Revised: 3/6/2014

Please Note: The cylinder pin has been shortened (probably during period of use) and cylinder pin retaining screw is missing (as seen in the catalog image)

HISTORICAL LARGE FRAME BEAUMONT-ADAMS PERCUSSION DRAGOON REVOLVER INSCRIBED TO “A FOUNDER OF THE PONY EXPRESS” AND LATER CONFEDERATE PURCHASING AGENT, MAJOR BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FICKLIN.

SN B20276. This rare large-bore Pattern 1856 revolver, 38 bore, approx 50 cal, is inscribed on right side of bbl flat ‘B.F.FICKLIN, VIRGINIA.’ This is a typical style of engraving found on other Confederate-associated English military revolvers. Gun overall measures just over 13″ with a 6-1/2″ full oct bbl. This massive Dragoon had about the largest caliber bullet utilized in any Civil War Revolver. It is impressive. These English guns with multiple patents in this era typically have two serial numbers. This gun has on the frame ‘B20276’ over ‘ADAMS PATENT NO. 36025R’. The ‘B’ serial number we are utilizing as this is the number that is used in the Confederate inventories according to recent research to be published in upcoming text on English Confederate imports The English Connection by C. A. Huey & R. Pritchard. Gun was not disassembled as it is no doubt all orig, matching and authentic. It is interesting to note that there are 5 other identical revolvers with names inscribed identically to other Virginia military officers in same position on right bbl flat of guns in the same serial range. Identities and inscriptions of these other guns will be published in 2014. It is also thought according to upcoming text that Ficklin was the responsible agent for bringing these guns to the Confederacy. Benjamin Franklin Ficklin was a famous graduate of VMI in 1849. He taught school for a short period of time but the lure of the West was too great. By the early 1850s he was out on the plains in the employ of Russell, Majors & Waddell Freight Line. “He familiarized himself with the West making the acquaintance of the Indians, proved himself a shrewd trader, and mixed freely with the military.” Ficklin was one of the orig 3 partners of the Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company which conducted the famous Pony Express. Ficklin was the first general superintendent for the Pony Express until being replaced in June 1860. According to VMI archives “Along with several others, he formed the famous Pony Express courier company in January 1860 and served as a key partner in the venture until he left the company due to conflict with another partner.” When the Civil War began in 1861 Ficklin was commissioned Major in Virginia’s provisional army. He took part in the July 1st disastrous assault at Malvern Hill southeast of Richmond where, according to the Charlottesville newspaper, “Ficklin succeeded by his own hands of saving a cannon abandoned by those who had served it.” Life between battles was notoriously dull and Ficklin turned to the high seas. He became a blockade runner, operating 3 ships in the risky business: the Virginia, Coquette, and Giraffe. Ficklin is known to have hired 26 English bank-note engravers that he smuggled to the Confederacy on the blockade runner Giraffe in 1863. According to Monticello’s official website: “Ficklin’s ocean-going operations must have proven quite lucrative, for on November 17, 1864, he purchased Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and 600 surrounding acres from the government of the Confederate States of America. Having been the property of Uriah Phillips Levy, a commodore in the U.S. Navy who owned Monticello from 1836 until his death in 1862, the estate had been seized by the Confederacy under its Alien Enemies Act, which authorized the confiscation of property owned by Northerners. According to an account in the Lynchburg Republican, the deputy marshal handling the auction sale of Monticello first told the large assembled crowd that one acre of the property – the Jefferson family cemetery – was reserved and would not be sold. “Monticello was put up,” the newspaper noted, “and the first bid was $20,000, the last $80,500, and Lieutenant-Colonel B. F. Ficklin the purchaser… The bust of Mr. Jefferson, which stood in the hall on a fluted Corinthian pedestal, brought only $50, and will still retain its place, as Mr. Ficklin repurchased it.” The Lynchburg newspaper also described the condition of the Monticello house: “Visitors have defaced the walls of the house by scribbling their names over them. Hundreds of them can be seen and read on each side of the front entrance to the hall; pieces of the bust of Mr. Jefferson were chipped off; chairs, tables, mirrors, vases broken and destroyed, and in some cases mementoes of rare virtue and art have been purloined. Shame, shame upon our thoughtless countrymen; why should they be so disrespectful to the sepulcher of the great patriot of the Revolution?” Ficklin did not acquire the title to Monticello until March 17, 1865, a mere three weeks before Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Although it is unclear whether Ficklin ever stayed in Jefferson’s home, Ficklin family lore holds that the adventurer took his aged father to Monticello, where he died. (The U.S. government never recognized the Confederacy’s or Ficklin’s ownership of Monticello; after the Civil War all confiscated properties were returned to their previous owners. In 1879, after years of disputes among the heirs of Uriah Levy, his nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy bought and took possession of Monticello.) In April 1865, Ben Ficklin was in Washington, D.C. On the 16th of the month, two days after President Lincoln was killed by John Wilkes Booth, Ficklin was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the assassination. A telegraph operator had reported Ficklin to the authorities, saying the 37-year-old ex-Confederate presented “the appearance of a refined pirate.” Ficklin was never tried, and was released after spending a couple of months in prison. Within two years he was back in Texas, running the U.S. mail between San Antonio and El Paso. When his stagecoaches were attacked by Kickapoos, Ficklin managed to obtain cavalry escorts. He later armed his passengers with Spencer repeating carbines. The adventurous Benjamin Franklin Ficklin died March 10, 1871, but not from a bullet, arrow, or cannonball. Rather, a jagged fishbone lodged in his throat during a dinner at the Willard Hotel in Washington. When a physician tried to remove it he severed an artery, and Ficklin drowned in his own blood. His body was transported to Charlottesville and lies buried in the city’s Maplewood Cemetery.” PROVENANCE: Norm Flayderman Estate Collection. CONDITION: This gun is fine to very fine overall retaining 80% of its orig blue on frame and bbl with numerous small dings, dents and scratches. Cylinder retains 10 – 20% blue with much of its remainder turning plum with scattered dings, dents and scratches. Trigger guard has strong traces of finish in protected areas as does trigger with balance being gray/brown. Stocks are sound and solid with crisp checkering with some dings and dents. Mechanically gun functions intermittently. Rifling in bore is crisp with rust and pitting. Markings including serial numbers are all crisp and easily discerned. 4-51190 JS (8,000-12,000) – Lot 2117

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2014

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2117	$36,800.00	Revised: 3/6/2014 Please Note: The cylinder pin has been shortened (probably during period of use) and cylinder pin retaining screw is missing (as seen in the catalog image) HISTORICAL LARGE FRAME BEAUMONT-ADAMS PERCUSSION DRAGOON REVOLVER INSCRIBED TO “A FOUNDER OF THE PONY EXPRESS” AND LATER CONFEDERATE PURCHASING AGENT, MAJOR BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FICKLIN. SN B20276. This rare large-bore Pattern 1856 revolver, 38 bore, approx 50 cal, is inscribed on right side of bbl flat ‘B.F.FICKLIN, VIRGINIA.’ This is a typical style of engraving found on other Confederate-associated English military revolvers. Gun overall measures just over 13″ with a 6-1/2″ full oct bbl. This massive Dragoon had about the largest caliber bullet utilized in any Civil War Revolver. It is impressive. These English guns with multiple patents in this era typically have two serial numbers. This gun has on the frame ‘B20276’ over ‘ADAMS PATENT NO. 36025R’. The ‘B’ serial number we are utilizing as this is the number that is used in the Confederate inventories according to recent research to be published in upcoming text on English Confederate imports The English Connection by C. A. Huey & R. Pritchard. Gun was not disassembled as it is no doubt all orig, matching and authentic. It is interesting to note that there are 5 other identical revolvers with names inscribed identically to other Virginia military officers in same position on right bbl flat of guns in the same serial range. Identities and inscriptions of these other guns will be published in 2014. It is also thought according to upcoming text that Ficklin was the responsible agent for bringing these guns to the Confederacy. Benjamin Franklin Ficklin was a famous graduate of VMI in 1849. He taught school for a short period of time but the lure of the West was too great. By the early 1850s he was out on the plains in the employ of Russell, Majors & Waddell Freight Line. “He familiarized himself with the West making the acquaintance of the Indians, proved himself a shrewd trader, and mixed freely with the military.” Ficklin was one of the orig 3 partners of the Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company which conducted the famous Pony Express. Ficklin was the first general superintendent for the Pony Express until being replaced in June 1860. According to VMI archives “Along with several others, he formed the famous Pony Express courier company in January 1860 and served as a key partner in the venture until he left the company due to conflict with another partner.” When the Civil War began in 1861 Ficklin was commissioned Major in Virginia’s provisional army. He took part in the July 1st disastrous assault at Malvern Hill southeast of Richmond where, according to the Charlottesville newspaper, “Ficklin succeeded by his own hands of saving a cannon abandoned by those who had served it.” Life between battles was notoriously dull and Ficklin turned to the high seas. He became a blockade runner, operating 3 ships in the risky business: the Virginia, Coquette, and Giraffe. Ficklin is known to have hired 26 English bank-note engravers that he smuggled to the Confederacy on the blockade runner Giraffe in 1863. According to Monticello’s official website: “Ficklin’s ocean-going operations must have proven quite lucrative, for on November 17, 1864, he purchased Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and 600 surrounding acres from the government of the Confederate States of America. Having been the property of Uriah Phillips Levy, a commodore in the U.S. Navy who owned Monticello from 1836 until his death in 1862, the estate had been seized by the Confederacy under its Alien Enemies Act, which authorized the confiscation of property owned by Northerners. According to an account in the Lynchburg Republican, the deputy marshal handling the auction sale of Monticello first told the large assembled crowd that one acre of the property – the Jefferson family cemetery – was reserved and would not be sold. “Monticello was put up,” the newspaper noted, “and the first bid was $20,000, the last $80,500, and Lieutenant-Colonel B. F. Ficklin the purchaser… The bust of Mr. Jefferson, which stood in the hall on a fluted Corinthian pedestal, brought only $50, and will still retain its place, as Mr. Ficklin repurchased it.” The Lynchburg newspaper also described the condition of the Monticello house: “Visitors have defaced the walls of the house by scribbling their names over them. Hundreds of them can be seen and read on each side of the front entrance to the hall; pieces of the bust of Mr. Jefferson were chipped off; chairs, tables, mirrors, vases broken and destroyed, and in some cases mementoes of rare virtue and art have been purloined. Shame, shame upon our thoughtless countrymen; why should they be so disrespectful to the sepulcher of the great patriot of the Revolution?” Ficklin did not acquire the title to Monticello until March 17, 1865, a mere three weeks before Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Although it is unclear whether Ficklin ever stayed in Jefferson’s home, Ficklin family lore holds that the adventurer took his aged father to Monticello, where he died. (The U.S. government never recognized the Confederacy’s or Ficklin’s ownership of Monticello; after the Civil War all confiscated properties were returned to their previous owners. In 1879, after years of disputes among the heirs of Uriah Levy, his nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy bought and took possession of Monticello.) In April 1865, Ben Ficklin was in Washington, D.C. On the 16th of the month, two days after President Lincoln was killed by John Wilkes Booth, Ficklin was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the assassination. A telegraph operator had reported Ficklin to the authorities, saying the 37-year-old ex-Confederate presented “the appearance of a refined pirate.” Ficklin was never tried, and was released after spending a couple of months in prison. Within two years he was back in Texas, running the U.S. mail between San Antonio and El Paso. When his stagecoaches were attacked by Kickapoos, Ficklin managed to obtain cavalry escorts. He later armed his passengers with Spencer repeating carbines. The adventurous Benjamin Franklin Ficklin died March 10, 1871, but not from a bullet, arrow, or cannonball. Rather, a jagged fishbone lodged in his throat during a dinner at the Willard Hotel in Washington. When a physician tried to remove it he severed an artery, and Ficklin drowned in his own blood. His body was transported to Charlottesville and lies buried in the city’s Maplewood Cemetery.” PROVENANCE: Norm Flayderman Estate Collection. CONDITION: This gun is fine to very fine overall retaining 80% of its orig blue on frame and bbl with numerous small dings, dents and scratches. Cylinder retains 10 – 20% blue with much of its remainder turning plum with scattered dings, dents and scratches. Trigger guard has strong traces of finish in protected areas as does trigger with balance being gray/brown. Stocks are sound and solid with crisp checkering with some dings and dents. Mechanically gun functions intermittently. Rifling in bore is crisp with rust and pitting. Markings including serial numbers are all crisp and easily discerned. 4-51190 JS (8,000-12,000) – Lot 2117 Auction: Firearms - Spring 2014 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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HISTORICAL LARGE FRAME BEAUMONT-ADAMS PERCUSSION DRAGOON REVOLVER INSCRIBED TO “A FOUNDER OF THE PONY EXPRESS” AND LATER CONFEDERATE PURCHASING AGENT, MAJOR BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FICKLIN.