The Colt factory fire in January 1864 did not help production of the 1860 Army, but the real reason for the drop off in orders to Colt was the Ordnance Department had grown tired of his pricing practices. Remington and Starr picked up the slack, but it was Remington that became the dominant army issue .44 caliber revolver. This is an excellent example of their “New Model Army,” serial number 106309, made and delivered about October 1864.

This revolver is completely original, in excellent condition, and follows the standard configuration for the serial number range with 8-inch rectangular barrel, exposed barrel threads, six-shot cylinder, pinched screw-in front sight, safety notches on the cylinder, etc. The grips are original two-piece walnut in good condition with a sharp Ainsworth inspector cartouche on the side. All markings in the metal are crisp, including the various small sub-inspector initials on various parts, and the three-line barrel address: “PATENTED SEPT. 14, 1858 / E. REMINGTON & SONS, ILION, NEW YORK, U.S.A. / NEW MODEL.”

The barrel, loading assembly, and frame have lots of original blue, thicker forward and thinning on the frame and cylinder from handling, with a slight shift toward plum or caramel brown on the forward frame and cylinder and some rubbing on edges and left rear of the frame above the grip from handling, but at least 80 percent overall. The screws show blue and crisp slots, indicating no basement gunsmith has been to work on it, and the brass has a nice mellow patina. The grips have a very tight fit to the frame, good edges and nice color with no evident wear. The only handling marks are a few light dings on the flat and bottom edge of the butt, which is almost always the case. The right grip shows the faint outline of an inspector cartouche. The left grip shows a very sharp “O.W.A.” for Oliver W. Ainsworth, the principle sub-inspector for Remington, who will be familiar to arms collectors from his later work at the Colt factory.

This is a very nice example of a principal cavalry side arm in the Civil War that could hold its own in a Civil War cavalry or martial pistol display.  [SR]

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