Every year, SCVi Charter School has a Living History event where they re-enact a civil war battle (See Facebook Event). Here are some common civil war pistols that would have been carried into a battle of this type. Civil War Officers carried many different kinds of revolvers. They types purchased by the Union U.S. Military are marked in the table with **. Though, others were privately purchased.
Replicas of some of these will be at the event for further inspection. (Marked in table with ***)
| Pistol |
Description |
Year Introduced |
Shots |
Caliber |
Total Number Made |
Typical Barrel Length |
| Colt "1851" Navy ** *** | 36 caliber was standard for "Navy" model guns | 1850 | 6 | 36 | 257,348 | 7.5 inches |
| Colt "Baby Dragoon" | Pocket sized version of the earlier "Dragoon" pistol. | 1848 | 5 | 31 | 15,000 | 3 -6 inches |
| Colt "1849" Pocket | Although not issued by the military was often purchased by soldiers and carried into the conflict. | 1850 | 5 | 31 | 336,000 | 3 -6 inches |
| Colt 1860 Army ** *** | Standard side arm of the U.S. Army from 1860-1873 | 1860 | 6 | 44 | 200,500 (127,156 to the US Govt.) | 8 inches |
| Colt 1861 Navy *** | 36 caliber version of 1860 army with smaller grips. | 1861 | 6 | 36 | 38,843 | 7.5 inches |
| Colt 1862 Police | Half fluted cylinder, round barrel, creeping style loading lever. | 1861 | 5 | 36 | 28,000 | 4.5, 5,5, or 6.5 inches |
| Colt 1862 Pocket Navy | Octagonal barrel, roll engraved cylinder (Stagecoach hold up scene), hinged loading lever. | 1861 | 5 | 36 | 19,000 | 4.5, 5,5, or 6.5 inches |
| Remington "1858" New Model Army ** *** | Supplemental issue to the Colt 1860 until the 1864 Colt Fire where it became much more prevalent. | 1861 | 6 | 44 | 122,000 | 8 Inches |
| Whitney Revolver ** | The US Army acquired 10,587 of the revolvers between 1861 and 1864 and the US Navy purchased an additional 6,226 between 1863 and 1865. | 1857 | 6 | 36 | 33,000 | 7 5/8 Inches |
| Star Model 1863 Revolver ** | Starr revolvers were the third-most popular handguns purchased for use by Federal military forces. About 25,000 were purchased under contract by the U.S. government. The Starrs were the only American-made revolver produced during the Civil War that were available in both single- and double-action models. | 1863 | 6 | 36 | 32,000 | 8 Inches |
** Issued by Union Military to Officers.
*** Replicas will be at the event.
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