The official name for this model is the 1847 U.S. revolver. He fascinated collectors and became one of the rarest and most valuable of all American pistols. He is better known as the four-pound Colt Walker revolver. Its true value lies in the story of how it was created, and in the significant influence that it has had on American history.
Texas ranger
Samuel Hamilton Walker was born in Maryland in 1817. He was short and lean: he was 5 feet and 6 inches (168 cm) tall, weighing about 115 pounds (52 kg). He accompanied his older brother to Florida during the Second Seminole War in the late 1830s, and then first met with Colt's new, patented revolvers. A few years later he went to Texas, where he became a famous Texas ranger. He fought with Texas Ranger John Coffey Hayes - “Captain Jack” and defeated a team of Comanches of more than 80 people thanks to Colt Paterson revolvers.
War with mexico
In 1846, during the war with Mexico, which began after the annexation of Texas by the United States, Walker and his fellow rangers were armed with new United States rifles and were sent to fight the Mexicans. At that time, the term "guerrilla warfare", which had already unfolded on the territory of Mexico, was first used. Texas rangers fought in the war as irregular combat forces. General Zachary Taylor, who was unable to organize the Rangers and control their antics, sent a squad to General Winfield Scott to direct them against the army of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and make the chaos as possible.
The idea of a new revolver
Walker ended up in Washington, DC, in December of the same year, when he received a letter from Colt. In it, the latter was interested in Walker's opinion of the revolvers that he had previously used on the Texas border. Walker soon asked Colt if he could deliver a thousand revolvers to equip a new detachment in three months.
The outstanding gunsmith did not want to miss this opportunity, so he quickly answered Walker and accepted the contract for a thousand revolvers. He then proceeded to manufacture a wooden model in order to introduce it to Walker and obtain his approval for the manufacture. He asked that this pistol be 44 caliber (Colt Paterson was 36 caliber). The requirements also included an increase in weight compared to its predecessor, and the loading lever would be attached directly to the gun, unlike Paterson. Walker even made changes to the scope, sketched it and sent it to Colt, who introduced everything into the new revolver design.
Production problems
There was only one small problem Colt faced: he decided to leave Captain Walker during their correspondence. The fact is that Colt had nowhere to make revolvers. He was bankrupt. It seemed that such an insignificant thing as the lack of a factory could ruin everything? He had a contract for the manufacture of thousands of revolvers at a price of 25 US dollars. Colt decided to get out of this situation by signing a contract with his good friend, the manager of the arms factory, Eli Whitney Jr. (1820-1895) from Hartford, Connecticut, and asked him for help in creating weapons. Whitney agreed to cooperate.
Eli Whitney Jr. was the son of a man who became known as the inventor of the cotton fiber separator (cotton gin) and milling machine. Eli Whitney (1765-1825) was a significant figure in the entire American system of production. He made great strides in manufacturing, where all parts were interchangeable and easy to assemble. When Whitney agreed to help Colt, they perfected the processes that became the basis for the industrial revolution. All this contributed to the beginning of the industrial revolution in America and further improvement in the production of firearms.
John Hall of Virginia, Simeon North of Connecticut, and Eli Whitney worked on the creation of machines that could produce firearms in accordance with the new method of production. The release of revolvers began as soon as the new design was approved.
During an exchange of letters between Colt and Walker, the latter called for more than the agreed one thousand units. He told Colt that he was able to sell at least five thousand revolvers among civilians if they were made.
The emergence of a new weapon
Colt made the first thousand revolvers that were acquired by the US government within six months and then produced about a hundred more for sale to civilians. 1000 revolvers for rangers ordered by Walker were numbered in batches of approximately 220 pieces, marked A, B, C, D or E, printed on the frames. Civilian models were numbered 1001 to 1100. Samuel Colt sent two of these revolvers with serial numbers 1009 and 1010 to Walker in July 1847 as a gift.
When Walker received them, he was delighted with the craftsmanship of their manufacture and operation. He wrote that there was not a single person who saw them and would not want to immediately have a pair of such pistols.
Unfortunately, Walker died as a result of a shotgun shot during a battle near Huamantla (Mexico) on October 9, 1847, just a few weeks after he received the revolvers that now bear his name. They say that he successfully used both weapons, which Colt sent before the battle, shortly before his death. A few weeks after his death, the rest of the ordered pistols - the Colt Walker - went to the rangers, and by the beginning of next year the war with Mexico had ended.
For the next 14 years, until his death, Samuel continued to produce revolvers for the US military and civilian markets. Until now, the factory continues to produce firearms for the US military, continuously fulfilling contracts, the first of which was concluded in 1847 thanks to a letter from the Texas ranger, which laid the foundation for a chain of events that changed history.
Characteristics
The 1847 Colt Walker is an open-frame, six-shot revolver. The weight of the powder charge is 60 grains (3.9 g), which is more than twice the weight of a typical charge of black powder used in other revolvers. It weighs 4.5 pounds (2 kg), its total length is 15.5 inches (375 mm), has a 9-inch (230 mm) barrel and fires 44-round (0.454 inches or 11.5 mm) rounds and round bullets. When creating the Colt Walker model, the trigger mechanism and trigger guard were improved. Sights are the front sight and rear sight, which is located on the top of the trigger.
