/American War (1846-1848) and later used during the Civil War.
Additional inspector acceptance markings on this M1840 saber.
JCB-Joseph C. Bragg ASI 1841-49
NWP –Nahum W. Patch ASI 1831-51
WAT-William Anderson Thornton, Captain USA 1840-66
He held several positions in the inspection system as Inspector Contract Arms;Commanding Officer at Watertown and New York.
Brevet BG, 1865.
1863 date marking on the Model 1860 Ames saber.
A.D.K. inspector Andrew D. King
Ames manufacturers address marking.
David
An excerpt from a much longer article about the Ames Mfg Co.
Two mill villages settled along the Chicopee River in northern Springfield were called Factory Village and Cabotville. Cabotville was where Nathan and James Ames eventually chose to establish their firm in 1834. The swords were stamped variously “NP Ames, Cutler, Springfield” and “Ames Mfg Co., Cabotville,” as the firm evolved, and the year the weapon was made. In 1848 this most northern section of Springfield split off and became a separate town called Chicopee, and their swords were now etched with this name, just as it was on the gold presentation sword made for Mexican War figure Brigadier General John A. Quitman, presented to him by President James Knox Polk, ordered on April 18, 1848, when the new town of “Chicopee” was a week old.
By 1845, the railroad had come to Chicopee. The Republic of Texas was born, followed by the Mexican War, and by virtue of its government contracts for swords and side arms, Ames had a part in both events. It is interesting to note that the many of the members of the community, indeed in the state, did not support the war against Mexico. It would not be the last time conscience clashed with business interests in the soon-to-be Town of Chicopee.
At the beginning of the Civil War, about 500 employees worked at Ames; later in the war, it grew to around 1,000. According to author Robert V. Bruce, “From the start Lincoln liked rifled cannon. As early as April (1861) he helped the James T. Ames Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, get a large order for rifled cannon.”
However, Ames was best known, for its swords. Over one-third the total contracts for swords issued by the Ordnance Department during the Civil War went to the Ames Manufacturing Company, almost 160,000 swords. The workers were noted for their ability to produce 1,000 swords in a 24-hour shift. During the war, Ames introduced an uncommon night shift, but demands continued to be so great that the company found it necessary to import swords from abroad to fill U.S. government contracts.
The coming war would create a maelstrom of contradiction for James T. Ames. He was already a prominent man in Chicopee, and representing an industry which was now of top importance to the United States government once the Southern states seceded, but he also turned a profit selling to the soon-to-be enemy before the embargo on such sales was enforced. Ames swords were purchased by the states of Virginia, Mississippi, Maryland, and Georgia as late as 1860. War, by this time and to most people, seemed unavoidable, and these customers would soon be the enemy.
Soon, there would be no more orders from the South with the coming hostilities, and the U.S. Government due to the loss of Southern arsenals would come to depend more upon the independent manufacturer. By 1864, the Ames Manufacturing Company would be among the Union’s most important private manufacturers of side arms, swords, and light artillery, and the third largest producer of heavy ordnance.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ames also manufactured very elaborate presentation swords which are beautiful pieces to behold, and superb examples command “big bucks”.
I don’t own any of those.
Ames manufactured the first knife blade bayonet shown below.
The Model 1861 Dahlgren knife bayonet... (Named after Admiral John A. Dahlgren, U.S. Navy)... one of two bayonets associated with the Whitney Model 1861 Percussion Navy ("Plymouth") .69 caliber Rifle.
The Whitney "Plymouth" rifle, named after the U.S.S. PLYMOUTH, a naval ordnance testing ship which had been built under Dahlgren's supervision, has the distinction of being the only U.S. contract arm to be originally rifled in .69 caliber.
U.S. Navy inspector's initials DR for Daniel Reynolds.
This piece is dated 1864.
Model 1840 Musician’s swords were also manufactured by Ames.
This example is 1864 dated.
Ames manufactured the Model 1850 Foot Officiers sword....I don't own one.
The one I own is described below.
W.H. Horstmann was the importer of this sword; the manufacturer “might” have been Gebruder Weyersberg, in Germany.
The left ricasso marking is;
HORSTMANN
& SONS
PHILADELPHIA
W.H. Horstmann & Sons, NY and Philadelphia
William H. Horstmann was a German immigrant arriving in Philadelphia in 1816. He established a military goods business in the mid 1820s and with his two sons William J. and Sigmund H. The Horstmanns conducted business in Philadelphia and New York under a number of corporate names.
Horstmann was more of a reseller (importer) (assembler) rather than a manufacturer. Many versions of the Horstmann’s mark have been seen, most on a variety of officer’s sabers. They carried a range of sword varieties rivalled only by the Ames Company. Most standard issue models were sold, as well as a huge variety of related military equipment. Most, if not all, blades were imported from Germany, and some still carry marks from their German makers. Horstmann held government contracts for 1043 cavalry sabers, 1143 NCO swords, 270 musician swords, and 87 light artillery sabers, and is the only known maker of the M1840 Marine sword.
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