The LeFaucheux was one of the only foreign-manufactured revolvers to have. Way into Union service with known serial numbers in the 25,000 to 37,000 range. The Springfield Research Service serial number books list the serial numbers for 69 Lefaucheux revolvers that were in the possession of Company B of the 9th Missouri State Militia Cavalry during 1863. These 69 revolvers range from serial number 33,895 through 42,522.
As early as December 1861, it had become clear to both and that the Union and the Confederacy would need to import longarms and revolvers from Europe in order to equip the tens of thousands of volunteers fighting on both sides of the line. Although the need was far greater for the Southern states, where armsmaking was not a widespread industry, even in the more industrialized North the burden of war would soon outstrip production. In 1862 President Lincoln commissioned Marcellus Hartley, a partner in the New York firearm-importing firm of Schuyler, Hartley & Graham, to supply the Union with French Lefaucheux revolvers and ammunition. The Lefaucheux was to become the fourth most commonly used revolver in the American Civil War, surpassed only by the Colt, Remington and Starr percussion pistols. More Than A Decade Ahead Of American Makers By the mid 1840s, rimfire cartridges were already in use throughout Europe, and by 1854 the first center-fire ammunition had been developed—thus the Europeans were more than a decade ahead of American armsmakers.
There was, however, a third type of metallic cartridge, the pinfire, invented in 1843 by French gunmaker Casimir Lefaucheux. His innovative design, which used a small brass pin protruding from the cartridge to ignite an internal primer cap, was so well-received throughout Europe that by the late 1840s, armsmakers were manufacturing revolvers, rifles, and even shotguns to work with a variety of Lefaucheux pinfire ammunition. The pinfire was an ingenious design; the spent cartridges could even be reloaded.
Although Lefaucheux died in 1852, his son Eugene continued his father’s work and in 1854 patented his own invention: the bored-through cylinder. He received his French patent on April 15, 1854, a full year before American Rollin White’s U.S. Patent for the same design. By 1857, when introduced its first.22 rimfire revolver, the Massachusetts armsmaker had purchased the rights to the White patent, thus giving S&W the exclusive right to manufacture revolvers with bored-through, breechloading cylinders in the United States. This would prove to be a great impediment to arming the North, as White and S&W aggressively litigated every patent infringement, putting several small U.S. Armsmakers out of business during the war.
Since S&W was years away from designing its first large-caliber cartridge revolver and was effectively preventing any other U.S. Manufacturer from making them, between 1862 and 1865 the Union andConfederacy imported thousands of Lefaucheux revolvers. Ordnance Dept. Purchased 1,900 pinfire revolvers through Hartley and another 10,000 under direct contract during the war. The Confederacy followed suit, as well as purchasing pinfire versions of the South’s most powerful revolver, the nine-shot LeMat, manufactured in France and Belgium. The Ordnance Men On the Union side, Marcellus Hartley handled the majority of requisitions for imported firearms.
A key figure in American industry (importing pinfire arms and ammunition before, during and after the war), Hartley was also responsible for establishing the Union Metallic Cartridge Co., one of only three American firms known to have manufactured and marketed pinfire ammunition in any quantity. UMC eventually became one of America’s most important ammunition manufacturers. Immediately after the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, Jefferson Davis sent Capt.
Caleb Huse on a mission to Europe to evaluate the purchase and importation of arms for the Confederacy. At the start of the war thousands of Southerners went into battle with little more than an issued musket, if one was available, and a single-shot flintlock or percussion pistol—arms that had been out of date since the Mexican-American War of the 1840s. This is not to say that Southern states did not manufacture guns; quite the contrary, Southern gunmakers were very skilled but more accustomed to handcrafting sporting rifles, fowling pieces, and dueling pistols. They were disinclined toward mass production; that had always been the work of Northern manufacturers, such as Colt’s and Remington. Before the war there had been many retailers such as Mitchell & Tyler, Kent, Paine & Co., and Samuel Sutherland in Richmond, Va.; Hyde & Goodrich in New Orleans and other prestigious firms across the South that imported fine pistols and longarms from Europe, thus the South was, by nature, more accustomed to foreign-made arms. The Union’s Cartridge Confusion European-made pinfire cartridges were designated in millimeters, which, for the U.S.
Ordnance Dept., already burdened with far too many different guns and calibers at the start of the war, made the pinfire cartridges a considerable issue to sort out. The French- and Belgian-made guns were made in an assortment of chamberings including 7 mm, 10 mm, 12 mm and 15 mm. The 12 mm (roughly a.44) was among the most commonly used, although more exotic Belgian pinfire revolvers with as many as 20 chambers in a massive double-stacked cylinder were chambered in 7 mm and 10 mm. It is interesting to note that payments for guns procured in England by the Confederacy were often made in trade for cotton because Confederate currency had so little value outside of the Southern States. Cotton was a badly needed commodity in Great Britain, which gave the South an advantage in purchase negotiations.
By early 1863, Caleb Huse, promoted to the rank of major by Jefferson Davis, had shipped thousands of British, French and Belgian pinfire revolvers and long arms to the Confederacy, thus becoming a pivotal figure in the Civil War. An 1851 graduate of West Point (seventh in his class) he served at West Point from 1852 to 1860 when he was appointed commander of cadets at the University of Alabama. At the start of the war he resigned his position to join his former West Point commandant, Robert E. Lee, in support of the Confederate cause.
Though he first served in the Army, his knowledge of firearms made him a perfect choice for Ordnance. Living until age 74, Huse was one of the oldest Civil War veterans.
He died on March 12, 1905 at his home in Highland Falls, N.Y. After the war he founded the Highland Falls Academy, also known as “The Rocks,” a military preparatory school designed for young men who planned to attend West Point. Among his early students was a young soldier named John J. The guns imported from England, Belgium and France, both before and during the war, played a significant role in not only arming the Confederacy, but the Union as well. One could say that the British and the French were dispassionate, openly selling arms to both sides. While that is certainly one view, Samuel Colt (as well as other Northern armsmakers who were still delivering guns to the South at the beginning of the war) would have simply considered it good business.
LSB#: 171216JE07 Make: Belgian, Possibly Eugene Lefaucheux (An almost identical revolver, except with open top instead of top strap is shown on ) or Victor Malchair, from the “MV” on the grip frame. Model: Pinfire Revolver Serial Number: 489 Year of Manufacture: 1866-1877 (The above web site shows a patent drawing for a revolver similar to this one, although perhaps more rudimentary, by Maurice Arendt dated 1861. So, we don’t think it would have been made before that. The oval “E / LG /.” proof mark was used on cylinders between 1866 and 1893, and the crowned inspection mark wasn’t used after 1877.) Caliber: 11mm Pinfire (Bore measures about 0.433” inches.) Action Type: Single or Double Action Revolver with Side Loading Gate Cylinder Markings: The underside of the frame just in front of the trigger guard is marked “489”.
The underside of the barrel assembly just below the ejector rod is marked with a “Crown / q”. Crowned inspection marks were used from 1853-1877, after which they were replaced with starred letters. The underside of the barrel just in front of its lug is marked “v”. The left side of the grip frame is marked “MV”, “2” and with what could be “TL”. (MV could be the mark of Victor Malchair).
The circumference of the cylinder is marked with a circled “E / LG /.” proof mark and a “Crown / q” inspection mark. Barrel Length: The round barrel is 6 5/16” in length with a thick full-length solid rib. Sights / Optics: The front sight is a tall bead screwed into the barrel’s rib.
The rear sight is “V” notch fixed to the top of the top strap. Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are floral engraved hardwood on a saw-handle grip frame. There are steel diamond shaped escutcheons around the grip screw in each grip.
There are a few tiny handling marks in the grips and light wear in the edges of the engraving. The grips rate in about Fine overall condition. Type of Finish: The finish was originally blued with deep full engraving on the cylinder and the sides of the frame, with light engraving on the recoil shields, trigger guard, top strap, and the rear of the barrel and its lug. Finish Originality: The finish is original.
Bore Condition: The bore is gray with light wear in the pronounced rifling. There are spots of moderate erosion about 1” from the muzzle. Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 6% of its metal finish.
The cylinder and loading gate still retains most of their blued finish, with thinning on the edges. The remainder of the finish shows surface loss. There are small spots of light erosion scattered over the surfaces, with a spot of heavier erosion in the cartridge groove on the right side of the frame under the loading gate.
There are light scratches from polishing in the barrel and its rib. The screw heads are distressed and the markings are thin in spots.
Overall, this handgun rates in about Very Good condition. Mechanics: The action functions correctly. There is a tiny amount of play in the cylinder lockup. We did not fire this handgun. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance requirements. Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None Our Assessment: This is a very interesting looking Belgian pinfire revolver, very similar to those produced by Eugene Lefaucheux. Except for the added top strap, which is screwed to the top of the frame at the hammer, it is almost identical to one of the revolvers shown at.
It has crowned inspection marks of the type used between 1853 and 1877, and an ovalled proof used between 1866-1893, but does not have any of the markings Lefaucheux was known to have used. Was the engraving added at a later date, removing the identifying markings? We don’t think so. Otherwise, why leave the proof mark and inspection markings on the cylinder? It was most likely made by another Liege craftsman, using one of Lefaucheux’s guns as an example, and adding a top strap. This revolver has deep floral engraving on the cylinder and the sides of the frame, with lighter engraving on the trigger guard, barrel, top strap and recoil shields.
Even the grips are deeply floral engraved. Please see out pictures for a better description than we can put in words. This is a great looking double action pinfire revolver that functions correctly, with only a tiny amount of play in the cylinder lockup. This revolver should be of interest to anyone collecting Lefaucheux style revolvers. CA Legal or CA Private Party Transferable: This antique revolver can be sold in California. Pinfire cartridges are obsolete, and this revolver will not need to be DROS’d. This does not apply to out of state residents.
LSB#: 171216JE07 Make: Belgian, Possibly Eugene Lefaucheux (An almost identical revolver, except with open top instead of top strap is shown on http://www.li. Photographer for Gun Digest Standard Catalog of Firearms. Shipping: Your item will be shipped within 1 week of receipt of good funds, usually the next day. You will receive an automatic notification with a tracking number upon shipment, to let you know that we have received funds.
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