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CIVIL WAR Extremely Scarce CONFEDERATE LeMAT Grapeshot Percussion REVOLVER OVER/UNDER REBEL REVOLVER
Guns International #: 103604807 Seller's Inventory #: 259635
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: 956
Total Number of Listings: 45589
Seller: FFL Dealer
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
Payment Types Accepted: Credit Card, Certified Check, Money Order
Description:
CIVIL WAR Extremely Scarce CONFEDERATE LeMAT Grapeshot Percussion REVOLVER
OVER/UNDER REBEL REVOLVER
Here Ancestry Guns presents an extremely scarce antique Confederate Second Model LeMat Grapeshot Percussion Revolver manufactured circa 1864-65 in Paris, France. A substantial but unknown number (estimated at roughly 2,000) of LeMat revolvers were purchased by the Confederate government during the Civil War. This LeMat revolver is a .42 caliber percussion revolver invented by Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orleans, which featured an unusual secondary 16 gauge smooth-bore barrel capable of firing buckshot. 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. It was a 9-shot revolver coupled with a five inch 16 gauge buckshot barrel sitting underneath the primary revolver barrel. It was a single action mechanism that the operator needed only to manage the lever on the hammer to put the revolver into the secondary position to fire the buckshot round out of the bottom barrel. Due to the buckshot capability, the LeMat revolver earned itself the nickname of “Grape Shot Revolver” from Confederate forces. 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 when he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in 1864. General Beauregard's personal engraved LeMat, which he carried throughout the war, is preserved at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
Manufactured as one of just some 2,050 of the Second Model LeMat revolvers made according to Flayderman. Dr. Jean Francois Alexander LeMat (1821-1895) is best remembered for this percussion version of his Grapeshot revolvers which were famously used by the Confederacy during the American Civil War, but he continued to pursue and alter his designs in the post-war era. Top of barrel marked in “Col. Le Mat Bte. s.g.d.g. Paris” with matching serial numbers on the barrel and frame.
The overall condition is fair. Dark patina throughout. Observable numbers match on the revolver barrel, the shotgun barrel, hammer, and the frame. The action of the hammer and trigger is strong and the cylinder. The barrel selector is a period replacement. The rammer, sideplate, and barrel/frame fastener are absent. This is a functional example of a rare LeMat revolver, famed for its singular design as well as its history of having been used by notable Confederate officers during the American Civil War.
Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.
Barrels: Upper - 7 inches; Lower - 5 inches
Caliber: Upper - .42 Percussion; Lower - 16 Gauge
Overall condition as seen in photos.
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Guaranteed AUTHENTIC & Includes CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY.
$12,500
#259635
SOLD
Antique: Yes