Colt Model 1861 Navy

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 14:20 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 12:40

The Colt Model 1861 Navy was cap and ball revolver designed and manufactured by Colt’s Manufacturing Company in the United States during the American Civil War. It was a six-shot revolver that used a percussion cap to fire .36-calibre lead balls. It was similar in construction to the .44 calibre Colt Army Model 1860. About 38,000 of these revolvers were manufactured from 1861 to 1873.

Like the Army Model 1860, the M1861 was also used during the American Civil War. It was more widely used by the Confederate Army when compared to the Army of the United States which preferred the Army Model 1860. It was preferred more for its lighter recoil because of its lower .36 calibre.

The Model 1861 Navy had very few variants. The first 100 revolvers manufactured had fluted cylinders. Some 100 revolvers were also manufactured for a shoulder stock. With the exception of the first fifty revolvers, all of these had a capping groove.  

The Colt M1861 faced competition from the Adams self-cocking revolver in England. The Adams revolver used .49 calibre lead balls and did not require the hammer to be pulled back in order to fire. However, the M1961 was more popular the Adams revolver because it was mass produced. Adams revolver, on the other hand, was hand crafted by skilled workers. In the Unites States, the M1860 and M1861 faced competition from the Remington Model 1858 revolver.

The Colt Model 1861 was usually loaded with paper cartridges. The paper cartridge contained the correct quantity of black powder along with a lead ball or a cone shaped projectile and enabled the soldier to reload the revolver much faster. When the revolver was fired, the nitrated paper of the cartridge would get completely burnt.

The revolver could also be manually loaded by pouring the black power down the muzzle and placing a lead shot. Usually, only 5 cylinders of the revolver would be loaded for safety reasons. However, some would load all the 6 cylinders but wouldn’t place a percussion cap on the 6th cylinder.

Together with the Colt M1860, the M1861 was widely used and led to the death of the cap-and-ball weapons. It was on the forefront of firearms technology and made its distinct mark on the history of firearms.

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