The Galleries
- Robert E. Petersen Collection
- Ancient Firearms - 1350 to 1700
- Road to American Liberty - 1700 to 1780
- A Prospering New Republic - 1780 to 1860
- A Nation Asunder - 1861 to 1865
- The American West - 1850 to 1900
- Innovation, Oddities and Competition
- Theodore Roosevelt and Elegant Arms - 1880s to 1920s
- World War I and Firearms Innovation
- WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Beyond - 1940 to Present
- For the Fun of It
- Modern Firearms - 1950 to Present
- Hollywood Guns
Colt Model 1848 Baby Dragoon Revolver
The five-shot Baby Dragoon, a smaller version of Colt's famous .44 caliber revolver, was the first pocket revolver to be manufactured by the company since its Patterson days. Approximately 15,000 were made between 1847 and 1850. These revolvers were available with 3-, 4-, and 5-inch octagonal barrels. Although some Baby Dragoons had attached loading levers, most did not. Like the full-size versions, the Babys had a square-back trigger guard, and early versions had the Texas Ranger and Indian fight engraved on the cylinder. Later examples featured a stagecoach holdup scene. SN 6700
Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut on July 19, 1814.
He showed an early fascination with science, and during his youth,
Colt studied both chemistry and mechanics. While still a boy, he
attempted to produce a pistol that was capable of firing multiple
shots without reloading, but his efforts were unsuccessful. In
1830-31, while the sixteen year-old Colt was serving as a seaman
aboard the brig Corvo, he observed the ship's wheel and the
relationship of the various spokes to the center hub. This inspired
him to make a wooden model of a revolving pistol.
Although others had already experimented with revolvers, Colt's
design was the first to automatically rotate the cylinder when the
gun was cocked. After his return to the United States, he showed
his model to his father, Christopher, and to Henry L. Ellsworth, a
friend of the elder Colt who was then serving as Commissioner at
the U.S. Patent Office in Washington. Both men encouraged Samuel to
continue with his work and to seek a patent for his design. At this
point in his life, Colt had an idea but no money with which to
proceed on his new career path. For the next four years, he worked
the traveling show circuit as "Dr. Coult of Calcutta." His lectures
and demonstration of nitrous oxide to crowds in the U.S. and Canada
provided a source of capital, which was forwarded to gunsmiths who
produced working versions of his firearms designs.
In addition to the money he received, this period in his life also
provided Colt with valuable experience in public speaking,
marketing, and public relations. At age 20, Colt gave up touring
and, with borrowed money, traveled to Europe to secure English and
French patents for his revolving pistol. Upon his return to the
United States in 1836, he also received a U.S. patent. In March,
1836, Colt formed the Patent Arms Company and began operation in an
unused silk mill along the banks of the Passaic River in Paterson,
New Jersey.
His first product was a ring-lever revolving rifle, available in
.34, .36, .38, .40, and .44 caliber, in which a ring located
forward of the trigger served to cock the hammer and advance the
cylinder for each shot. This was soon followed with a revolving
pistol. These five-shot "Paterson" revolvers featured folding
triggers, and were available both with and without loading levers
in .28, .31, and .36 caliber. Patent Arms also produced smoothbore
revolving carbines and shotguns.
The outbreak of war between the U.S. government and the Seminole
tribe provided Colt with his first break. Seminole warriors had
learned that soldiers were vulnerable while reloading their
single-shot firearms, and they developed a tactic of drawing fire,
then rushing the temporarily defenseless soldiers and wiping them
out before they could fire a second volley. Colt's revolving rifles
were quite effective against this, and the Army purchased his
products for use by troops in the Florida campaign. Unfortunately
for the young inventor and businessman, the Patent Arms Company
went bankrupt and ceased operation in 1842. The company's assets
were sold at auction, and Colt turned his attention to other areas,
including the use of electric current from galvanic batteries to
detonate underwater explosive mines. The U.S. government was
sufficiently interested in this idea that Colt received funding to
continue his work for possible use in harbor defense.
During this period, Colt met Captain Sam Walker of the Texas
Rangers. Walker and his fellow Rangers had experience with Colt's
Paterson revolvers, and one Paterson-armed troop of 15 men under
the command of Jack Hays had successfully charged and defeated 80
Comanches, then considered to be the finest light cavalry in the
world. Walker believed that an improved version of the earlier
revolver would be an asset on the frontier. The two men designed a
massive 4 pound, 9-ounce .44 caliber six-shot revolver, and the
government ordered 1,000 of them for issue to mounted troops. Since
Colt no longer had a manufacturing facility, he contracted with Eli
Whitney of Whitneyville, Connecticut, to produce these guns. This
order was completed in 1847, and Colt once again devoted himself to
firearms production.
He established a new factory in Hartford during that same year,
and began production of a smaller, lighter .44 caliber revolver.
These so-called "transitional Walkers" were followed by the First,
Second, and Third Model Dragoon revolvers, as well by as the Baby
Dragoon, the Model 1849 Pocket Revolver, and the Model 1851 Navy
Revolver. Many of these guns saw service through the Civil War and
beyond.
The discovery of gold in California stimulated the demand for
firearms, and Colt also received orders from Russia and Turkey
during the Crimean War. He expanded his operations to England,
operating a manufacturing plant in London between 1853 and 1857. By
this time, Colt operated the world's largest private armory, and he
had introduced standardized production, division of labor, and
assembly-line mass-production methods to his factory. In 1855, Colt
introduced a spur trigger revolver that featured a fully-enclosed
cylinder. These sidehammer, or "Root" revolvers, were named for
Elisha K. Root, a noted inventor and holder of the sidehammer
patent, who at that time was employed as Colt's factory
superintendent and Chief Engineer. Colt also produced the
sidehammer Model 1855 rifles and carbines for military and sporting
use, as well as a revolving shotgun.
In failing health, Colt expanded his factory on the eve of the
Civil War, and began production of a new, lightweight .44 caliber
Army revolver, followed a year later by a .36 caliber Navy version.
Samuel Colt died in Hartford on January 10, 1862 at the age of 47.
Although he did not see the end of the Civil War, his products
played an important role in its outcome. During the war, the
Hartford factory produced revolvers, as well as the Colt Special
Musket, based on the government's Springfield Rifle-Musket. The
Model 1860 Army revolver was the primary issue revolver for U.S.
troops, while other Colt revolvers were acquired through private
purchase. The Colt Special Musket was issued to state troops, and
the Model 1855 Revolving Rifle saw service with both Union infantry
and cavalry, as well as with Colonel Hiram Berdan's United States
Sharp Shooters.
Colt firearms have continued to play a significant role in
America's history. The post-Civil War period brought with it a
variety of metallic cartridge revolvers, including conversions of
percussion arms. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Single
Action Army revolver, often known popularly as the "Peacemaker,"
which saw widespread use in the hands of soldiers, settlers,
gunslingers, and peace officers. Colt also produced a variety of
other handguns, ranging from their deringer models to a line of .44
and .45 double-action revolvers. The slide-action Lightning rifles
competed for a place in the market dominated by Winchester's
lever-action models.
In the 20th century, Colt-produced arms have served with U.S. and
foreign forces in two World Wars, as well as a variety of limited
conflicts. The John Browning-designed M1911 semi-automatic pistol
is still in use after more than 70 years, and Colt machine guns,
also designed by Browning and manufactured under license, saw use
in everything from infantry positions to armored vehicles,
aircraft, and ships.
The Hartford-based company, now a division of C.F. Holding
Corporation, also produces the M16 battle rifle that is currently
used by both U.S. and foreign military forces. In addition to
military sales, Colt's revolvers, and the company's semi-automatic
pistols and rifles are popular with law enforcement agencies and
with competitive and recreational shooters.