The Colt M1861 Navy cap & ball .36-caliber revolver was a six-shot, single-action, percussion weapon produced by Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1861 until 1873. It incorporated the "creeping" or ratchet loading lever and round barrel of the Army Model of 1860. Total production was 38,000 revolvers.^[1] For other uses, see Revolver (disambiguation). ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... For other uses, see CMC. Colts Manufacturing Company (CMC--formerly Colts Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is a United States firearms manufacturer founded in 1847. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... In a single action gun, the triggers only function is to release the hammer. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... For other uses, see CMC. Colts Manufacturing Company (CMC--formerly Colts Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is a United States firearms manufacturer founded in 1847. ... The Colt Army Model 1860 was a revolver in usage during the American Civil War. ...

Like its forerunner, the Colt 1851 Navy Revolver, it saw widespread use in the armies of the American Civil War. While similar in design to the Colt Army Model 1860, the lighter recoil of the M1861 Navy's .36 caliber was preferred by some cavalry soldiers. Also like the Army revolver, the frame was lugged for a detachable shoulder stock, but very few came with one. During the pre-Civil War period and during the Civil War its main competitor was the Adams self-cocking revolver. The Adams fired a .49 caliber bullet and did not require the firer to pull the hammer back. Colt's revolver was more popular because Colt mass-produced his weapons while Adams' products were handmade by skilled artisans. Samuel Colt designed the Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber between 1847 and 1850-the actual year of introduction. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... The Colt Army Model 1860 was a revolver in usage during the American Civil War. ... An early naval cannon design, allowing the gun to roll backwards a small distance when firing The recoil when firing a gun is the backward momentum of a gun, which is equal to the forward momentum of the bullet or shell, due to conservation of momentum. ... Not to be confused with Golgotha, which was called Calvary. ... Robert Adams (1809-1870) was a 19th-century British handgun designer and manufacturer who patented the first successful double-action revolver in 1851. ...

The Colt M1861 Navy typically was used with paper cartridges, that is, with a cartridge consisting of nitrated paper, a pre-measured black powder charge, and a bullet that was either a lead round ball or a lead conical bullet. The nitrated paper of the cartridge was completely consumed upon use, and the use of paper cartridges enabled faster re-loading. Alternatively, it was always possible to load with measured powder charges and lead round balls. Only 5 cylinders were usually loaded for safe carry, although some users preferred to load all 6 cylinders and to install caps on only 5 cylinders, leaving the hammer down on the uncapped cylinder.

See also

• Colt 1851 Navy Revolver
• Colt Army Model 1860
• Colt's Manufacturing Company
• Paper cartridge
• Saturday night special for history of attempts to ban handguns other than Army and Navy models such as M1861 Navy

Samuel Colt designed the Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber between 1847 and 1850-the actual year of introduction. ... The Colt Army Model 1860 was a revolver in usage during the American Civil War. ... For other uses, see CMC. Colts Manufacturing Company (CMC--formerly Colts Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is a United States firearms manufacturer founded in 1847. ... This article is about handguns. ...

References

1. ^ R.L. Wilson, Colt, an American Legend

External links

• Smithsonian Article on the M1861 Navy
• Shooting Characteristics of the M1861 Navy