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Rare Civil War CONFEDERATE Contract LONDON LeMAT Grapeshot REVOLVER Antique 9-Shot Cylinder with a Shotgun Barrel Underneath!
Guns International #: 102101231 Seller's Inventory #: 215048
Category: Civil War Revolvers - Antique Revolvers - Percussion
Seller's Information
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Seller: AncestryGunsLLC
Company: Ancestry Guns LLC
Member Since: 11/3/16
State: Missouri
Zip: 65203
Country: United States
Phone: (314) 707-7373
International Phone: 314-707-7373
Platinum Seller
Number of Active Listings: 1567
Total Number of Listings: 30377
Seller: FFL Dealer
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
Payment Types Accepted: Credit Card, Certified Check, Money Order
Description:
Rare Civil War CONFEDERATE Contract LONDON LeMAT Grapeshot REVOLVER Antique
9-Shot Cylinder with a Shotgun Barrel Underneath!
Here we present a rare antique Confederate Contract LeMat Percussion Revolver, manufactured circa 1864 in England. These were purchased by the Confederate government during the Civil War. The LeMat revolver was invented by Dr. Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orleans, which featured a 9-shot, .42 caliber cylinder with the unusual addition of a shotgun bore for buckshot under the .42 caliber barrel. It was a single action mechanism that the operator needed only to manage the tip-down lever on the hammer to put the revolver into the secondary position to fire the bottom barrel. Due to the buckshot capability, the LeMat revolver earned itself the nickname of "Grape Shot Revolver" from Confederate forces.
It saw service with the armed forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War of 1861–65. After the U.S. patent was secured for the revolver, LeMat partnered with the Paris based Girard and Company manufacturing firm to develop the new revolver for the Confederacy. He entered into a partnership with P. G. T. Beauregard (at that time a major in the U.S. Army) in April 1859 to market his handgun to the U.S. Army. Beauregard, besides being LeMat's cousin, was one of the first U.S. Army officers to resign and join the Confederacy.
When war broke out, LeMat received Confederate contracts for the production of five thousand revolvers, and plans were laid to manufacture the gun abroad and then import them into the Confederacy, which lacked the necessary facilities to produce the weapon locally. Confederate gun runners were able to slip shipments of the gun through the Union naval blockade into the hands of the Confederate forces. In addition to General Beauregard and Colonel LeMat, LeMat's revolver was used by such famous Confederate officers as Major Generals Braxton Bragg, J. E. B. Stuart, Richard H. Anderson, and Captain Henry Wirz. Confederate Major General J. E. B. Stuart "was known to favor the LeMat revolver" and was carrying a LeMat revolver at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in 1864 where he was mortally wounded. General Beauregard's personal engraved LeMat, which he carried throughout the war, is preserved at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
This pistol is from the collection of Clive Cussler. Cussler was a Korean War veteran who found fame as a fiction writer, finding success in thriller novels featuring the swaggering Dirk Pitt. Pitt was legendary when it comes to the modern gun culture. Just about any firearm that you could think of (and many you can’t) has graced the pages of a Clive Cussler novel! In his book Deep Six (1984) Dirk uses a LeMat revolver to save the POTUS’s life.
The overall condition is good. The top flat of the octagonal portion of the barrel reads “LEMAT & GIRARD’S PATENT LONDON”. Birmingham proofs on the cylinder chambers, rifled barrel, and the shotgun barrel. The action (hammer/trigger) remains strong and cocking the hammer does advance the cylinder, however, lockup does not occur due to the hand spring, which is broken (the hand is still present; this piece has the type of cylinder lockup that features the interrupted ratchet on the back of the cylinder, through which the hand can slide in, rather than the variety with the “pin in the hole” system). Both bores have darkened but remain in good shape, especially for their age, with the top barrel showing distinct rifling. The shotgun barrel has been plugged at the breech so that it cannot have a percussion nipple inserted. The percussion nipple for the shotgun bore is presently absent, though an aperture in the frame remains. The grips are firm with expected surface wear, smooth from use and age. The numbers on the frame, cylinder, loading lever, and barrel match.
Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.
Barrel lengths: Upper – 6-1/2 inches; Lower – 6 5/8 inches
Caliber: Upper - .42 Percussion; Lower - 20 Gauge (approximate)
Overall condition as seen in photos.
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ancestryguns
$18,745
#215048
SOLD
Antique: Yes