Arms, Armor and Militaria

.36 caliber. 7.5" octagon to round barrel. SN: 680. Oxidized metal, brass triggerguard and blackstrap, one-piece smooth walnut grip. Confederate made copy of a Colt Model 1851 Navy single action percussion revolver with a six-chambered, un-fluted cylinder, hammer nose notch rear sight and brass post front sight. Top flat of barrel marked in a single line LEECH & RIGDON CSA. Matching serial numbers are found on bottom of barrel web, on the wedge, on the bottom of frame, on the bottom of the triggerguard, on butt and on the cylinder. The loading lever has been numbered to match as well. A small cryptic D is also present on the triggerguard. The left side of the grip has four distinct "kill" notches cut deeply into the lower edge and a name is lightly scratched on the right side of the grip that is only partially legible and appears to read W H PED???. This revolver was previously part of the Will Hoffield Collection, and was sold by Rock Island Auctions on December 6, 2008. At that time, the barrel was period cut to 3.75" barrel with no loading lever present. The revolver was subsequently restored with the entire round portion of the barrel being added since 2008, the barrel probably lined, and a loading lever was added. During the restoration an incorrect pattern of loading lever catch for this serial number range was installed as well. Only about 1,500 revolvers were produced by Leech & Rigdon in Columbus, MS and Greensboro, GA between 1863 and 1864, making them a rare Confederate handgun. Although restored to its original full-length barrel configuration, the gun still displays very well and is an opportunity to own a Leech & Rigdon revolver for significantly less than the normal $20,000 to $30,000 selling price for these rare guns.

The Confederate arms making company of Leech & Rigdon had its origins in Memphis, TN when Thomas Leech moved to that city circa 1854 to establish a cotton brokerage. The firm of Thomas Leech & Company had four initial investors, Leech and his brother and two Englishmen involved in the cotton trade. As much of the south’s cotton was destined for English mills, this arrangement made good business sense. As the political rhetoric of the period continued to heat up, and the potential for the secession of southern states became more of a reality after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, Leech began to organize his business to enter the military goods trade. To this end he sought out the assistance of Charles H Rigdon, who had relocated to Memphis from St. Louis in 1859 or 1860. Rigdon was a skilled machinist and scale maker and had the experience and technical ability to manufacture edged weapons, firearms and cast brass accoutrements. Early Leech & Rigdon production items are typically marked with the initial firm name of Thomas Leech & Co, with later Memphis production items marked Thos. Leech & Co Novelty Works Memphis, or Memphis Novelty Works, or sometimes simply Novelty Works. The firm produced a wide array of edged weapons, including cavalry sabers, officer’s swords for infantry and cavalry, short artillery swords, naval cutlasses, bayonets and a dizzying array of “Bowie” and fighting knives. They also produced cast brass accouterments like belt buckles and spurs and offered complete accoutrement sets like saber and sword belts. The firm eventually began to produce a .36 caliber percussion revolver based upon the Colt Model 1851 Navy. With the fall of the Confederate Forts of Henry and Donelson, followed by the fall of Nashville in February 1862, the firm started plans to relocate further south and away from encroaching Union forces. The decision was taken to relocate to Columbus, MS adjacent to the newly established Confederate Briarfield Arsenal. Soon the newly reorganized Novelty Works company, soon to be Leech & Rigdon after the partnership was officially consummated, was back making arms and equipment. The company continued to turn out a variety of arms and material for the Confederacy in their new location, but as the Union armies continued to push into the region, the firm moved again, along with the Briarfield Arsenal, to Selma, AL in the fall of 1862. Leech & Rigdon’s stay in Selma was relatively short-lived and by the spring of 1863 they had moved to their final location, Greensboro, GA. Here they continued to manufacture arms and accouterments until the Leech & Rigdon partnership was officially dissolved in January of 1864. A few days later, a new partnership between Rigdon and J.A. Ansley, Smith and Charles Keen established the relatively short-lived firm of Rigdon, Ansley & Co. Rigdon & Ansley relocated to Augusta, GA and there manufactured a few hundred Rigdon & Ansley revolvers before the end of the war in April of 1865.