Schneider & Glassick

Though Bitterlich is little known today, two of his customers became famous when they combined to supply revolvers for the Confederacy. These were William S. Schneider of Memphis, and Frederick G. Glassick of the same city. Derringer-type pistols having the Bitterlich characteristics are known with the trade names of both Glassick and Schneider applied, indicating they were separate and competitive merchants, in the ante bellum days of this gambler haunted Mississippi River port. Schneider pistols may have wedge-fastened barrels, with oval silver stock escutcheons; the Bitterlich derringers for Glassick have a 4leaf escutcheon on the bottom of the stock, and the barrel is held by a screw from the bottom.
After War began, Schneider and Glassick merged into a new firm, advertised for all persons who had left guns for repair longer than 3 months, to get them, for they would turn the remainder over to the Confederate Government as of March 15, 1862. The two had embarked upon the manufacture of revolvers, and proposed to furnish the Confederacy with Colt-type revolvers of local manufacture. Schneider & Glassick revolvers are exceedingly rare, 14 having been made, and of three surviving specimens, two are iron-framed while one is brass framed. Barrels are Colt-type octagon. It is thought that these revolvers may actually have been made by Bitterlich for his erstwhile derringer distributors. A Bitterlich-type derringer, hammer fastened by a narrow nut instead of cap screw, and barrel held by the Glassick-type stock screw, is known marked “J. Hausmann.” His address is unknown, other than that the pistol has a Southern origin.

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CHAPTER 6 Rifle Muskets: Civil War Scandals

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Civil War Guns

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