Colt Rifles Are Issued

Colonel Ripley, the Chief of Ordnance, was against the idea of arming the Sharpshooters with anything but common muskets or rifles of Springfield armory manufacture. The men of the Sharpshooter regiments apparently wanted to have the Sharps rifle. Yet Berdan himself must have been in favor of the Colt, to have them the first pattern issued.
Doing business with the Army in the early days of the Civil War was to do business with a hydra—if you couldn’t sell to one head, you could always count on cooperation from another. The secretary of the Colt Company, Hugh Harbison, was in Washington seeing officers of new regiments and endeavoring to either sell them Colt guns directly or have them requisition them from the Ordnance Department. Harbison reported the whole Berdan business to Sam Colt early in December, with great success. Aiding Harbison was Colt’s friend Randolph Barnes Marcy, formerly of the Topographical Engineers and a fan of the Colt rifle since 1856. Marcy in 1861 was chief of staff for McClellan, and as the executive officer of the Army of the Potomac, authorized to order and requisition arms.
Head Quarters, Army of the Potomac Washington Dec. 2, 61
Hon. S. Cameron
Secretary of War
Sir:
Genl. McClellan is desirous that the 1st Regiment of Col. Berdan’s Sharp Shooters should be armed with Colt’s improved pattern repeating Rifles, which have been offered to the Govt at $45.00 each and which offer through Col. Berdan’s efforts is $7.50 less than he charged the Govt. This price is very low for

Magnificent Whittmore offhand match rifle was presented to General Grant by “Citizens of Providence, R.I.” after the War. Set is typical, though luxurious, of fine rifles used by marksmen who enlisted in Berdan’s regiment. Loading picket ball through false muzzle ensured its being aligned with axis of bore. Muzzle is shown removed in view of rifle kit and in place, below, on barrel of arm. Hammer and lock detail with “snail” shield by cone seat suggest shapes associated with Greener, England, guns of 1850’s. Gold and silver decorations are lavish but basic style of arm is typical of best match or hunting rifles of period.

this arm and Genl McClellan would be glad to have it ordered as soon as practicable.    ,
Very respectfully,
Your obt Servt R. B. Marcy Chief of Staff
Marcy’s letter received the endorsement of the President on December 4th: “Understanding this to be substantially an order of Genl McClellan, let it be executed —A. Lincoln.”
Harbison immediately went to Washington to make sure that this order, which amounted to $45,000, did not get cancelled or shelved by Colt’s opponents in the Government. From the famous Willard’s Hotel where all the Congressmen and visiting dignitaries stayed, Harbison wrote to Sam Colt on December 7, 1861:

My dear Colonel,
I arrived here last evening after a long and tiresome ride. This morning I went out to see Col. Berdan. When I arrived I found he was in the City. On my return I called at General Marcy’s office and while there I met Col. Berdan and made arrangements to meet him at Willards. I did not see Genl. Marcy. I met the Colonel according to agreement and had a long interview with him. He feels very anxious about the rifles but says he must have them no matter what the consequences are. To show you what has been done, I enclose a copy of a letter (above quoted) which Genl Marcy addressed to the Secretary of War, also a copy of the endorsement of the president on said letter which will speak for themselves. Genl. McClellan has agreed to take hold of the matter himself today if time will permit. Secy Cameron referred the letter to his Assistant Secy and he (the Asst Secy) sent for General Ripley. After they had an interview together they called on Genl. McClellan and proposed to him that Col. Berdan’s Regiment be armed with the Springfield rifles, to which the General consented (Col. Berdan says that the only reason he can give for the General’s action is: that the whole matter had been arranged by General Marcy and himself and that Gen. McClellan was not familiar with the arrangement) and Colonel Berdan was at once notified to that effect. On its receipt the Colonel immediately started for the President and procured his endorsement. He then called upon Genl McClellan and had an interview with him. He told him that the rifles were positively promised to him by the chief of his staff (Gen. Marcy) and that he (Col.) had promised Colt’s Rifles to his men and that the President had also approved the action. Genl. McClellan then said that the rifles must be procured and that he would call upon the Secty of War himself and arrange the matter if possible. Col. Berdan says that Ripley is determined that the rifles shall not be ordered and Genl Marcy and himself are determined that they shall be ordered. So the matter stands at present. Col Berdan desires me to say to you that he has been fighting this matter for the past six weeks with all the energy that he could muster and he is determined not to give it up until he obtains what he wants. Should Genl McClellan fail to secure the order, he (Berdan) intends to still go further. The Colonel wanted to know if you would furnish him the rifles without an order from the Ordnance or War Department—provided he procured an order from Genl McClellan for the liberty of arming his Regiment with Colt’s rifles, said Rifles to be paid for within 30 or 60 days and in case they are not paid for he (Berdan) will agree to return them to you in good order and if you require it. He will furnish you personal security for the fulfillment of said agreement (in order that he may carry out his own and Genl Marcy’s wishes) but he hopes it will not be necessary to enter into such an arrangement. I told him I shall submit the matter to you for consideration. The Colonel further states that with the letters to (&c) which he has in his possession he can obtain an appropriation from Congress to pay for them and if he is compelled to take the latter course he will make it for a much larger number as he really wants 2,400 in lieu of 1,000 but in order to do this, the rifles must be on the spot. He has shown the sample to every member of Congress (both branches), that has visited his regiment and there has been quite a number of them out to see him and his men. His Regiment has a target shooting every Saturday and he gave me a very pressing invitation to go out and spend the day with him and see it, but money matters prevented. I have agreed to see him on Monday or Tuesday. I have now given you an outline of our interview and would request that you give me definite instructions about the rifles—in case that an order cannot be obtained from the proper parties. I should like to receive it before I see him again. After I got through with Berdan I immediately started for the Treasury department but had to wait some time before I could see Mr. Harrington, the Asst Secty of the Treasury. In our interview Mr. H. did not give much encouragement in reference to immediate payments. I insisted that you must have the money.
He finally told me that he would see what could be done and asked me to call again next week Tuesday. If I have my health I shall pay my respects to him Tuesday morning and in the meantime I shall try and present your letter to Mr. Cameron; also get forward all the items I can and if possible get them into his (Harrington’s) department.
If the Navy bills on the Boston and New York yards are received and you will send them forward together with the ones that are in one of the drawers of my desk (Mr. Sheldon will know where they are) I will try and get them through if possible.
The Navy Department are very anxious that the pistols which are ordered by them shall be forwarded at the earliest moment possible. It might be well to give this matter attention and have them delivered as soon as possible.
With kind regards to yourself, Mrs. C. and the young ladies, I remain
Yours faithfully.
Hugh Harbison

Harbison’s letter reveals Berdan’s strong liking for the Colt rifles. Eventually these arms were replaced by Sharps rifles in the hands of the Sharpshooters, but whatever may have been the real wants of the men, several points seem to be true. First, Berdan promised his men that they would be issued Colt rifles. Second, they were not issued the rifles at once. Then, after some groundwork by Marcy, Harbison, and Berdan, Lincoln paid a visit to the camp near Washington. An order for the Colt rifles was forthcoming and Berdan did not have to buy the rifles on terms as he suggested. Between January 1, 1861 and June 30, 1866, a total of 4,612 Colt’s revolving rifles were bought for $204,487, an average of slightly less than $45 each. This price was high, despite Colonel Berdan’s supposed “efforts” in getting the price down from $52.50 to $45 for the infantry rifle in .56 caliber. The “Army pattern” Colt revolving rifle, with a 31 5/16-inch barrel, weighing nine pounds, fifteen ounces, listed in 1860 at $43.50. It is unlikely that the bayonet would cost as much as $9 extra. There is a strong inference that Colonel Berdan was on “Colt’s side” in his fights with the Army Ordnance purchasing agents. Berdan’s rifles appear to have been delivered between December 7 and December 31, 1861, a total of 886 having been received at year’s end, including 70 from C. J. Brockway December 5, 1861.
Colt’s rifles have been vigorously condemned on the grounds that more than one chamber might go off at once. Not one instance of this is recorded by the unit historian, Captain Spencer. But the Colts were easy to put out of commission. The Berdan riflemen were accustomed to stripping their guns to the last screw and pin in cleaning them after firing. The lockwork of the Colt revolving rifle with its hammer on the side and many small parts is tricky to reassemble. While there were many good features of the Colt, it should not have been taken apart by the soldier in camp. But Berdan’s camp, with its dozens of cased sets of fine target rifles replete with screwdrivers of every description, was a basement mechanic’s delight. In ordinary service, the Colts would have stood up well. But no mechanism on earth can be designed so it is proof against the wiles of a determined putterer with a screwdriver. The Colts, if they failed at all, failed on the camp ground, not in battle.
The reception of the Colt rifles by the Sharpshooters seems, from the officers at least, to have been characterized by mixed emotions. Lieutenant Colonel Ripley (of Vermont, not the Ordnance Ripley) wrote:
“The War Department (agreed) to arm the regiment with revolving rifles of the Colt pattern, and had sent the guns to the camp for issue to the men with promise of exchanging them for Sharps rifles at a later day. They were five-chambered breechloaders, very pretty to look at, but upon examination and test they were found inaccurate and unreliable, prone to get out of order and even dangerous to the user. They were not satisfactory to the men, who knew what they wanted, and were fully confident of their ability to use such guns as they had been led by repeated promises to expect, to good advantage. When, however, news came that the rebels had evacuated Manassas, and that the campaign was about to open up in earnest, they took up these toys, for after all they were hardly more, and turned their faces southward. Co F was the first company in the regiment to receive their arms . .
The Vermonters’ morale boost on issuing Colts saved the regiment. Discontent over not being paid for their own rifles, and not receiving scope-sighted Sharps rifles as promised, had led the men to the brink of rioting. “Discontent became general and demoralization began to show itself in an alarming form,” reported Lieutenant Colonel Ripley. But with the issue of Colts, the discontent was stilled.
Captain C. A. Stevens, historian of the Survivors Association of the Sharpshooters and author of their official history, considered the Colts in a more gentle light.
“The regiment, except the two companies having target rifles, were armed with Colts five-shot revolving rifles, the long promised Sharps not having arrived. It was thought at first that these Colts would not shoot true. This proved not exactly the case, as they were pretty good line shooters, although there was some danger of all the chambers exploding at once. The shooting qualities of this arm were tested in several instances before getting into action, and some good shots were noted. Andrew J. Pierce, of Company G, a very clean and tasty soldier, while on the way down the Potomac made a trial shot of the five chambers in the presence of the regimental officers, at a buoy bobbing up in the river some 400 yards distant. The result was thus announced by Colonel Berdan, who, with the other officers, was intently watching with their field glasses:

“ ‘There, that will do, sir. You have struck the buoy twice, and it was well done.’
“Pierce had not an opportunity heretofore to make any targets, on account of the Wisconsin company having no arms in the Camp of Instruction, and this, his first chance to draw a bead, was very satisfactory to the officers mentioned.”