Welcome to in the present day’s Picture of the Day! Patented in 1862 by Austin H. Freeman, round 2,000 of those .44 caliber, 6-shot revolvers have been produced by Hoard’s Armory in Watertown, New York throughout 1863-1864. Although none have been formally bought by the U.S. authorities, examples possible noticed use within the Civil Warfare by state contracts and personal purchases.
The Freeman’s distinguishing characteristic was its modern cylinder elimination system – a sliding latch on the correct aspect allowed the complete cylinder and axis pin meeting to rapidly 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 normal design resembling a mix of Remington and Starr revolvers of the period.
Regardless of this distinctive cylinder elimination characteristic, the Freeman failed to realize main gross sales success. Its restricted complete manufacturing of solely round 2,000 items makes surviving examples fairly uncommon artifacts representing the lesser-known sidearms that noticed motion within the closing years of the American Civil Warfare.
“These uncommon Austin T. Freeman patent revolvers have been manufactured by Hoard’s Armory in Watertown, New York, within the closing years of the Civil Warfare. The design seems to be 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 correct aspect that when pressed ahead permits the cylinder and pin to fall out to the correct. Whole manufacturing is barely estimated at 2,000 revolvers. None are recognized to have been bought by the Federal Authorities. Nevertheless, some might have been bought and issued by state governments, and others have 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.
