In terms of the American Indian Wars in the late 19th century, no battle is as famous as the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25-26, 1876, during the Great Sioux War of 1876 (aka the Black Hills War). The "Battle of the Greasy Grass" as it was known to Native Americans, was one of the greatest battlefield victories in Native American history and one of the worst defeats in U.S. history. In the battle, the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho fought off an attack and then pursued and defeated the 7th Cavalry, including destroying Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's immediate command. Like St. Clair's Defeat during the Northwest Indian War almost a century earlier, the impressive Native American victory did little to slow the tide of western expansion, but it did make legends out of many of the warriors and chiefs that fought that day. By the time the corpses of Custer and his men laid strewn across the plains, Custer was already a very well-known military leader, but his death fighting alongside his command against a superior number of native warriors secured his place in history and has made "Custer's Last Stand" one of the most iconic legends of the American West. As a result, Custer became the most famous U.S. cavalry officer of the Indian Wars, and he and his men have been memorialized in countless works of art and literature. Their defeat shocked the nation. Over the decades, the story of Custer's defeat has been told over and over with varying degrees of accuracy. Much of what happened has been lost to time given no one fighting alongside Custer lived to tell the tale. Instead we have oral histories passed down from Native American warriors who defeated him, reports from surviving members of the 7th Cavalry and the U.S. allied Crow and Arikara scouts that fought elsewhere during the battle, and evidence collected from the battlefield. The basic story is clear. Custer led the 7th Cavalry in an attack on a large combined village of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapahoes on the Little Bighorn River. He believed the village was smaller and contained at most 800 warriors, but instead, they found it contained around 8,000 Native Americans and as many as 1,800 warriors. The 7th Cavalry had 600 men, and 125 men were with the pack train. Custer took command of five companies (210 men) while two other detachments were led by Captain Frederick Benteen and Major Marcus Reno. After the initial attack, Reno's men retreated, and Custer's command remained separated and was encircled by the Native American warriors. Instead of one last stand as is often depicted, there were multiple attempts by groups of his men to fight. Around 40 of the 210 fighting under Custer died surrounded by hundreds of warriors on the hill where a stone monument stands today. Reno's detachment, supported by Benteen's men, fought on to the south through the night and learned of Custer's death the following day. The whole nation was soon shocked by the news of "Custer's Last Stand." As a result, the military committed additional resources to the effort to "pacify" the "hostile Indians" on the plains, and most were defeated and confined to reservations within a year. Colt Single Action Army revolvers are among the most iconic, collectible, and valuable firearms in American history. They are certainly among the top "blue chips" of gun collecting. Thus, it comes as no surprise that when it comes to the classic U.S. contract "Cavalry Model" Colt Single Action Army revolvers, none are more desirable than those used by the U.S. 7th Cavalry under the command of Custer at the historic battle discussed above. Our current revolver falls within the "prime lot" of Colt Single Action Army revolvers issued to Custer's men prior to that fateful day: the Lot Five revolvers, serial numbers 4500-5504. This historic revolver was examined by noted Colt historian and author John Kopec and he has recorded his observations in an accompanying letter of authentication. Kopec identified the O.W. Ainsworth sub-inspected revolver as falling within Lot Five. As Kopec explained, "Lot Five was one of the 'prime' lots from which those revolvers which had been issued to the Seventh Cavalry were drawn. These new 'strap-pistols' were issued to the Seventh Cavalry just prior to their departure into the Black Hills on July 2, 1874." Per Kopec the revolver (no. 5337) falls between nos. 5147, a known revolver issued to Troop L, 7th Cavalry as of March 14, 1888 and 5360, a known revolver issued to Troop G, 3rd Cavalry as of September 14, 1886. Kopec noted that nos. 5349, 5367, and 5395 were returned for refurbishing in 1895 and therefore "indicating that these revolvers had served with a cavalry unit during the Indian Wars." The cylinder is a mixed component with no. "4870," and Kopec concluded "this cylinder was a 'field mixed' component and therefore could act as a distinct clue as to where our subject revolver may have served during the Indian Wars. The revolver #4865 had been issued to Co. H. 2nd Cavalry as of June 121, 1874. The revolver #4878 had been 'turned-in' by the Indian 'Fool-Bear' as of September 5th 1876 just some three months after the famous Custer Battle. So, actually we have choice, a Second Cavalry issue or this Seventh Cavalry captured reference." Kopec addressed other areas worth noting: The barrel and ejector head show tool-like marks, ejector spring is a modern replacement, has an old style mainspring which are thought to have been left from Model 1860 Army production. In the table on page 260, Custer’s command (companies C, E, F, I, and L plus ten staff and three scouts) are listed as having revolvers in the Lot Five and Lot Six range. The 212 revolvers from Custer’s men are presumed to have all been looted by Native American warriors. After the battle, 302 of the 632 revolvers carried into the battle by the 7th Cavalry were reported lost, and “At the minimum 252 and probably closer to 280 Colt Army revolvers were recovered by the warriors during the two day battle at the Little Bighorn” as noted on page 261. Many of the revolvers captured during the battle would have been employed by the warriors later in the battle as the warriors finished their rout of Custer’s men and then reformed and engaged Reno and Benteen’s men in the south. Native American capture would explain why some of these revolvers would not have been altered to Artillery configuration near the end of the century and also explains why so few survive given the overall low survival rate of Native American weapons broadly. See, for instance, no. 4729 sold by Rock Island Auction Co. in August 2024 (lot 3318) and cited in "Cavalry & Artillery Revolvers" on page 280. Since the publication of Kopec's book, a limited number of additional examples have come to light. The most notable of these was serial number 4552 sold by Rock Island Auction Co. on May 14, 2022. That revolver is the finest known Lot Five revolver extant and came with documentation identifying it as a battlefield pickup from the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and it received a gold seal letter from Kopec and brought an impressive $763,750 at auction, clearly demonstrating the immense interest and value these Lot Five revolvers possess. This historic revolver is in classic Cavalry Model configuration and certainly has the look of an Indian Wars survivor. It has a blade front sight, the top of the barrel is marked with the one-line address "+COLT PT. F. A. MFG. Co HARTFORD CT, U.S.A.+" showing the die breaks in the "o" in "Co" and partially broken "A" in "HARTFORD," the bottom of the barrel has "P" and "A," the ejector has the early "bullseye" head, the "black powder" frame marked with the two-line patent marking on the left side, "A" inspection marks on the trigger guard and back strap just behind the hammer, “P” and “A” on the cylinder, grips have traces of cartouche on the left side, and matching serial numbers on the barrel, frame, trigger guard, and back strap.

Very good as a Lot Five Cavalry Model revolver that is a true Indian Wars survivor displaying a mixed gray patina typical of spending a lifetime in a challenging environment with traces of original blue finish on the barrel under the ejector rod housing. The re-oiled grip also displays frontier issued character with high edge wear, repaired on the right side, and chipped toes. Mechanically fine. This revolver has a story to tell! Few of these Lot 5 revolvers remain in original Cavalry Model configuration.