Civil War Era Revolvers
As the United States prepares to commemorate the American Civil War,
commonly referred to in most southern states as the War Between the
States or War of Northern Aggression, we honor the memory of the men
and women who sought to “Preserve the Union” and the “Sovereignty of
States Rights.” Pietta Firearms has re-created historic commemorative
firearms that highlight campaigns and battles that were fought between
the years 1861-1865.
When the war broke out in 1861, beginning with the Siege of Fort Sumter,
American and European firearm companies manufactured state of the art
weaponry that revolutionized the nature of warfare and the use of new
arms and armaments. In the United States, Colt Firearms in Hartford,
Connecticut and Remington Arms in Ilion, New York became the leaders in
small arms production for use by both the union and confederate armies.
1860: the Impending crisis/Prelude to war
One of the major causes of the conflict was the maintenance of the system
of slavery. There was a level of fear on the part of many Southern “slave
owner” States, that the Northern “Free Soil” States would gain control of
the branches of government. This might lead to the passage of laws that
would restrict slavery in western territories, states, and the possibility of
the abolition of slavery by congressional law, amendments, or on the part
of the President of the United States through a Presidential Proclamation.
The Election of 1860 was one of the most dramatic and influential in the
history of the United States. Four candidates competed for the honor of
becoming the 16th President. The Republican Party had numerous candi-
dates for the election but Congressman Abraham Lincoln (Illinois) received
the party nomination. Lincoln was against the extension of slavery in the
western territories. To slave owners, Lincoln was an abolitionist who might
use his powers as President to limit or ban slavery. Lincoln received a
majority of the electoral vote and became the cause for the state of South
Carolina to secede from the union. Southern States in the “Lower South”
or “Deep South” held conventions to consider secession from the United
States. By February, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,
and Texas seceded from the union. Urged by South Carolina the seven
southern states met in Montgomery, Alabama, and in February formed
the Confederate States of America. Southern leaders met with some of the
representatives of the “Upper South” to get these states to secede from the
Union: Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
1861: The American Conflict
On March 4th 1861, the President-Elect, Abraham Lincoln was sworn into
office. Ironically, the month before, former Senator of Mississippi, Jefferson
Davis, was sworn in on the 18th of February as President of the Confederate
States of America. From January to February southern states that seceded
from the Union began to take over all federal property within their state
borders. South Carolina nationalized federal property, including post
offices and military fortifications. Surrounding the harbor of Charleston,
SC were a series of forts. When South Carolina seceded, Major Anderson,
garrison Commander of Charleston, began a systematic evacuation of
all the forts, with the exception of Fort Sumter. With the support of the
Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, military troops were sent to South
Carolina to force the evacuation of Union soldiers.. Orders were given by
President Lincoln to Major Robert Anderson to maintain control of the
fort, and additional men and food supplies were sent on their way on The
Star of the West. Cadets at the Citadel in Charleston fired the first shots of
the Civil War at this steamboat on April 9th, 1861.
By April 12th, Major Anderson had not evacuated Fort Sumter. Brigadier
General P.G.T. Beauregard of the Confederate Army was given full command
of the artillery forces in the harbor and ordered continuous bombardment
of the fort for about thirty-six hours. By April 14th, Anderson was allowed
to evacuate the fort. Following the bombardment of Fort Sumter, President
Lincoln called for the recruitment of 75,000 volunteers for the Union
Army. Prior to the conflict, there were only about 16,000 soldiers in the
United States Regular Army. Lincoln’s call to arms to maintain an army
and navy in the field of about 100,000 men in preparation for war, resulted
in the upper southern states to call for secessionist conventions: Virginia,
North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas, who joined the Confederate
States of America.
Battle of 1st Bull Run/1st Manassas Junction
The first major battle of the Civil War was the Battle of 1st Bull Run
as referred to by the Union Army, or by the 1st Battle of Manassas as
referred so by the Confederate Army. The commander of the Union Army
was General Irvin McDowell with a force of more than 30,000 soldiers.
The Commander of the Confederate Army at Bull Run was General P.G.T.
Beauregard with a force of 22,000 soldiers. Additional soldiers on both sides
were stationed in the Shenandoah Valley, General Robert Patterson (UA)
opposing General Joseph Johnston (CSA) with 12,000 soldiers.
The battle took place in Virginia on July 21st, 1861. It was during this
battle that General Thomas J. Jackson was given the nickname “Stonewall”
because of holding his line against a major assault by union soldiers. The
battle was a decisive victory for the confederates. With the loss of men,
both sides were convinced that this conflict would not be over in a period
of six months as predicted. There was no turning back to a non-war status
of 1860, until one side was a decisive victory in this conflict.
Battle of Wilson’s Creek
The fighting between union and confederate forces continued west of
Virginia, into Missouri. Lincoln’s government decided to send in military
units to maintain the support of Missouri. This created a two front war:
the western theater and the eastern theater. The Battle of Wilson’s Creek
on August 10th, witnessed the attempt by both sides to win over recruits
and supporters in the same state or territory. By 1862, the number of
volunteers on both sides had escalated into the tens of thousands. This
more than doubled the size of both the union and confederate armies.
It was obvious to both governments, there would be a need to raise the
size of their armies to more than 100,000 on each side, to maintain two
armies in the western theater and the eastern theater.
1862: A Bloody Stalemate
Fort Henry & Fort Donelson Campaign
The Battle of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River on February 6th, was
the first of numerous union invasions of confederate fortified positions
along rivers as well as rail centers in the western theater. The Union Army
was led by Brigadier General U.S. Grant. Union Naval Commander Andrew
H. Foote ordered his small seven gunboat fleet to bombard the fort as the
union land forces attacked from the east. A week later, General Grant
attacked the confederates at Fort Donelson, February 13-16. With severe
damage to several gunboats, the union navy retreated. Meanwhile,
General Grant re-organized his forces and counter-attacked. Most of the
confederate soldiers, led by General John B. Floyd, escaped in boats.
Confederate General Floyd left his third in command, General Buckner,
to surrender with a small force while most of his command retreated
to Nashville, TN. This led to the confederate failure to militarily control
Kentucky and parts of western Tennessee.
Battle of Pea Ridge/Elk Horn Tavern
The battle began with an offensive assault by the Union Army under the
command of General Samuel R. Curtis (UA) with about 11,000 soldiers
for the control of Missouri, a border slave-holding state. The Battle of Pea
Ridge took place on March 7th and 8th in the state of Arkansas. The confe-
derate forces in Missouri were commanded by General Sterling Price (CSA)
with about 8,000 soldiers. The appearance of a larger union force pressu-
red Price to retreat east into the state of Arkansas, to regroup with General
Ben McCulloch. With a total of 17,000 soldiers, the confederates charged the
union rear. With re-enforcements, the Union Army was able to maintain
their defensive position against these repeated attacks by the confederates.
On March 8th, General Curtis ordered his men to charge the Confederate
right flank and left flank. The confederates retreated after confusion from
the union attack, and marched to the Arkansas River to assist confederate
forces at Shiloh, TN.
Battle of Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing
The Battle of Shiloh, on April 6th-7th was the first great bloody battle of
the war. It established General U.S. Grant as a skilled commander and
secured geographic areas of Tennessee under union control. Pittsburg
Landing was on the west side of the Tennessee River not too far from the
City of Corinth, Mississippi which was a railroad center supplying troops
and materials for the Confederate Army under General Albert S. Johnston.
General Grant and the Army of Tennessee, with more than 40,000 soldiers
advanced against Corinth and were joined by the Army of the Ohio under
General Don Carlos Buell, with about 20,000 soldiers. As Grant arrived
to take full command of his army several divisions held the confederate
advance at a sunken road nicknamed the “Hornet’s Nest.” The fighting was
the heaviest at this position with high casualties on the union side.
The confederates repeatedly tried to take the union position but each time
they were repulsed by union cannons firing into the confederate lines.
More than 100,000 Americans were involved in the two day fighting. With
the confederates in retreat to Mississippi, Grant and the western armies of
the union would begin a new phase of the war the Mississippi Campaign
and the attempt to divide the confederacy into two separate military
regions. Each eventually would be unable to re-supply one another.
Peninsula Campaign/Seven Days Campaign
Between May 31st and June 1st the Union Army of the Potomac marched
toward Richmond, VA. General George McClellan was appointed
Commander-in-Chief of the Union Armies, replacing General Winfield
Scott. In March 1862, he invaded the Virginia Peninsula to capture the
confederate capital, Richmond, and end the Civil War. Johnston ordered a
surprise assault against the Union Army at Seven Pines/Fair Oaks on May
31st to June 1st. The battle continued to see-saw back and forth as each
side was bringing up more men. It was during this engagement that
Confederate General Joe Johnston was badly wounded and confederate
advisor Robert E. Lee assumed the position of Commander of the
Confederate Army until the end of the conflict. General Robert E. Lee
ordered a withdrawal to re-group his forces against the union invaders.
While each side had similar losses, the major fighting took place later in
the month from June 25th to July 1st known as the Seven Days’ Battles.
The union army under General George B. McClellan had increased to more
than 100,000, as the confederate army under General Robert E. Lee to less
than 100,000.
The 1st Battle of the Seven Days was the Battle of Oak Grove. As the union
soldiers advanced under General Daniel Sickles, they engaged General
Benjamin Huger’s confederates. Rather than allow the Union Army to
continue on the offensive toward Richmond, General Lee ordered a full
scale offensive at the Battle of Mechanicsville/Beaver Dam Creek. General
Jackson was several miles from Mechanicsville and ordered his army to
camp for the evening. On June 27th, the Confederate Army continued
their offensive against McClellan’s Army resulting in the Battle of Gaines
Mill. When Confederate General A.P. Hill’s division moved ahead to attack
General Porters V Corp, the union soldiers repulsed the repeated assaulted
by Hill’s regiments. General Robert E. Lee decided to destroy McClellan’s
Army with a concentrated barrage. The Battle of Savage Station on the
29th of June began with Confederate General J.B. Magruder attacking the
union flank with support from Confederate Generals Huger and Stonewall
Jackson. The battle ended very quickly with no victory in sight for the
confederates and the union continuing their retreat. The following day,
General Lee continued his pursuit of the Union Army at the Battle of White
Oak Swamp. As the Union Army under General McClellan continued
toward the James River, most of his command and the majority of the
Army of the Potomac had not reached the James River, yet General Robert
E. Lee ordered several divisions that were available under General James
Longstreet and General A.P. Hill, to assault the Union Army located
between White Oak Swamp and Glendale. On the seventh day was the final
engagement, the Battle of Malvern Hill on the 1st of July. The Union Army
had taken a very strong defensive position on Malvern Hill. For several
hours the duel between the union and confederate artillery batteries
continued. As Confederate Generals’ John Magruder and Lew Armistead’s
forces attacked, the union artillery continued to fire into their ranks.
When additional confederate troops entered the battle, they were heavily
assaulted by the union artillery batteries. The Confederate Army withdrew
to Richmond.
Battle of 2nd Bull Run/2nd Manassas
More than a month after the Peninsula Campaign, Robert E. Lee’s Army of
Northern Virginia engaged the Union Army of Virginia under General John
Pope. The Union Army made up of about 75,000 soldiers, was confronted
by Lee’s Army at Bull Run with less than 50,000 men. The Army of
Northern Virginia was split into two Corps, one under General Thomas
“Stonewall” Jackson and the other under General James Longstreet.
General Pope and the Union Army of Virginia moved to engage Jackson’s
Corps. Jackson’s confederates attacked to open the battle at Groveton, on
August 29th, while the Union Army under General Pope created a defensive
perimeter at Bull Run. The union army withdrew from their position as
the confederates held the field of battle. To conserve on his man-power
and limit casualties, General Lee decided to take the offensive against the
union army in September.
Battle of Antietam/ Sharpsburg
The Antietam/Sharpsburg Campaign would span a period of more than
two weeks. Beginning on September 4th and ending on the 22nd, General
Robert E. Lee with about 45,000 soldiers crossed the Potomac River to
invade Maryland. The purpose of the invasion was four-fold: a) to inflict
high casualties on the Union Army of the Potomac under General George
B. McClellan that would possibly end the war b) to militarily persuade the
State of Maryland to fully support the confederates and secede from the
Union, supplying the Army of Northern Virginia with tens of thousands
of new recruits to increase the confederates in number c) to threaten
Washington D.C. with possible invasion from the north from Maryland and
from the south from Virginia, thus forcing President Lincoln and Congress
1860
6 November
Abraham Lincoln
is elected
President of the United
States
1861
9 February
Jefferson Davis
is elected
Temporary Confederate
President
1861
Battle of Fort Sumter
of Philippi Races
of Big Bethel
of Boonville
of Carthage
of Rich Mountain
of Blackburn’s Ford
1861
1
th
Battle of Bull Run
or 1
th
Manassas
Battle of Wilson’s Creek
of Charleston
of Carnifex Ferry
of Cheat Mountain
1862
Battle of Middle Creek
of Mill Springs
(or Fishing Creek, or Logan’s
Crossroads)
Battle of Fort Henry
1862
Battle of Roanoke Island
of Fort Donelson
of Valverde
of Pea Ridge
1
th
Battle of Kernstown
Battle of Glorieta
Battle of Shiloh
1861
1
th
Battle and Siege of Lexington
Battle of Ball’s Bluff
of Fredericktown
1
th
Battle of Springfield
Battle of Belmont
of Port Royal
of Dranesville
1862
Battle of Island Number Ten
of New Orleans
of Yorktown
of Williamsburg
of McDowell
of Drewry’s Bluff
1
th
Battle of Winchester
1862
Battle of Hanover Courthouse
Siege of Corinth
Battle of Seven Pines/Fair Oaks
of Memphis
1
th
Battle of Chattanooga
of Port Republic
of Secessionville
1862
The Seven Days Campaign
Battle of Oak Grove
of Mechanicsville/Beaver
Dam Creek
of Gaines’ Mill
of Garnett’s & Golding’s
Farm
1862
Battle of Savage’s Station
of White Oak Swamp
of Malvern Hill
of Hill’s Plantation
1
th
Battle of Murfreesboro
of Baton Rouge
1
th
Battle of Independence
Presidente
Jefferson Davis
CSA
Presidente A. Lincoln UA
Gen. G. McClellan UA
Gen. R. E. Lee CSA
Gen. U.S. Grant UA
Gen. A. S. Johnston CSA
Gen. I. McDowell UA
Gen. P.G.T.
Beuregard
CSA
VI
VII
of the American Civil War/ War Between the States
