Guns International #: 102970033
Seller's Inventory #: 247375

Category - Civil War Revolvers - Antique Revolvers - Cartridge

Category
Civil War Revolvers
Antique Revolvers - Cartridge

Antique DURANGO CONVERSION Kerr Style Revolver CIVIL WAR CSA SOUTH British Formerly in the VAL FORGETT Collection

Description:
Antique DURANGO CONVERSION Kerr Style Revolver CIVIL WAR CSA SOUTH British

Formerly in the VAL FORGETT Collection

Here we present an antique Durango Conversion Kerr Style Revolver, made circa the American Civil War Era between 1859 and 1866 in London, England. This five shot revolver was converted to cartridge by turning off the rear 7/16 inch of the cylinder, changing the rotating star and adding a 9/16 inch wide plate containing the firing pin and loading gate. They were completely refurbished at the arsenal where they were converted, removing some of the previous marks. 

Prior to its conversion from percussion, it would have possibly been used by Confederate cavalrymen during the American Civil War. This example was featured in the article "Why Kerrs?" by Valmor J. Forgett in the American Society of Arms Collector's bulletin and previously in his father's collection. In addition the conversion serial number "783" on the frame and some other components, the revolver has the number 171 on several components.

James Kerr designed this new revolver in .36 caliber and .45 caliber with production beginning in April 1859. The British government did not initially purchase the weapon and civilian sales were modest. However, the U.S. Civil War began in 1860 and the governments of both the United States and the Confederacy began purchasing arms in Britain. In November 1861, 1,600 revolvers were purchased for the Union army. However, Confederate arms buyers Maj. Caleb Huse and Cpt. James D. Bulloch contracted for all the rifles and revolvers the Armoury could produce, and the Confederate government could pay for. As a result, the London Armoury Company became a major arms supplier to the Confederacy, selling the most of the 11,000 Kerr revolvers produced to Huse.

As with all Confederate imports from England, these weapons had to pass through the Union blockade and the number that actually reached the Confederate army is unknown. Modern writers often state that the Confederates acclaimed the London Armoury Company's guns, which would include the Model 1853 rifle-muskets on the Enfield pattern, as the best weapons delivered to the Confederacy. The London Armoury Company supplied more revolvers to the Confederacy than the total produced by all the efforts of Southern manufacturers to make revolvers. As the Civil War progressed, the London Armoury Company was almost completely dependent on sales to the Confederacy and survived for only a year after the end of the war, dissolving in the Spring of 1866.



The overall condition is good. Refinished. The hammer and trigger are functional but intermittent. The cylinder does not revolve at present. The bore is dim and well rifled. The grip is solid. Numbers match throughout. Front sight absent.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 5-3/4 inches.

Caliber: 12mm

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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ancestryguns

$1800

#247375
 

Price: $1,800.00                     Buy Now

Antique: Yes