Welcome to right this moment’s Photo of the Day! Patented in 1862 by Austin H. Freeman, round 2,000 of those .44 caliber, 6-shot revolvers had been produced by Hoard’s Armory in Watertown, New York throughout 1863-1864. Although none had been formally bought by the U.S. authorities, examples doubtless noticed use within the Civil Battle by state contracts and personal purchases.
The Freeman’s distinguishing function was its revolutionary cylinder removing system – a sliding latch on the proper aspect allowed the complete cylinder and axis pin meeting to shortly slide out as one unit from the body. In any other case, it conformed to a typical “Military” revolver sample with a 7.5″ barrel, single-action mechanism, and common design resembling a mix of Remington and Starr revolvers of the period.
Regardless of this distinctive cylinder removing function, the Freeman failed to realize main gross sales success. Its restricted whole manufacturing of solely round 2,000 items makes surviving examples fairly uncommon artifacts representing the lesser-known sidearms that noticed motion within the ultimate years of the American Civil Battle.
“These uncommon Austin T. Freeman patent revolvers had been manufactured by Hoard’s Armory in Watertown, New York, within the ultimate years of the Civil Battle. The design appears to be like like a cross between the Remington and Starr revolvers. These revolvers have an attention-grabbing methodology of securing and eradicating the cylinder: a small change on the proper aspect that when pressed ahead permits the cylinder and pin to fall out to the proper. Whole manufacturing is barely estimated at 2,000 revolvers. None are identified to have been bought by the Federal Authorities. Nonetheless, some could have been bought and issued by state governments, and others had been little question bought privately and carried by troopers. “
Lot 1193: Hoard’s Armory Freeman Military Mannequin Percussion Revolver. (n.d.-e). Rock Island Public sale Firm. {photograph}. Retrieved March 21, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/element/83/1193/hoards-armory-freeman-army-model-percussion-revolver.
