The colt six shooter will always be a legend to Texas. Whether you know

it as an accurate, cowboy, Texas Ranger, gun-slinging, out West, corral gun, or

as a little protection, the colt will never be forgotten in Texas.

Sam Colt is known as the inventor of the first revolving firearm. Sam's

mother died when he was six and his father owned a silk mill in Ware,

Massachusetts. When Sam Colt was seven, he was fascinated by guns. He took

apart his father's gun in a field and was able to successfully rebuild it.

Science, adventures of an active life, and mechanics were all the favorite

passions of young Samuel Colt.

During 1830 - 1831, Sam Colt was abroad at sea. It was during these

years that Samuel first conceived the idea of a revolving firearm. Some think

it may have come from watching the revolving wheel of the ship, turning and

locking. While on board ship, Sam must have seen other revolving firearms in

London or India. Sam carved a wooden model of his ideal gun while he was at

sea. None of what Sam may have previously seen on revolving guns could have

led to his invention. His ideas were not copied from any source, even though

the revolving idea was not unique.

When Sam arrived home from sea, he showed the wooden model to his

father and a family friend. This friend was Henry Ellsworth, Commissioner of

the United States Patent Office. Both Sam's father and Mr. Ellsworth were

greatly impressed by the model. They encouraged Sam to file for a patent for

his revolving firearm.

On February of the 25, in the year 1835, the first United States patent

was granted for a colt revolver. The patent that Samuel received covered eight

basic features. First, the application of caps at the end of the gun cylinder.

Second, the application of a partition between the caps, as well as other basic

ideas. The other areas of the patent cover the application of certain parts

of the gun, the principle of locking and turning the cylinder , and all of the

basic revolver parts.

In 1848, the new pocket model revolver was introduced. Colt devised an

alternative means of loading the gun - removing the barrel and cylinder, and

either switching an empty cylinder for a loaded one or using the axis pin as a

ramrod. This gun was nicknamed the "Baby Dragoon" because it resembled the

bigger Dragoon. The pocket-sized pistols had a larger span of appeal to the

public. Even Sam Houston of Texas ordered a Baby Dragoon from his friend Sam

Colt.

Houston told Colt, "(If) you have a small pistol, or will soon have one

made of choice quality, I wish you to bring it with you as I wish to purchase

one. I did not know (of them) until a few days since- I then saw one for the

first time and was greatly pleased with it." The type seen be Houston was an

actual Baby Dragoon with a square-back trigger guard and a Texas Ranger scene on

the cylinder. This particular scene was of a Texas Ranger and an Indian in a

fight scene.

The colt revolver served a great purpose for the Texas Rangers. This

pocket-sized gun could be casually carried around and easily reloaded. The

beauty of the gun was its six consecutive shots and its precise accuracy. The

Texas Rangers and other Texas gunslingers know Colt as the "cream of the crop"

in gun making, supreme revolving techniques and great precision make Colt the

number one gun for Texans.

Bibliography:

1. The Handbook of Texas, p 382

The Texas Historical Association

2. Colt : An American Legend, all pages

Wilson Publishings ; Robert Lawrence Wilson

3. How It Works, p 3240

H.S. Stuttman Inc.