Freeman's Patent Revolver (No, Not Half Life)
Forgotten Weapons
•
6m 14s
Patented by Austin H. Freeman in 1862, 2000 of these revolvers were manufactured by Hoard’s Armory in Watertown New York in 1863 and 1864. None were purchased by the Federal government, but they were sold to states and private individuals, and saw use in the Civil War. Freeman’s patent was for an interesting cylinder removal mechanism, in which a sliding latch allows the cylinder and axis pin to slide out the right of the frame as a complete unit, quickly and easily. Otherwise, the Freeman is a fairly typical Army-type revolver, with a .44 caliber bore, 6-shot cylinder, single action mechanism and 7.5 inch barrel.
Up Next in Forgotten Weapons
-
Prisons and Pirate Mutinies: the Duck...
Duck’s foot pistols are one of the iconic classic “weird gun” categories. The one exemplifies the typical pattern, with four barrels arranged in a wedge, fired simultaneously with a single flintlock action. Traditionally, these are attributed to people like prison wardens and ships’ captains, who...
-
Dreyse Model 1835 Needlefire Breechlo...
Johann Nicolaus Dreyse, later promoted to the aristocracy as Nicolaus von Dreyse, designed the first mainstream military breechloading rifle. His rifle was adopted by Prussia and changed military history, but this was not his only work. Dreyse also endeavored to sell guns commercially, both rifle...
-
Cummings Dot Rifle: Indoor Marksmansh...
Made by the Cummings Gun Works of Boston late in World War One, this is a pseudo-firearm training device for teaching some aspects of marksmanship without the safety hazard of bullets actually flying around. This one appears to be intended to teach shooters to hold the rifle perfectly vertical. E...