A Confederate Kerr Patent 54 Bore Single Action Revolver.
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12" overall with 5 5/8" octagonal barrel with London proofs and 'LAC'. One piece frame with five shot cylinder with London proofs and No 4715. The action engraved 'Kerrs Patent 4715' and 'London Armoury'. Kerrs patent rammer, back action lock, side hammer, lockplate engraved 'London Armoury co.' One piece chequered walnut grip with ‘J.S’ anchor mark a Confederate inspector’s mark, butt plate with lanyard ring.
Circa 1862
In good condition, mechanically sound, with 50% finish.
The Confederacy would ultimately purchase more than 70,000 Enfield pattern rifles from LAC, as well as Kerr’s patent sharp shooting rifles and 7,000-9,000 Kerr revolvers – the vast majority of LAC’s production during the war. So much of their production, that the LAC would actually fail and dissolve in 1866 when their best customer ceased to exist.
The JS / Anchor is the stamp of John Southgate, contract viewer for the London Armoury company. Others have suggested it might be John Smiles, also a viewer for LAC. Or maybe John Sinclair, a partner in Sinclair, Hamilton, & Co. importers of weapons for the Confederacy. Then there is John Slidell, a Confederate Commissioner to Europe, but maybe James Seddon, a Confederate Secretary of War. The mark is sometimes found on LAC Enfield rifles.
The English Connection: Arms, Material and Support Furnished to the Confederate States of America by Great Britain,by Pritchard, Russ A. Jr., and C.A. Huey. See page 112, 113.