Welcome to FreeMyCollection.com! The whole premise of this site is to share my collection of antique guns and ammunition with the world. What fun is having a collection if others do not also get to enjoy it? Take a look around, read an article or two, view a few images and learn something new!
Soldiers from the American Civil War
March 11, 2013On my quest for all things related to the pinfire system I have been especially interested in the role Lefaucheux pinfire cartridges and guns played in the American Civil War. You can read about some of those articles here: Articles. Over the past few years I have acquired a few images of soldiers from the American Civil War wielding a Lefaucheux model 1854 pinfire revolver.
First up is a CdV (Carte de visite) image of a soldier identified as being an Officer from New York. You may notice the metal stand behind him near his shoes. For those unfamiliar with early photography, it was not just point-n-click like it is today. It could take several minutes to expose the negative images so the subject had to remain very still the whole time. This stand probably went up to his neck to hold his head in the same place.
Here is a version of that image that I colored to give a better understanding of what he most likely looked like in color!
Next up is a tintype of Charles Allen from Gouverneur, St Lawrence, New York. He was kind enough to write his name and city inside the back of the tintype for me. He was a private in the 1st New York Light Artillery – Battery D.
And lastly, here is an early 1/9 plate melainotype of a soldier from the American Civil War. Based on his uniform he appears to be a Union Cavalry Sergeant. He has a Lefaucheux 1854 Pinfire Revolver on the table next to him. I personally think that he is missing his left leg as it appears that the bottom of his left pant leg is tucked under him toward the table. Some who have examined the image think he has both legs intact. Either way it is still one of my favorite images as it shows such an excellent view of the gun, and a soldier with such a stoic demeanor which I am sure was a necessity for those who had to fight their own countrymen during the American Civil War.
On close examination of the revolver one will notice it is loaded as one can see the bullets of the cartridges inside the cylinder. Also, when comparing my copy of a Lefaucheux model 1854 revolver with cartridges in it I have determined that he has loaded cartridges by one of the three American makers listed in this article as they were quite a bit longer than the imported, and typical 12mm pinfire cartridges.
That concludes the images I have gathered so far of American Civil war soldiers with pinfire guns. As a bonus I also have here an image of some young men from Michigan. The one on the left has one of the little 2mm pinfire guns used as a pocket watch fob. I have blown up that portion of the image to better see it as well!
The First Pinfire Revolver Cartridge!
February 23, 2013This is the very first pinfire revolver cartridge. It was manufactured by the gun maker, Jules Joseph Chaudun, in 1845 after he patented a new improvement to both Casimir Lefaucheux’s shot shell design and Jules Gévelot’s patent that simplified Casimir’s design. It is labeled as a .50 caliber cartridge which makes it effectively the first 12mm pinfire cartridge. The boxes contained 10 cartridges and are known to have contained cartridges with varying case lengths, and slightly different shaped bullets. It gives the impression that these were all made by hand. Some boxes would also have cartridges with round balls rather than the “candle flame” shaped bullet mixed in. The cartridges were initially made with the intent to work in Casimir Lefaucheux’s new pepperbox pistol. The July 5, 1851 issue of The Illustrated London News illustrates both this cartridge and that pistol together.
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Pinfire Guns & New Comment System!
January 14, 2013Big update today! I added the capability to comment on every blog post, every pinfire cartridge or pinfire box, and every cartridge manufacturer! I will add the capability to the other cartridges soon. Look around and comment on your favorite cartridge, box or manufacturer!
Here are a couple pictures from my most recent cartridge & gun photoshoot! This is a preview of some of the type of pictures that will go in the redesigned pinfire guns section sometime in the future.
This is a Belgian 12mm pinfire revolver. It has the rifled barrel proof mark on the barrel and cylinder, so it is post 1894, and then ★ over T for the inspector’s mark.
This is a Lefaucheux model 1854 Pinfire Revolver. Its serial number was used in the American Civil War.
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15mm Pinfire Boxes
January 7, 2013I added pictures of the five 15mm pinfire cartridge boxes I have. You can see the on the Pinfire Cartridge Boxes page. All of these and a lot of the other boxes have multiple views of the box if you click through to each box’s page. Check back soon for many more boxes I will be adding.
No Comments »Handful of New, Rare Cartridges Added!
December 26, 2012I added a few new uncommon cartridges and manufacturers. There is one that is believed to have been made for the guards at or someone involved with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan, one by Constant Costard, one by Felix Warnier, another by Heinrich Utendoerffer, a very rare set by HËRD’S which is thought to be Turkish or Syrian. And finally one by J.L.A., ones by Julien et Gauthey Frères, and lastly one by P. Segura y Hermano.
Then last, but definitely not least, one of the rarest ones in my collection, a 7mm pinfire case excavated in Ukraine. It was manufactured in Moscow, Russia by Русская Патронная Фабрика.
