Show tt ak He Invented the tIle Gun That t 7 Helped Tame Tallie the Frontier L t By ELMO SCOTT WATSON NR NC hundred years Tearl ago Igo this month month month-en on February 23 25 1830 1810 to tobe tobe tobe be there exact there was 11 Issued In Washington D. D C. C a patent for an Invention which probably attracted little attention at It atthe atthe the time but bet which was 9 destined to be a maker of ot American history During tho be next neIt three thre quarters of a century It would not only become a II common name analogous In usage usa to Pullman for a sleeping car and Ford for an automobile but It would also be nn an Important factor In taming the V V American frontier and revolutionize military tactics tactic 1 That la last t Is I. a II quotation from the tho recent biography of the man to whom the patent was wan Yankee Issued Arms Maker the the Incredible Career CarPer of Samuel Colt Coil Colt written by Jack Rotten Rohan and lut published by Harper and Brothers For the Invention which was patented J just a century ago wise was the revolver the first successful firearm of I. I Its Ita kind In history Connected with Samuel's Samuels Colts Colt's revolver are lire two Interesting para pnra doxee dOlIs One of them t M Is that this weapon which would become so 80 much a symbol of ot the WIM IM Went fIt Went was produced tl by a II native of one of the oldest oldest- settled parts of ot the I oat The fhe other Is that It an eo Instrument In the conquest con con- quest qUAt of a o wild land had Its real genesis at tea sea Samuel Colt fA wn was wal born In Hartford Conn July Jull 10 11 1814 the third son SOD of Christopher and Sarah Caldwell Colt COiL Ills mother was a daughter of If MaJ Md John Caldwell a veteran of ot the Revolution The fact that the she wn was 1101 the daughter d f-f f t a soldier and therefore had bad I no prejudices against firearms probably had bad much to do with her sons son's early Interest In guns gun guns At Al the age of eleven I. Sam Colt was wa Indentured f J his hI to a farmer fanner near Glastonbury and during service there two factors had a decided Influence In shaping his hll future career TIle The only books book In this farm home were tho the thoi i Bible Dible the almanac and a volume known as III theS the S Compendium of ot Knowledge Young Colt spent A i. i most of ot his hla spare upare time reading rending the la latter t tor In It Ithe ithe he found considerable scientific Information Information- i an extended account of ot the work of Robert nobert Fulton Inventor of the steamboat an article describing the galvanic battery bolter and a formula for making gunpowder l Even Kven more Important however was wai the time he spent during his hll errands to the village store stare where according to his biographer crocker cracker rel rei philosophers weighed the destiny cf the re public The outstanding doings of ot the Revolution tion were still lUll being discussed From men who had hall the story from their fathers father when It was fresh new from the tho recollections of ot old m men n who mho had been on the ground Sam heard the legend of the shooting of General Fraser Irner at Saratoga by Tim Murphy and of other marvelous mar marvelous deeds deed Murphy had performed with his double rifle Wide eyed with Intelligent Interest the lad often listened to speculation as asto asto asto to the casualties that might have huo been Inflicted had bad the whole hole Continental army been blen armed with Ith like Uke weapons If some nation notion could Invent a gun tun In that would shoot five eve or six 1111 times without reloading that nation would rule the world In ID Inthe the opinion of ot the Glastonbury military ers era Rut nut of course the thing tiling was Impossible Sara Sam listening mouse like as he waited for the storekeeper to put up liP his hili o order der missed nothing of ot what was said IBid Analyzing the discussions at his hll leI leisure lure he discovered that Robert Fulton and several other Inventors had accomplished things deemed Impossible Im ins- possible until possible-until until they wets done lie He concluded that the tho local forums forum's opinion on repeating firearms firearms fire fire- arms arias might not cot after all be Infallible He lie decided de do tided he would be an Inventor and create the Impossible gun cun p Thus Thu was the germ of ot the idea planted In ID the Yank Yankee boys boy's mind It developed a little farther a year liter later when he went to work In hit his fathers father's textile plant at Ware Varo Mau Masi There he had access ac no- cess CIS to various chemicals and the opportunity to borrow tools toola of or all ull kinds from the millwrights Expanding upon the tho Idea of Tim Murphy's Murphys douWe dou dou- bio We rifle he bound tour four h barrels together and tried to make them revolve so 80 that t ench each In turn would come under the lock and fire lire Hut Rut more mare often than not Dot all four tour fired at al once so so 81 he lie had to give It up as 81 a 1 bad d Job Next Nelt he was VII apprenticed to a Captain SpauldIng SpauldIng Ing of ot the tho brig Carlo Corso which was wa sailing from Boston on a voyage to Calcutta India Young YO Sam esi especially thrilled over life lire m nil n a sailor lallor but lie he did dl enjoy watching w some of theold the theold theold old salts carve odd little knick knacks knick-knacks out of If wood While he had lied been employed In the telI textile tex tel I tile the factory at Ware he had suede mode the acquaint acquaint- ante IDeo of a young Joung mechanic tamed named Ellsha Elisha K K toot Root who had explained to him the value of making working drawings and then wooden models of some of or the things he was to invent Watching the tho sailors carve cant Slim Sans remembered Roots Root advice about models and set let about learning learning learn learn- ing to carve fie He acquired acquire considerable proficiency pro but when the voyage vou was half halt over he was 81 without any UbY Idea Iden on which to construct a amodel model all says Rohan But Rut one ono day In lu the tile Indian ocean a real Inspiration came caine to him hint Standing Idly watching the steersman he noticed no no- noticed tired that regarding of which way the wheel was wal spurt spud each spoke always came camo directly In Inline Inline inline line with a clutch dutch that could rould be set let to hold bold It ItHe lie He watched 1 fur a 4 long time and finally caught himself visioning holes In the rim rim holes holes which successively came camo In alignment with a stationary aperture which which the young I n nen en tor's tors Imagination tion Identified as aa the tide bore of a pistol The Tlde revolver re re- volver olver was wal conceived I 1 Sam had bad found use ulle for his leisure With the tile jackknife that i cost less Ius than a dollar he be tatt started d to wll whittle It out the foundation of ot a fortune which was to run ruo Into millions I IBy 1 By the time the voyage was Will over be he had hod a working model of hi his bl r revolver olver complete In is In every ery detail and satisfactory In performance Upon i his lda return home he showed his Invention to his hll father who caught his sons son's enthusiasm promised prom prom- Il lied d to finance the be Ilia pinking making kin cf ot two revolvers r. and to rosy pay for obtaining the patents If It they ther worked as III ucc as IS Sam said Bald they ther would however the run gunsmiths n ltha whom Christopher Colt engaged to make the revolvers looked upon the Idea Idel as a s boj boyish Ish nonsense and aull thoroughly un- un l workable Also th they y Va wanted to charge BO so much for their work that the elder eJler Colts Colt's enthusiasm cooled l and 1 he decided not to waste much money on the puns guns ISo ijo bo he engaged td an ordinary mechanic we- we to too o du the work lie He turned out a crude plea of ot workmanship which was far from ben being be n 10 tag ing a faithful reproduction Uon of ot young Sums Saw Idea The The result was wai that one of the revolvers reon r. r wouldn't lot J i 1 Ore fire at all and the other ether burst bunt at the first shot by bl this experience young oua Sam Saw told hi his father that he be would never rest relit until be he he r. r t had bad secured i s competent tent gunsmith who wl could do tb the precise fitting and cud delicate adjusting necessary nee f essary JS to a revolver revolt er and bad given his hll In Invention a fait fair trial So he lie went back to work In la his bis fathers father's fa- fa fir fir- f. f 1 ther's textile tUlIe milt mill hoping to save lave enough mone money from isle his earnings to employ a man who wio could make a n revolver as It U should be he made mad Hut But U t i.- i. was several years Ol e he was Will able to ret get et enough ahead head to lu hire John Julio Pearson a skilled l- l t. t 1 tr 1 1 M 1 1 I Ij j I f n vy I y Samuel Samuer Colt u I I z t M k rak t Texas Arm The Original Colt Old Model Wavy Navy Pistol With Carbine Attachment w-J w fat Pi- Pi Walker Pistol Frontier Six Shooter mechanic to set act up a In Haiti more and begin making samples of ot his revolvers lie He also Interested his father In the project again and the result was a trip to Europe where he secured Cured patents on his weapon In l England Prussia and l France Returning to America he borrowed from his father and amI went to WasTi Ington where on February 25 21 1830 his historic I patent was Will granted Then he set lIet about organizing I log ing a 8 corporation to manufacture nm and market his weapon and end on March 0 ti 1830 the New Jersey legislature chartered the Patent Arms Manu Manu- of Paterson But nut despite dl's this triumphal culmination of ot the young oung Yankees Yankee's efforts to create the Impossible gun his future path to success was a rocky ono one There w were were re quarrels quarrel with his hi relatives over the management of the company In which they had Invested their money there were all sorts aorta of financial troubles s struggles with competitors lawsuits lawI over patent Infringements and other difficulties dif dlf- for tor this pioneer Industrial enterprise To the student of ot the history of American bush bus ness nelll and Industry this new biography of ot Samuel Colt Is II Interesting because It shows that he was the first of ot the great American Industrialists st Colt not the modern motor car nr manufacturer conceived and first utilised standardized machine production division of ot labor and the be assembly line He Ue was one of at the first fint If not the first large large- scale employer to assume responsibility for tor the well being of ot his hla employees Colt showed the wa way to the modern promoters of ot wars he was the precursor of ot the modern munitions monitions kings a a pioneer In the art of ot playing one ODe nation against another to Increase his 1111 sales les Equally 1 Interesting Is II the part which his hll weapon wea wee pOD pan played in hi the military history of this country coun town try and more particularly In ID the history of at the frontier Unable to convince moss moss backed backed brass hats hata in the War department that his revolver and III his revolving rifle rille were superior to the bore smoothbore musket and shot single shot horse horae pistol to which they were devoted he next tried to get gel the Navy department to adopt them nut Cut again be he was un unsuccessful Then the panic year of 1837 1831 almost wiped out his business Hut But an Indian war saved sned him the him the war with the Seminoles in Florida Gen Ceo Thomas S S. S Jesup quartermaster general of ot the army arm was In charge of ot operations against the Seminoles and his second la III command was Co Col William S S. Hurney y a fine field fieM officer who regarded Colts Colt's Invention with great favor Harney reaU realized ed that the revolvers were ere just the arms needed In the peculiar type of ot war waged by the Indians In In- The tactics of ot the Seminoles were simple They would lie In ambush for the federal soldiers sol diers dlen and make mate a s feint attack drawing th the Ore lire from the single shot muskets Then TheD while the soldiers were reloading they would swarm over oyer them with the mama mal Indian tor force e and annihilate them hem Troops armed th guns luna shooting six alx times would be a sad ilia surprise to the Indians and Colonel larney was wal soldier enough to know It As AI a result Colt was able to sell Bell a considerable number of ot his hll guns to Jesup aud and and their success In 10 the Seminole war proved eva con Tine the Cavalry Charge aV 11 Y REMINGTON All AU pictures shown hown above from Rohan's Rohana Yankee Van Yan kee Arms Maker the Maker the Incredible Career of Samuel Samuel Sam Sam- uel Colt courtesy Harper and Brothers pub pub- fishers lishers I dIJ II v elusively to the War department their value as all weapons for our soldiers Another significant event at about this time was Colts Colt's meeting with Caps Capt Sam U H II Walker a famous Texas Ranger Banger leader who false had come to Washington with a delegation of frontiersmen to urge the admission of the new Republic of ot Texas TelOs as a state In the federal Union Up to this time Colt had been making a 34 31 caliber revolver but out of his hll conference In New NewYork NewYork NewYork York with Walker came the 44 caliber Walker Walker- Colt which soon became a favorite weapon on the southwest frontier A few years later Inter this gun became even more significant In that part of ot the country By Dy the time Texas was admitted to the Union In 1845 1843 war between Mexico and the United States was Inevitable lne President Polk sent a force under Gen Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande Orande to protect the new state against its former rulers the Mexicans When a detachment detach detach- ment meat of ot American cavalry was ambushed by a Mexican patrol Its III commander n a Captain Thornton Thornton Thorn Thorn- ton was WI the only man who escaped and he had shot his wa way to freedom with a brace of Colt revolvers erL General Taylor was Impressed by this fact tact and asked for more information about these weapons Capt Sam Walker of ot the Rangers Bangers who was wa guarding Taylors Taylor's lines Imes of ot communications told the he general that the only thing wrong with the revolvers re was that there were not enough of ot them Thereupon Taylor sent Walker to Wash Wash- to make known this need Deed to the President President dent and the result was wag an nn order on Colt for 1000 of his revolvers which he at nt on once e supplied More than that he put over o as clever er a publicity campaign as any moll modern ern press agent ever thought h of oC doing It was wal not the sales soles of or his revolvers to the army that made Sam Colt sa says It Ii was the manner In which he capitalized the victories vie vic tortes tories of It the Americans American over numerically supe nor forces forcel The revolvers In use nt ot Resaca de la Palma Monterey and Buena Duena Vista were few am and tar for between But nut those few when Sam Colt go goto got gotto gotto to spreading the story around the world ac so- accounted accounted counted for the defeat of ot the Mexicans And the latter glad of at any excuse for tor their cheerfully corroborated his claim lt It If It the Mexican war gave Sam Colt his first firs real start the War Between the States sent his enterprise booming toward the pinnacle of ot suc sue cess CISS The extent of that conflict soon called for production of at the new weapon on a bigger scale than ever before In 1801 the Colt factories turned out nearly revolvers The nex next year production jumped to more than nut lint the Inventor did not live to see Bee the amazing success of ot the thin thing which he had whittled out of ot otwood wood on the brig Corso lIe He died January 10 1502 but |