Rare Colt Model 1861 Navy revolver delivered to John Wood to be on display at Friday night event

QUINCY — A rare Civil war pistol delivered to John Wood is in the auction block, and it will be unveiled on Friday night during an invitation-only event at Quincy Country Club, 2410 State.

Will Sullivan Auction Company in Carthage recently acquired a Colt Model 1861 Navy, also known as the Navy Belt Pistol. The pistol will be displayed, along with five revolvers from John Wood that now are in the possession of the Historical Society of Quincy Adams County, at the QCC event. 

“I got a call from somebody who knew somebody who knew me who said there was a Colt revolver in a collection down by Kansas City that had some significance to John Wood,” Sullivan said. “That’s kind of where the whole thing started. I made a couple different phone calls and finally got a hold of somebody who actually knew what we were talking about. It was just complete fate.”

The Colt Model 1861 Navy had a short production run from 1861 to 1873. Only 38,843 were manufactured, and only one type was produced — a .36 caliber with a six-shot cylinder and a 7.5-inch barrel. Each pistol has a loading lever and a streamlined shape that made it one of the best pistols of the percussion era. The lighter, smaller-caliber revolver was popular with ranking Army officers and cavalrymen.

Colt Model 1861 Navy had streamlined appeal

“The standard issue sidearm for officers during the Civil War was a Model 1851,” Sullivan said. “It was the most popular selling sidearm. The difference between a Model 1851 and a Model 1861 is the shape of it. With an 1851, everything is very boxy. The barrel is slab sided or an octagon. To load the balls in the cylinder, you have to pull out a rod like you would a musket and push them down in it. 

“In 1861, Samuel Colt patented what he called his Model 1861. It was just an improvement upon the 1851. He made all the metal parts round. It had kind of very streamlined appeal to it. It also came with a loading ramrod built into the gun. This was a real transitional period (for the manufacturing of guns). The Model 1861 is known as the last great percussion revolver.”

The U.S. government bought 2,350 of the 1861 Navy pistols during the Civil War. Sullivan said the shorter barrel length made them easier for mounted troops to pull the guns out of the holster.

John Wood had recently completed his stint as governor of Illinois. After Gov. William H. Bissell died on March 18, 1860, Wood assumed the duties of governor three days later. He then left office on January 14, 1861, and secured an appointment the next month as one of five delegates to the Washington peace convention. He also was appointed in 1861 as quartermaster general of Illinois.

Sullivan discovered in his research at the Northern Illinois University Archives that Wood ordered 500 of the Model 1861 revolvers. He received them in Springfield on Aug. 23, 1861. They were immediately issued to Illinois Cavalry Volunteer units.

Sullivan: ‘John Wood kind of got stuff done’

“The more I read about John Wood, the more I got to like him, because he kind of got stuff done,” Sullivan said. “He had no military experience whatsoever, but he was a politician and a lawyer. To send him to Washington and represent you and try to stop the war … he went to that meeting very much wanting to scold, like a little kid, all of these southern states. It had nothing to do with slavery. He just thought that it was completely ridiculous that they had seceded. 

“It also kind of shows why he didn’t tell anybody he ordered 500 of the most expensive revolvers to issue to his Illinois troops. It’s just absurd. Then he handed them out and didn’t keep very good records of who they were given to. That was very typical of John Wood. He didn’t care.”

Sullivan’s research suggests Wood sent a telegram to Samuel Colt demanding the pistols.

“He kind of gave (Colt) a rigamarole about how it was his patriotic duty to give him pistols, and this was the price he was going to pay. Period,” Sullivan said. “Somehow Colt did it.”

No issuing serial number records for the “John Wood revolvers” revolvers have been found. Sullivan believes it is likely that many of these revolvers were issued to the 8th Illinois Cavalry. Lt. Marcellus Jones of the 8th Illinois Cavalry fired what is regarded as the first shot of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Sullivan believes only three similar pistols are in existence

Flayderman’s Guide, a reference and price guide available for antique American firearms, says most Model 1861 Navy revolvers issued during the U.S. Civil War bear no inspector markings. 

“When inspector marks are present, they mostly appear on the grips and in single letters on various metal parts,” the guide reads.

The revolver Sullivan is auctioning features a U.S. Ordnance sub-inspector mark “R.A.C.” (Rinaldo A. Carr) under the right grip, as well as “B.C.” on the right grip – which may be the initials of the officer who carried it or possibly represent identification for “Company B.” Sullivan says the gun appears to be in good working order. 

Sullivan believes only three similar pistols are in existence.

Any oral or documented history about the gun has been lost in time. The family of the estate does not believe it has any ancestral history connected to the gun. 

The Model 1861 Navy revolver will be sold to the highest bidder, regardless of price, through an online-only bidding format. Bidding is available at WillSullivanAucCon.com and will end at 10 a.m. Sept. 23.