Guns linked to the Confederacy are rare today, but relatively speaking, there weren't many to begin with. While northern gunmakers were turning out plenty of guns, the Confederacy with its lack of resources struggled to obtain the weapons to fight the Civil War.

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Southern ordnance officers turned to guns purchased in Europe that passed through the Union blockade or from gunmakers who were turning out small numbers of guns, sometimes relying on brass rather than steel for parts.

Confederate Guns: A Colt Model 1860 from Gettysburg

Colt shipped plenty of guns to the South in the months leading up to the opening salvos of the Civil War, but promptly stopped as the war got underway and the company faced public outcry for arming the South. Among these guns shipped by Colt were 160 Model 1860 revolvers, along with 80 shoulder stocks and 80 flasks in January 1861 to William T. Martin, the commander of the Adams Troop of Cavalry in Natchez, Miss.

William Gustine Conner was a Yale University graduate and Mississippi plantation owner. He was commissioned as an officer in the Adams Troop as it was renamed Company A of the Jefferson Davis Legion Cavalry. Conner was captured in May 1862 and released in August 1862, shortly before Antietam.

By the time the Legion reached Gettysburg on July 1, Conner was a major and served as the unit’s executive officer. Conner held a bitter grudge from his time in a Union prison and was promised he could lead the charge once inside enemy territory.

Lined up across from George Custer’s unit, the Michigan Brigade, on the third and decisive day, Conner and his men charged the Union line in a fierce cavalry assault as Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry tried to draw Union forces away from Pickett’s Charge.

Conner charged fearlessly into battle and soon found himself in the midst of the enemy and injured. Surrounded and attempting to escape, Conner's plight is said to have attracted the attention of Confederate General Wade Hampton. The men had ridden side-by-side earlier in the fight. Hampton spotted the surrounded trooper and rushed to his aid. He was slashed twice by sabers and took shrapnel to the hip before escaping without his comrade. Conner was not as fortunate.

The Mississippi Historical Society has documented testimony that Conner rode into the fray “amid the rattle of pistols and clashes of sabers, he seized a guidon (a cavalry standard or flag) of the enemy, and when ordered to surrender drew his pistol and killed two of his assailants before being killed himself.”

In Stuart's report of the Battle of Gettysburg he writes, "Among the killed was Major Conner, a gallant and efficient officer of the Jeff. Davis Legion."

William Gustine Conner’s Colt 1860 Army Revolver with fluted cylinder and stock reflects the patina of one used in the Civil War and is an immense opportunity to obtain a gun with provenance to the Confederacy and the Battle of Gettysburg. The back strap has the historical inscription “Capt. W.G. Conner.” It also includes a non-matching shoulder stock that was among the 80 sent along with 160 revolvers and 80 flasks. A factory letter lists the shipment to the commander of the Adams Troop of Cavalry, of Natchez, Miss., on Jan. 17, 1861. Among the documentation is the original receipt for payment dated Jan. 14, 1861.

Confederate Guns: Colt Model 1851 of the Hawks

Born into a slave-owning family in North Carolina, Francis Lister Hawks had a diverse career as a lawyer, clergyman, historian and author. He studied for the Episcopalian ministry and was ordained as a priest, becoming the highest paid clergyman in the United States. He served as rector of a church in New York City for 12 years before serving at various southern churches and the first president of the University of Louisiana that later became Tulane University. He returned to New York City in 1849 where he served at Cavalry Church before going to Christ Church in Baltimore in 1862 and then returning to New York City in 1865. He died a year later.

Francis Tomes Hawks, was born in New York City in 1832, the son of Francis Lister Hawks and his second wife. He served as an engineer on the construction and landscaping of Central Park. Despite his ties to the North, he was commissioned as a captain and aide-de-camp to Gen. Lawrence O’Bryan Branch of the 33rd North Carolina. He was likely given the Colt Model 1851 Navy by his father when he went off to fight for the Confederacy.

Hawks resigned his commission for one with Company A of the 2nd Regiment Engineer Troops in Wilmington, N.C., in August 1863 and helped prepare coastal defense at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Hawks fell ill in January 1865 and was on sick leave when the Union attacked the Carolina coast. He married after the war and moved to a tobacco plantation owned by his wife’s sister and worked for Midland Virginia Railway. He died in 1883.

Francis Lister Hawks originally owned this high condition Colt Model 1851 Navy made in 1852. He likely gave the gun to his son, Francis Tomes Hawks in 1861. This incredibly high condition early factory engraved Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver features beautiful early Hartford engraving, quite a rarity. The engraving consists of very circular scroll patterns with some feather-like detailing on the rear third of the barrel, flats of the loading lever arm, essentially all of the frame, most of the hammer, and on the trigger guard and back strap along with wavy line borders and some areas of light crosshatching. This early style Hartford engraving is attributed to Thomas J. Barlow who engraved for Colt between mid-1852 to early 1854. The revolver is featured in the book "Colt 1851 Navies and 1861 Navies and Conversions" by Robert Jordon on page 267.

Confederate Guns: C.L. Dragoons Colt Third Model Dragoon Revolver

In the months leading up to the Civil War, Colt’s Manufacturing Company sold guns to all parties, but  Colt revolvers continued to find their way past the Union blockade throughout the conflict.

In an article titled “C.L. Dragoons” in “The Gun Report” Volume 36, Number 8 from January 1991, author Walter L. Anderson concluded that arms dealer Cooper & Pond of New York ran a number of revolvers through the Union blockade. A factory letter included with this revolver shows it was shipped to Cooper & Pond in February of 1861 as part of a 16-gun shipment. It has “C.L. Dragoons” on the upper left flat at the breech.

The Crocheron Dragoons were led by its commander Robert W. Smith and organized in Dallas County, Alabama where Selma is located. The unit was named after prominent planter John Crocheron, who purchased arms and equipment to outfit the company. The unit became a company in the 3rd Alabama Cavalry. The unit stood guard around Mobile and Pensacola before being taken on as Gen. Braxton Bragg’s escort and courier unit.

Along with this Colt Third Model Dragoon revolver’s very scarce hand-engraved “C.L. Dragoons” on the upper left flat at the breech, the frame's recoil shield is cut for a shoulder stock, and the elongated mounting screws are fitted to the sides of the frame. The butt has the corresponding slot for the stock. Only an estimated 1,200-1,500 Third Model Dragoons were cut for a shoulder stock.

Confederate Guns: Griswold and Gunnison Revolver

The largest number of Confederate revolvers came from a firm run by Samuel Griswold and Arvin Gunnison out of Griswoldville, Georgia. Griswold & Gunnison produced approximately 3,700 revolvers, making them the most prolific Confederate handgun manufacturer during the Civil War. Perhaps the most well-known type of Confederate revolver model, the Griswold was patterned off of the Colt Model 1851 Navy and features a brass frame, trigger guard, and back strap.

This standard model revolver has an octagonal barrel lug with a round barrel, one-piece walnut grip, a brass frame, trigger guard, and back strap. The six-shot cylinder has rectangular stops, and safety pins between the percussion nipples.

This Griswold and Gunnison revolver correctly has no maker identification; however, it has a few of the cryptic marks found on most Griswold & Gunnison revolvers. In this case, "III" and "V" are stamped on the left side of trigger guard extension and left side of the matching rear strap, and a "V" on the rear flat surface of the frame, all hidden underneath the grip.

Confederate Guns: Spiller & Burr Revolver

In 1861, Lt. Col. James H. Burton, Edward N. Spiller, and David J. Burr launched a factory in Richmond, Virginia in an attempt to manufacture revolvers for the Confederacy, but quickly relocated to Atlanta, Georgia. Production started with an optimistic government contract of about 15,000 revolvers in 1862, but operation was halted in November 1864 due to Sherman's March to the Sea with only about 1,400 revolvers made.

Edward Spiller was aiming for a rugged yet easy to produce design, and he selected the Whitney Arms Company Navy as the basis for the Spiller & Burr revolver. The primary differences are observed in the Spiller & Burr’s distinctive solid brass frame and the revolver’s cylinder composition, with Spiller & Burr opting to use iron cylinders rather than steel, as fine quality steel was in scarce supply.

About 1,400 Spiller & Burr revolvers were manufactured between factories in Atlanta and Macon, Ga. "C.S" is stamped on the lower right side of the frame at the front. It features a post front sight, frame groove rear sight, six-shot cylinder with safety notches between the nipples like the Remington revolvers, and smooth walnut grips. The cylinder has the spiral twist visible in the metal which is similar to Damascus twist in shotgun barrels of the period; a feature noted in authentic revolvers.

Confederate Guns: Bilharz, Hall & Co. Saddle Ring Carbine

Only 400-700 of these carbines were made by Bilharz, Hall & Co. of Pittsylvania Courthouse, Va. From late 1863 to early 1864. These are a .58 caliber muzzleloader with a 22-inch barrel. It is closely copied on the Springfield Model 1855 carbine. These were apparently handmade because of the lack of facilities and gunmaking equipment faced by the Confederacy. Because of their scarcity, it is unclear to what units the carbines were distributed.

(pic) This Bilharz, Hall & Co. saddle ring carbine has a “P” marked on the left side of the barrel near the breech. It is mounted in a one piece straight grip walnut stock with iron fittings. It is also marked with serial number “523” on the rear face of the barrel and on the underside of the breech.

Confederate Guns: Second Model London LeMat “Grapeshot” Revolver

The LeMat revolver is one of the most distinctive Confederate pistols thanks to its unusual central smoothbore “grape shot” barrel. This fascinating firearm was carried by numerous Southern military generals and officers such as P. G. T. Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, and J. E. B. Stuart.

Designed by Dr. Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orleans, these unique revolvers were primarily produced in Liege, Belgium, and Paris, France, and smuggled into the South during the Civil War. Period advertisements for the revolvers refer to them as “LeMat's Grape Shot Revolvers.” Total production of LeMat revolvers in Liege, Paris, and London was less than 2,900 between 1856 and 1865, and this example was manufactured about 1863.

This Second Model London LeMat grapeshot revolver, manufactured in 1863, has a 9-shot cylinder chambered in .42 caliber and a 16 gauge smoothbore grapeshot barrel. This revolver has an overcoat of golden varnish. It is accompanied by an unmarked Confederate officer’s sword.

Confederate Guns: Colt Single Action Army marked “Thomas J. Goree”

This Colt Single Action Army is an anachronism since it is a post-Civil War revolver, but it has ties to the top of the Confederate military. Thomas J. Goree was an attorney in Houston at the start of the Civil War who left his practice and headed to Virginia to join the Confederate Army. Traveling to New Orleans by boat from Galveston, he met Major James Longstreet who resigned from the Army and was also headed to Virginia to join the rebellion. Longstreet, who fought bravely in the Mexican War, would rise to be one of Robert E. Lee’s most trusted generals.

Goree who achieved the rank of captain served as Longstreet’s aide-de-camp through the war and involved in almost every battle fought by Longstreet’s division that included Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. Longstreet doubted Lee’s invasion of the North fearing the casualties that would weaken the Army in an offensive and openly questioned Lee’s attack at Gettysburg and especially the action known as “Pickett’s Charge.”

Goree’s clothes were often bullet-ridden and horses shot out from under him but he never experienced serious harm during the war. Longstreet, on the other hand, was wounded by friendly fire in the neck and shoulder in May 1864, leaving his right arm permanently paralyzed.

At Appomattox, Lee told Goree, speaking of Longstreet, "Captain, I am going to put my old war horse under your charge. I want you to take good care of him."

Goree returned to Texas where he resumed his legal career and had other business interests. He was appointed to the Texas State Prisons board of directors and served as superintendent of the Huntsville prison in 1877 and then superintendent of the state prisons. He likely received the revolver when he was superintendent of the state prisons.

This Colt Single Action Army was shipped in 1884 chambered in .45 Colt. It has checkered hard rubber grips with "THOMAS J." (left) and "GOREE." (right) marked on the butt. The lot includes a tooled holster and factory letter.

Confederate Guns for Sale

The scarcity of Confederate-made guns and northern-made guns with Confederate provenance make these Civil War firearms highly attractive offerings. The May 17-19 Premier Auction deserves the full attention of collectors who are fascinated by this soul-wrenching period of American history.