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"The most prolific maker of handguns in the Civil War era was Samuel Colt. During the conflict his Hartford, Connecticut firm produced nearly 150,000 .44 caliber six-shot revolvers (the 1860 "New Model Army"). The vast majority of them went to the Union war effort, but Colt sold arms to all buyers until a few days after the firing on Ft. Sumter. These guns were durable and powerful. From 16 yards, a bullet from a Colt Army revolver penetrated seven white pine boards, each 3/4" thick, separated by one inch of dead space between them. Colt also manufactured a "Navy" model revolver in .36 caliber. Introduced in 1851, the Navy was widely available in the South, and a favorite arm of Confederate horsemen. Before the war's end, 185,000 Navy revolvers had been produced.
Another major supplier of revolvers to the Federal government was the firm of E. Remington and Sons, of Ilion, New York. Beginning in 1858, Remington introduced an improved series of simplified revolver designs that featured a solid frame, which made the arm stronger and cheaper to produce than its primary competitor, the Colt. The War Department purchased approximately 114,000 .44 and .36 caliber Remington revolvers at $12.00 per gun, while Colt was still charging $25.00 for their New Model Army.
This considerable difference in price cost Colt's much government business during the latter half of the war. Less expensive than a Colt, the Remington was an eminently serviceable handgun. At the close of the conflict, when discharged Federal cavalrymen were given the option to purchase their issue sidearm, more Remingtons were sold than Colts.
A variety of other firms also supplied revolvers to the Federal forces in limited numbers. Whitney, Allen, Savage and others provided less than 40,000. Smith and Wesson made small, metallic cartridge .22 and .32 caliber revolvers during this time, and these were sold in small lots or purchased privately.
Many foreign-made revolvers were imported and used by both sides. The French Lefaucheux "pin-fire", which took a special .45 caliber cartridge, armed many Federal troops in the Western theater. The Confederates purchased several thousand 5-shot "Kerr" revolvers, and a number of other types as well. The best-known of these, however, was the Le Mat. Developed in pre-war New Orleans, Louisiana, by Dr. Alexander Le Mat, this pistol fired nine .42 caliber bullets in addition to a .63 caliber shotgun charge.
Although a colorful pistol, and associated with such personalities as Confederate generals P.G.T.Beauregard, J.E.B. Stuart, and Captain Henry Wirz, relatively few were manufactured. Production problems proved difficult to overcome, and less than 3,000 were produced in France and England.
Confederates also made their own revolvers, although in numbers far short of Federal production. It is estimated that less than 10,000 Confederate handguns were manufactured, mostly in Georgia. Southern arms-makers were cursed with a lack of proper materials to work with. Steel was not available, and brass and iron were often substituted. Brass was scarce, and the bells of many Southern churches were donated "for the Cause" and melted down to supply it. That brass became pistol frames in some Confederate revolvers.
The most successful Confederate revolver maker was the firm of Griswold and Gunnison. Between July of 1862 and November, 1864, nearly 3,600 pistols were produced in Griswoldville, near Macon (about 70 miles south of Atlanta). "Griswolds", as they were called, were .36 caliber brass-framed copies of the Colt Navy. While production totals do not compare favorably with that of the Colt company in Connecticut, it is interesting to note the following: The Griswold factory was operated by 24 people, 22 of whom were slaves!
Another Confederate firm, Spiller and Burr, produced a solid-frame Whitney pattern .36 caliber revolver. They made around 750 brass-framed copies in Atlanta. Production was unbearably slow, however, and the Confederate government bought the facility and moved it to Macon. There another 689 guns were completed before December of 1864. "
