Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The Rogers & Spencer .44 caliber Army revolver represented a brief but successful foray into firearms manufacturing by the company during the Civil War. After previously producing firearms like the Pettengill revolver under contract, Rogers & Spencer designed their own single-action .44 revolver in 1864. Securing a contract for 5,000 from the Union Army, they impressively managed to fully deliver on the order over 10 months in 1865 – a rarity for contractors of the era. However, the war ended before the well-made revolvers could see combat. The entire production run of nearly 5,000 revolvers went straight into storage unopened until 1902, when they were sold as surplus to Francis Bannerman for just 25 cents each. While not adopted as the Union’s standard sidearm, the Rogers & Spencer represented the company’s competent firearms manufacturing abilities. Their ability to fully execute the Army’s order was a minor success, even if the timing prevented the revolvers’ issue. The few surviving examples today are an interesting glimpse into a lesser-known Civil War-era sidearm.
“These revolvers were only manufactured in 1865 and are very high quality. 5,000 of the estimated 5,800 manufactured were produced under contract for the U.S. Government, but they were delivered too late to see use in the Civil War. Most were sold via Bannerman’s in the early 20th century. This example has standard single letter inspection marks throughout and the “RPB” cartouche of inspector Captain R. P. Barry on the left grip. The barrel has a German silver cone front sight, and the top strap has the standard markings and the groove rear sight.”
Lot 2120: U.S. Inspected Rogers & Spencer Army Model Percussion Revolver. (n.d.-f). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/2120/us-inspected-rogers-spencer-army-model-percussion-revolver.
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