Rare CIVIL WAR Era Antique WHITNEY-BEALS “WALKING BEAM” Percussion Revolver 1 of 3,200 Manufactured at the Whitneyville Armory

Product Description

Rare CIVIL WAR Era Antique WHITNEY-BEALS “WALKING BEAM” Percussion Revolver

1 of 3,200 Manufactured at the Whitneyville Armory

Here we present an antique Whitney-Beals “Walking Beam” Revolver, made circa 1854 through the mid-1860s in New Haven, Connecticut. This pocket revolver was manufactured under the Fordyce-Beals Patent Number 11,715 issued on September 26, 1854. The design is known as the “walking beam.” The cylinder is rotated by pushing the ring trigger forward and pulling it back, at which point it contacts the sear and releases the previously cocked hammer. The walking beam engages a cut on the front of the cylinder, then on the rear. The gun looks distinctly different from most other revolvers because of the cover over the left side of the cylinder, which supports the walking beam mechanism.

The “Walking Beam” revolver received its nickname from the similarity of the action’s operation to the “walking beam” of the steam engines of the period. This Whitney-Beals revolver was offered in .28 and .31 caliber with six- or seven-shot cylinders. The Beals Patent revolvers were successful by comparison with Whitney’s previous efforts at pistol making, selling a total of about 3,200 through the end of the Civil War.  The Whitney Navy revolver of 1857, which was also strongly influenced by Beals, who would later design revolvers for Remington, was more successful by an order of magnitude, selling approximately 33,000.

Eli Whitney Sr. established his Whitneyville Armory in 1798 and produced firearms (among other things) by contract for the young U.S. government. Just prior to this, in 1793, Whitney invented the mechanical cotton gin, which dramatically changed the economic landscape in the U.S., namely in the South. While his invention was a labor-saving device, making the processing of harvested cotton extremely efficient and requiring fewer laborers, his machine caused the market for cotton to explode and more laborers were needed to plant, grow and harvest the crop. This resulted in a corresponding boom in the Southern slave trade. Great fortunes were created, and the population of the South became such that one in three Southerners were slaves. All this provided the fuel that would become the raze that was the American Civil War.

Eli Whitney died in 1825, and his son, Eli Whitney Jr., began running the family business in 1841. Whitney Jr. seized the opportunity in 1847 to manufacture 1,000 of Samuel Colt’s latest revolver, the Colt Walker revolver. Production of this revolver helped both parties immensely as it kept Colt in business, and it allowed Whitney Jr. to tool up and gain experience making revolvers. With the expiration of Colt’s patents in 1857, Whitney began production of percussion revolvers based on Colt’s patents, some of them very closely copied.

The overall condition is good+. Gray patina throughout. The acid etched cylinder scene remains visible. The action is strong. The bore is in good condition with strong rifling. Grips are solid. Numbers match throughout.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 6 inches.

Caliber: .31 Percussion

Overall condition as seen in photos.

Very Fast. Very Safe. FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. Delivered directly to your door by express mail!

Guaranteed AUTHENTIC & Includes CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY.

www.ancestryguns.com

$3200
#247660