HISTORIC CASED COLT MODEL 1849 POCKET REVOLVER INSCRIBED TO BRIGADIER GENERAL WILLIAM N. GRIER. A very nice cased Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver. SN 257918. Cal. .31. , 5-shot cylinder with a 4” bbl and one-line New York address. The silver-plated brass backstrap has the period inscription W.N. Grier U.S. Army. The Walnut Colt factory case is lined in green velvet and includes one japanned tin of Ely Bros. percussion caps, a Colt’s patent copper eagle flask, an iron, .36-caliber bullet mold and a box of Colt’s .31 cal. cartridges.
William Nicholson Grier was born in Pennsylvania in 1812 and died at Napa Springs, California, 9 July, 1885. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1835, and was assigned to the 1st Dragoons. He was on frontier duty in the Choctaw Nation from 1839 till 1840 when he became Assistant Instructor of Infantry and Cavalry Tactics at West Point. He held the office for one year, after which he was engaged in further frontier duty in the west. He was appointed Captain, 23 April, 1846 and entered on active service at the beginning of the Mexican war. He was brevetted Major for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales, 16 March, 1848 and remained out west on duty at Fernandez de Taos in 1849. During the two following years he took part in the expedition against the Apache Indians and was wounded in the skirmish at Too-koon-kurre Butte, 17 November, 1849. Subsequently he was in active service on the Pacific coast and in the far northwest, serving in expeditions against the Indians in Washington territory. At the outset of the Civil War he served as Acting Inspector-General of the Army of the Potomac, and commanded the 1st Regiment, U.S. Cavalry in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign. He was present at the siege of Yorktown and the battle of Williamsburg where he was wounded and brevetted Colonel for gallantry. He also took part in the battle of Gaines’s Mills and in the Seven Days’ Battle. He was on court-martial duty in St. Louis, Missouri, from September, 1862 until February, 1863, and served as the Superintendent of Volunteer Recruiting and Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officer for Ohio. He also held this office in Iowa from March, 1863 through June, 1865, and in Pennsylvania from June, 1865, until April, 1866. He was brevetted Brigadier-General, United States Army, for faithful service during the war on 13 March, 1865. On 31 August, 1866, he became Colonel of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry. At his own request he was placed on the retired list, 15 December 1870. A lot of photocopied Army and war records accompany the cased revolver. CONDITION: Revolver is in excellent condition with approximately 30% of its factory finish on the bbl amid patches of surface pitting. Cylinder scenes are strong, however, a dark patch exists where the revolver rested in its case for many years. Mechanics are fine and the grips very good with almost all of their orig varnish. Accouterments are very good as well. Case interior is worn and the color faded to a dull olive drab green. Lid has an age crack about 4 ½” long. A marvelous opportunity to own an inscribed revolver to a gallant soldier who served in two American wars and brevetted Brigadier General. Ex Hank Truslow Collection. 4-54187 CoW15 (5,000-10,000)
Auction:
Firearms - Spring 2005
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.
