GREEN RIVER — A revolver significant in American history in several conflicts was examined this week through the Sweetwater County Historical Museum’s Vintage Firearms Research Program.
The handgun researched was a six-shot .45-caliber Colt Single Action Army. Museum staff determined that it was manufactured in 1876.
The U.S. Army adopted what was officially designated the Colt “New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol,” popularly known as the Single Action Army or the “Peacemaker Colt,” in 1873. A .45 with a 7½” barrel, the Single Action Army served as the Army’s official sidearm throughout the Indian Wars until the adoption of the Colt Model 1892, a double-action .38. The SAA was also extremely popular with civilian shooters in various barrel lengths.
In 1893, the Army began recalling its Single Action Armies and replacing them with the newly-adopted 1892s. The recalled SAAs went into storage for possible future use as the new 1892s became available.
The 1892s were at first issued almost exclusively to the cavalry, while artillery and infantry units continued to use the 7½ ” Single Action Army. Complaints were received from horse artillery regiments about the 7½” revolvers (and their holsters) being too long, making them cumbersome. As a result, in 1894 and 1895, the Army Ordnance Department began a process of refurbishing the 7½ ” SAAs in storage and shortening their barrels to 5½”. Officially or unofficially, the 5½” configuration came to be known as the “Artillery Model.”
After its defeat in the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded the Philippine Islands to the United States. Early in 1899, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, who wanted independence for the Philippines, not another chapter of colonialism. The brutal conflict continued until Aguinaldo’s capture in 1901 and beyond on a smaller scale. During the fighting, over 4,200 American service members and some 20,000 Filipinos were killed.
Combat reports came in from the field in the Philippines concerning the poor performance of the Model 1892’s .38 Long Colt ammunition; specifically that the .38-caliber bullets failed to stop enemy combatants, even they were hit multiple times. As a result, the Army hurriedly sent many of the refurbished 5½” .45 “Artillery Model” Single Action Armies to the troops there. These circumstances influenced the later military changeover to the Colt Model 1909 double-action revolver, a .45 caliber. They also played a major role in the American military’s adoption two years later of the Model 1911 semi-automatic pistol; it, too, chambered a .45-caliber cartridge, the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol). The Model 1911 and its successor, the Model 1911A1, continued to be issued as the standard American military sidearm until 1985.
If you have a vintage firearm (or firearms) and would like to learn more about them, contact the museum at (307) 872-6435 or via email at blustd@sweetwatercountywy.gov. There is no charge for the museum’s Firearms Research Program.
