Colt Model 1861 Navy Revolver Inscribed to Confederate Colonel Joel R. Griffin - 62nd Georgia Infantry

American Civil War

.36 caliber. 7.5" round barrel. SN: 3464 (mfg. ca.1861). Blued and color casehardened finish, brass backstrap and triggerguard, one-piece oil finished walnut grip. Single action percussion revolver with six-shot smooth round cylinder. Barrel marked in a single line - ADDRESS COL SAML COLT NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA -. Lower left of frame with two line COLT'S / PATENT mark and left rear of triggerguard web marked 36 CAL. Matching serial numbers throughout, including the grip, with the exception of the wedge, which is numbered 3374. Sights include the usual hammer nose notch rear sight and a German silver blade front sight. The backstrap is engraved in a single line: Colonel Joel R Griffin 62nd Regt Ga Inf.

Joel R. Griffin was from Houston County Georgia and was commissioned a captain in the 3rd Georgia Infantry April 26, 1861, commanding company E, the "Governor's Guards" which was comprised of men from his county. The regiment was the first of the Georgia regiments to leave the state, moving by rail to Portsmouth, VA in May of that year. The regiment then moved to Roanoke Island where it established defenses to protect the rear approach to Portsmouth. The regiment was engaged at the Battle of South Mills on April 12, 1862 and between April 28 and May 1 the regiment was reorganized. At this time Captain Griffin resigned and was subsequently commissioned Colonel of the 62nd Georgia Mounted Infantry, also noted in records as the 62nd Georgia Cavalry and the 1st Georgia Battalion of Partisan Partisan Rangers. The first major combat that Griffin saw with his new regiment was at Antietam on September 17, 1862 after which the regiment spent most of its service for the next two years in North Carolina, East Tennessee and Virginia. They were engaged at Cold Harbor and were involved with the Petersburg Campaign during June of 1864. The regiment moved to the Atlanta area during July of 1864 before returning to the Petersburg area in the early fall. Seven companies of the 62nd formed the nucleus of the 8th Georgia Cavalry which was formed in October of 1864, continuing under Griffin's command. The regiment continued operations around Petersburg until the spring of 1865 and was then involved in the Appomattox campaign. The regiment was one of the few to escape from the encirclement of the Army of Northern Virginia and cut through Federal lines to reach Joesph Johnston's Army of Tennessee in North Carolina. The regiment subsequently surrendered at Durham Station with the balance of Johnston's command.

The revolver is accompanied by a folder of research that includes copies of Griffin's service records, some quartermaster records and copies of other historical background regarding the man and the regiments that he served in.

From the Collection of George Oldenbourg