This Remington Beals .36 caliber Navy Revolver is serial number 4102, dating it to about November 1861. Production ran to about 15,000 from 1860 to 1862. The government ended up with about 12,500 of them, largely through open market purchases and from arms dealers. With additional purchases by state units and individuals, most of them saw some type of military service. This one rates good for condition, with clear barrel markings reading, “BEAL’S PATENT SEPT. 14. 1858 / MANUFACTURED BY REMINGTONS ILION, N.Y.” The lettering is crisp with the exception of slight rubbing at the beginning and end of the second line.

The barrel shows some light dings and the frame has a little crustiness on the left rear, a tad on the right, and there is a patch of deeper pitting on the cylinder. The cylinder shows wear at the rear, including some chipping around the nipple recesses, and also shows safety notches, introduced in 1863, indicating the pistol likely saw some hard service, the cylinder was updated during a wartime ordnance rehab, and it then had further hard field service, judge from the wear to the cylinder. The cylinder pin is in place, but the wing-tip is broken off.

The grips show good color and fit, with some dings on the bottom of the butt and slight wear to the edges, but generally good surface with only minor handling marks. The brass has darkened from age, which is fine. The serial number dates the pistol and places it early the Third-Type, which used a very slightly smaller post for the head of the loading lever and a machine-knurled hammer. Army records to not usually distinguish between the specific pattern of Remington .36 caliber revolvers issued to troops, but at Gettysburg the 3^rd West Virginia and 17^th PA Cavalry, both in Devin’s brigade, had numbers of .36 caliber Remingtons, and throughout the war other cavalry units carrying them included the 7^th Illinois, 1^st Iowa, 3^rd Ohio, 11^th Kansas, 9^th Kentucky, 7^th Michigan, 3^rd and 11^th Pennsylvania, 12^th Tennessee, and others. In any case, these are interesting early-war revolvers with the last deliveries occurring in December 1862.  [sr] [ph:L]

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