9-Shot LeMat Revolver, serial #1843. Inscribed "Cyst Le Mat Paris" on the top of the 7" barrel. All original, sound and functioning. VG-F, 20% + muted blue finish with an overall plum blue appearance. For a Confederate handgun this is much above average with smooth surfaces, minor pitting, crisp markings. This gun was inspected by John Sexton and the foregoing statement is his descriptive analysis.
This is the second model issue o this famed Confederate gun. An 'N' is marked on the hammer flat for unknown reasons. Very rare dual caliber design with .36 caliber cap & ball mated with a 16 gauge smoothbore barrel that fires buckshot.
Provenance: Miki and James J. Mangan III of Fairfield, CT
Size: Total: L. 13.75" Barrel: L. 6.75"
Weight: 3 pounds 5.9 ounces
Condition: See above
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The mid-19th century was a time in American history that gave birth to a number of innovative firearm designs. This unique sidearm was also known as the "Grape Shot Revolver." It was developed in New Orleans in 1856 by Dr. Jean Alexander Le Mat, whose manufacturing effort was backed by P.G.T. Beauregard, who became a general in the Confederate Army. About 2,900 were produced.
The distinguishing characteristic of LeMat's revolver is that its 9-shot cylinder revolves around a separate central barrel of larger caliber than the chambers in the cylinder proper. The central barrel is smoothbore and can function as a short-barrelled shotgun (hence the name "Grape Shot Revolver") with the shooter selecting whether to fire from the cylinder or the smoothbore barrel by flipping a lever on the end of the hammer. Flipping the lever down caused the moveable striker to fall upon the primer set directly under the hammer, discharging the lower barrel, while leaving it in the standard position would fire the chambers in the cylinder, much like any other revolver.
LeMat originally chambered this pistol for .40 (or .42) caliber revolver bullets, with a .60 (16 gauge) smoothbore barrel, and had a jointed ramrod (mounted on the right-hand side of the frame), which was used to load both barrels. Later, during the American Civil War, a lighter .35-caliber pistol with a .50 caliber (28-gauge) smoothbore barrel was produced, but as these were non-standard ammunition sizes (.36 or .44 caliber were most common for contemporary revolvers) LeMat owners had to cast their own bullets (as opposed to being issued them from general military stores.) The final models of the LeMat were produced in .36 or .44 caliber in response to these criticisms, but too few of them managed to get past the Union blockade of the South during the Civil War to be of any real use.