Colt Paterson Model 1839 Carbine

Samuel Colt a patented his ‘Revolving Gun’ in February 1836, by the end of the year he had established the Patent Arms Company, building a factory in Paterson, New Jersey. There Colt produced a number of revolving pistol types and a smaller number of carbines.

The new percussion revolvers were available in different sizes including pocket, belt and holster models. The .28 calibre Pocket Model No.1 being the smallest and the .36 calibre No.5 holster revolver being the largest. The company produced approximately 2,300 – 2,800 firearms (sources have various estimates on just how many revolvers and revolving rifles were manufactured) before the company collapsed, due to insufficient sales, in 1842.

Here’s a video I made about a No.5 holster model Paterson pistol:

The Model 1839 revolver carbine was introduced produced at the mid-point of the Patent Arms Company’s short life. One of the examples shown above (Images 1-4) was presented to Orderly Sergeant Henry C. Clark, of the Rhode Island Carbineers, by Samuel Ward King, Rhode Island’s governor. The Rhode Island Carbineers was a state militia unit which took part in the suppression of the Dorr Rebellion in 1841-42. The Carbineers were reportedly armed with Paterson carbines purchased by James Olney, its commander. Thomas Wilson Dorr had sought to force the enfranchisement of more of Rhode Island’s middle-class. The Carbineers took part in several skirmishes and protected a stat arsenal. In recognition Governor King awarded the militia units officers and senior NCOs with presentation carbines.

Just 950 Paterson carbines were produced, they were single action only, had 24-inch octagonal barrels and 6-chamber cylinders. The carbines fired a .52 calibre ball  While they originally did not have cylinder loading arms (as seen in images 5 & 6) some were retrofitted and some as in the first example above were built with loading levers. The Model 1839s were saw military service with the Texan Army, the US Navy as well as via private purchase. They were contemporaries of the first and second model Colt Ring Lever Rifles also produced by the Patent Arms Company.  Colt would later revisit the idea of a revolver carbine with the Colt Model 1855, these were developed by Elisha Root, from the smaller side-hammer revolvers.

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Colt Paterson No.5 Holster Revolver 

In this week's Armourer’s Bench video I take a look at an intriguing Colt Paterson revolver which has been adapted with a later loading lever.  Developed by Samuel Colt and manufactured at his short-lived Patent Arms Company the Paterson revolvers were Colt's first foray into revolver manufacture. While admittedly a false start they launched his career and a revolution in small arms.   

I discuss the history behind Colt's invention and the establishing of the factory in Paterson, NJ. We examine some of the other Paterson models and discuss how the revolver evolved and theories on how this particular pistol came to be 'upgraded'. My thanks to the wonderful Cody Firearms Museum for allowing me to film this revolver.

Don't forget to check out the accompanying blog for more photographs and information on the revolver and its history here.

Colt Paterson No.3 Belt Model Revolver

In October 1835, Samuel Colt patented his revolving pistol first in Britain and in the US in February 1836. With backing from his cousin and other investors Colt established the Patent Arms Company in late 1836, building a factory in Paterson, New Jersey. Production began in 1837 with a number of different models offered in various configurations.

The smallest pistol offered was the Pocket Model No.1 in .28 calibre, while the largest and most popular as the .36 calibre No.5 Holster Model. While there was some overlap in calibres and barrel lengths with the No.1 an intermediate revolver, the No.3 ‘Belt Model’, was also offered. The No.3 had ether a .31 or .34 calibre bore with a number of barrel lengths ranging between 3 and 6 inches.

Like all other Paterson revolvers, the No.3 had an octagonal barrel, a folding trigger and a 5-shot cylinder. Sources suggest that as many as 800 of the Belt model Patersons were produced before the company collapsed, due to insufficient sales, in 1842. After the Patent Arms Company folded John Ehlers, the majority shareholder in the company took over the tooling and remaining parts and for several years assembled guns and sold them. In 1847 Colt’s fortunes improved when he was contracted to manufacture 1,000 .44 calibre revolvers for the US Army. These Model 1847 revolvers, later known as the Colt Walker, were to be used by the US cavalry during the Mexican-American War.

It is worth noting that ‘Colt Paterson’ is not a contemporary name for the guns but a name by which collectors and historians have come to refer to the revolvers. There is also some confusion between sources when referring to the Pocket and Belt revolvers, some refer to the Belt as the No.2 while others refer to it as the No.3. The differentiation may be that the No.2 has the straight Pocket-style grips, while the No.3 had the flared grips (see in image #3) similar to the No.5. 

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Colt Paterson Pocket Model No.1 Revolver

In October 1835, Samuel Colt patented his revolving pistol In Britain, with a US patent following in February 1836. With backing from his cousin and other investors Colt established the Patent Arms Company in late 1836, building a factory in Paterson, New Jersey. It is worth noting that ‘Colt Paterson’ is not a contemporary name for the guns but a name by which collectors and historians have come to refer to the revolvers.

The company produced a variety of revolvers in different sizes including pocket, belt and holster models. The .28 calibre Pocket Model No.1 being the smallest and the .36 calibre No.5 Holster Model being the largest. The Patersons had octagonal barrels and were sold in a number of barrel lengths ranging from as short as 1.75 to as long as 9 inches.

The pocket revolver seen here (in images #1 & #2) has a 2.5 inch barrel and like all other Patersons has a 5-shot cylinder. It is believed that 500 pocket Patersons were produced making it the second most popular model after the No.5. 

The company produced approximately 2,300 firearms (both revolvers and revolving rifles), although estimates vary greatly, before the company collapsed, due to insufficient sales, in 1842. After the Patent Arms Company folded John Ehlers, the majority shareholder in the company took over the tooling and remaining parts and for several years assembled guns and sold them. 

Several years later Samuel Colt’s fortunes enjoyed a reprieve and he was contracted to manufacture 1,000 .44 calibre revolvers for the US Army. These Model 1847 revolvers, later known as the Colt Walker, were to be used by the US cavalry during the Mexican-American War. 

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Cutaway of the Day: Colt's First Pistol

The US patent for Samuel Colt's first revolver was granted on 25th February 1836, with an earlier patent granted in Britain several months earlier. Sometimes referred to as the Colt-Pearson, not to be confused with the later Colt-Paterson, the pistol prototype was made by a Baltimore gunsmith John Pearson in 1835, a year before Colt applied for his patents. The Colt-Pearson represents the first practical revolving-cylinder handgun.

The pistol was chambered to fire a .28 caliber round, with six chambers milled into a small cylinder.  The pistol used a folding trigger, a feature which would again appear on the Colt-Paterson - Colt's first commercially produced pistol. The pistol was loaded by removing the barrel and sliding the cylinder off what Colt describes as the 'fulcrum pin'. 

In the patent drawings we can see the outline of a rifle stock (see image #3) where the same revolving receiver could be dropped into a rifle stock. This was a concept Colt would return to numerous times with some success. Interestingly the revolver also had a spring-activated bayonet beneath the barrel, this can be seen in the photograph and in Colt's original patent drawings above.  

The prototype revolver did not enter production, instead a further development of Colt's ideas, the Colt-Paterson was put into production in late 1836 at the Patent Arms Company's factory in Paterson, New Jersey. The pistol was produced until 1841 when the Patent Arms Company collapsed.  The pistol is currently part of the Autry National Center of the American West's collection in Los Angeles.

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