Serial number 3,813
The Savage Navy Model, a six shot .36 caliber revolver, was
made from 1861 until 1862 with a total production of only 20,000 guns. This
unique military revolver was one of the few handguns that was produced only for
Civil War use. Its design was based on the antebellum Savage-North "figure
eight" revolver.
These .36, six shot revolvers also had a reputation for being very temperamental mechanically during the period of use, and finding one that is in perfect mechanical working order today is quite difficult. This pistol is mechanically excellent and functions exactly as it should in every way. As is typical of Savage Navy revolvers, the gun is serial numbered on the frame, under the grips. In this case the serial number is under the right grip, on the right grip frame and is 3,813. The matching serial number is present on the bottom of the barrel (this requires the removal of the cylinder arbor pin and loading mechanism to see). The top strap of the revolver is clearly marked in three lines:
SAVAGE R.F.A. Co. MIDDLETOWN, CT
H.S. NORTH PATENTED JUNE 17 1856
JANUARY 10 1859. MAY 15 1860
The markings are often light on these revolvers, so it is
nice to see one where they are deep and very clear. As has already been
mentioned, the action of the revolver works perfectly, with a pull of the ring
handle beneath the trigger indexing the cylinder to the rear, rotating it and
locking it into position and cocking the hammer. A single pull of this lever
prepares the six shot, .36-caliber (hence the name “Navy”) revolver, to fire.
The metal is almost entirely smooth and with only some light scattered areas of
very minor pin-pricking and peppering, most of which is located on the cylinder
around the cone seats and on the top strap around the hole through which the
centrally slung hammer engages the percussion caps. The cones (nipples) are all
in wonderfully crisp condition and show none of the battering that is typically
encountered on these pistols. The gun also retains the original tall brass cone
shaped front sight, which is still full height. This is nice as the sight is
typically worn down to a bead or missing completely. All of the edges of the
metal are still very sharp and crisp and the bore is in good overall condition.
The two piece grips are very nice with one small chip on base of left grip.
They show minor wear and handling marks and bear the original owners initials
“M.R.”.
The Savage “Navy” self-cocking revolver is one of the
weirdest, most recognizable and possibly most ungainly handguns of the Civil
War era. The .36 caliber, 6-shot revolver had a 7” octagon barrel and a unique
action. The gun featured a unique ring shaped cocking lever inside, the heart
shaped trigger guard, which was used to advance the cylinder and cock the
hammer. The shooter could then fire the gun with the traditional trigger. The
gun was the final version of a family of self-cocking revolvers that were built
upon the “Figure-8” design of JS North. Beyond its unique action, the gun was
revolutionary in that is was a “gas seal” revolver. The cylinder moved forward
when the action cocked, and a recess in the chamber mouth engaged a tapered
forcing cone at the rear of the barrel. The effect was a gas seal between the
chamber and the barrel, which practically eliminated the loss of gas and pressure
from the usual gap between the barrel and cylinder. This meant that the gas
from power charge was more effectively converted into propulsion for the bullet
and increased its velocity for a given powder charge, over convectional
revolver designs. This innovative design would not be revisited on a widespread
basic for a military revolver until the adoption of the M1895 Nagant by the
Russian military. From the very beginning the revolver had been intended as a
martial arm by its inventors and manufacturers, and significant effort was put
forth in the years preceding the war to obtain a US military contract for the
innovative, if somewhat cumbersome revolvers. With the coming of the Civil War,
the need for revolvers outweighed any misgivings that the military may have had
about the design, and the coveted contracts were almost immediately
forthcoming. The state of Massachusetts procured 285 of the Savage revolvers
early in the conflict. Additional arms were sold to military outfitters and
arms retailers like Schuyler, Hartley & Graham and William Syms &
Brothers. Both of these companies sold Savage Navy revolvers to the US
government during early 1862, for as much as $25 per gun. The Savage Revolving
Firearms Company secured the first US military contract, directly with the US
government on October 16, 1861. This contract called for Savage to deliver
5,000 pistols between October 1861 and March 1862 at the price of $20 per
revolver. Another contract was received from the government in November of 1861
to supply an additional 5,000 revolvers, at $20 each, between November 1861 and
May of 1862. Savage completed their initial contract in a timely fashion, but
had trouble delivering the guns from the second contract on the agreed to
schedule. The second contract was temporarily voided by the Ordnance
Department, but after negotiating with Savage, an agreement was reached where
the 4,500 outstanding guns from that contract would be delivered at the lower
rate of $19.00 per pistol. The deliveries under the second contract were
completed by July of 1862. Of the approximately 20,000 Savage “Navy” models
produced during the Civil War the US Ordnance Department took delivery of
11,384 of the guns, and the Navy took delivery of 1,126. The balance of
approximately 8,500 guns were offered for civilian sale, although most those
revolvers no doubt ended up seeing action during the war as well. The pistols
saw significant field service during the war, and were issued to at least 26 US
cavalry regiments and were listed among the arms of some half dozen or more
Confederate cavalry regiments. US volunteer cavalry regiments that were issued
Savage Navy revolvers included the 6th, 10th & 13th Illinois, the 5th &
15th Kansas, 11th Kentucky, the 3rd, 4th & 7th Missouri, 7th New York 3rd Ohio,
7th Pennsylvania, 1st & 2nd Wisconsin, 1st Vermont and the Potomac Brigade.
The revolvers were also issued to the 1st through 9th Missouri State Militia
Cavalry. The two regiments who carried the most Savages on their ordnance rolls
were the 4th Missouri State Militia Cavalry with 714 and the 2nd Wisconsin with
400. Confederate cavalry units that listed the Savage Navy among their arms
were the 11th Texas, 7th Virginia, and the 34th & 35th Virginia Cavalry
Battalions. After the war the Ordnance Department disposed of the Savage Navy
revolvers rather quickly. They sold some 773 during 1866 at prices varying from
$1.50 to $3.45 each. During 1875 they sold some 3,951 for prices as low as
$0.35 to as high as $.058 each; a far cry from the $19 to $25 each they paid
during the war years.
This gun is very nice condition overall and had wonderfully crisp action.
Inventory Number: HAN 091 / Sold