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123-433: The prison camp, in use from July 6, 1864, until July 11, 1865 (date of last arrival), was dubbed " Hellmira " by its inmates. During those 12 months, 2,970 of the 12,100 prisoners died from a combination of malnutrition, continued exposure to harsh winter weather, and disease from the poor sanitary conditions on Foster's Pond, combined with a lack of medical care. The camp's dead were prepared for burial and laid to rest at what

246-476: A "medicine man", Colt made arrangements to begin building guns using proper gunsmiths from Baltimore , Maryland. He abandoned the idea of a multiple-barreled revolver and opted for a single fixed-barrel design with a rotating cylinder. The action of the hammer would align the cylinder bores with the single barrel. He sought the counsel of a friend of his father, Henry Leavitt Ellsworth , who loaned him $ 300 and advised him to perfect his prototype before applying for

369-583: A "revolving gun"; he was granted the patent on February 25, 1836 (later numbered 9430X). This instrument and patent number 1304, dated August 29, 1836, protected the basic principles of his revolving- breech loading , folding trigger firearm named the Colt Paterson . With a loan from his cousin Dudley Selden and letters of recommendation from Ellsworth, Colt formed a corporation of venture capitalists in 1836 to bring his idea to market. With

492-570: A Christmas inspection said 900 still had no proper housing. Earlier in September, Colonel Benjamin Tracy had replaced the ailing Lt. Col. Eastman as commander of headquarters. Tracy was a native to the Southern Tier of New York who had recently taken command of the 127th United States Colored Troops. There are conflicting accounts about his actions during his post as commander. Some say he

615-409: A Fourth of July event during that year that he would explode a raft on Ware Pond using underwater explosives; although the raft was missed, the explosion was still impressive. Sent to boarding school, he amused his classmates with pyrotechnics. During 1830, a July 4 accident caused a fire that ended his schooling, and his father sent him away to learn the seaman's trade. On a voyage to Calcutta aboard

738-435: A captain of the guard detail at the prison, blamed the high mortality rate on the changing weather, water, and manner of living. He also conceded that the horrors of prison-camp life were numerous and a condition that all men should hope to avoid. However, he said, "none of these things can apply, with a shadow of truth, to the prison camp at Elmira." However, by the end of the war, it could not be disputed that Elmira had taken

861-525: A characteristic that many in his position in similar prison camps shared with him. A man of relatively even temperament, Colt achieved what few officers in the war were able to do, in that he was liked by both Union and Confederate soldiers. Preparations of the camp were completed by the end of June, and Hoffman ordered 2,000 POWs to be transferred from the prison camp in Point Lookout, Maryland . They were divided into groups of 400 and given rations for

984-414: A commercial use for Waterman Ormsby 's grammagraph to produce "roll- die " engraving on steel, particularly on the cylinders. He hired Bavarian engraver Gustave Young for fine hand engraving on his more "custom" pieces. In an attempt to attract skilled European-immigrant workers to his plant, Colt built a village near the factory away from the tenements which he named Coltsville and modeled the homes after

1107-571: A considerable toll on the prisoners who came through its doors, with its mortality rate (24.5%) being nearly that of Andersonville (28.7%). The following marker is set into a flagstone at the prison's location: CIVIL WAR MONUMENT Dedicated to the soldiers who trained at Camp Rathbun May 1861 – 1864 and the Confederate Prisoners of War Incarcerated at Camp Chemung July 1864 – July 1865 Flagstaff Located Inside Main Entrance to

1230-646: A generic term for the revolvers. The Whitneyville-Hartford Dragoons, largely built from leftover Walker parts, are known as the first model in the transition from the Walker to the Dragoon series. Beginning 1848, more contracts followed for what is known now as the Colt Dragoon Revolvers . These models were based on the Walker Colts, and during three generations slight changes to each model showed

1353-681: A large tract of land beside the Connecticut River , where he built his first factory during 1848, a larger factory named the Colt Armory during 1855, a manor that he called Armsmear during 1856, and employee tenement housing. He established a ten-hour work day for employees, installed washing stations in the factory, mandated a one-hour lunch period, and built the Charter Oak Hall, where employees could enjoy games, newspapers, and discussion rooms. Colt managed his plant with

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1476-468: A lieutenant colonel and aide-de-camp of the state militia. With this rank, he toured Europe again to promote his revolvers. He used marketing techniques which were innovative at the time. He frequently gave custom engraved versions of his revolvers to heads of state, military officers, and celebrities such as Giuseppe Garibaldi , King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy , and Hungarian rebel Lajos Kossuth . Colt commissioned western artist George Catlin to produce

1599-564: A living performing laughing gas demonstrations across the United States and Canada, calling himself as "the Celebrated Dr. Colt of New-York, London and Calcutta". Colt thought of himself as a man of science and believed if he could enlighten people about a new idea like nitrous oxide, he could in turn make people more receptive to his new idea concerning a revolver. He started his lectures on street corners and soon began doing

1722-426: A major February storm dumped over two feet of snow. This was a shock to many Southerners who had never experienced such cold temperatures. Hoffman's reduced rationing began to take its toll on the prisoners, as they were reduced to eating rats. Indeed, rats became a currency in the trade system of the prisoners for other supplies. By March, hundreds of men had frozen to death or succumbed to disease. A Spring thaw led to

1845-454: A military-like discipline: he would dismiss workers for tardiness, sub-par work or even suggesting improvements to his designs. Colt hired Elisha K. Root as his chief mechanic in arranging the plant's machinery. Root had been successful in an earlier venture automating the production of axes and made, bought, or improved jigs, fixtures and profile machinery for Colt. Over the years he developed specialized machinery for stock turning or cutting

1968-415: A monument erected in the section. The monument depicts a figure of a Confederate soldier overlooking the entire length of the section. The epitaph reads: IN MEMORY OF THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES WHO DIED IN ELMIRA PRISON AND LIE BURIED HERE – ERECTED BY THE UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY NOVEMBER 6, 1937 Though the conditions were brutal, they were common in prisons of both

2091-473: A new firearm business. Colt hired Eli Whitney Jr. , who was established in the arms business, to make his guns. Colt used his prototype and Walker's improvements as the basis for a new design. From this new design, Blake produced the first thousand-piece order known as the Colt Walker . The company then received an order for a thousand more; Colt shared the profits at $ 10 per pistol for both orders. With

2214-631: A parish house was built on the site as a memorial to their son, Caldwell, who died in 1894. In 1975, the Church of the Good Shepherd and Parish House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places . Colt established libraries and educational programs within his armories for his employees which provided training for several generations of toolmakers and other machinists , who had great influence in other manufacturing efforts of

2337-408: A patent. Colt hired a gunsmith by the name of John Pearson to build his revolver. Over the next few years, Colt and Pearson argued about money, but the design improved and during 1835 Colt was ready to apply for his U.S. patent. Ellsworth was now the superintendent of the U.S. Patent Office and advised Colt to file for foreign patents first, as a prior U.S. patent would keep Colt from filing a patent in

2460-464: A result, many prisoners were malnourished, which compounded the hardships they had to face (especially during the extreme summer heat and winter cold). Another major problem that points to Hoffman's policy of retaliation concerned the construction of winter housing for the prisoners. During most of their stay, many of the prisoners in Elmira lived in tents, as there was only room in the barracks for half of

2583-662: A rightful heir to part of Colt's estate, if not to the Colt Manufacturing Company . Colt was a Freemason . It is estimated that during its first 25 years of manufacturing, Colt's company produced more than 400,000 revolvers. Before his death, each barrel was stamped: "Address Col. Samuel Colt, New York, US America", or a variation using a London address. Colt did this as New York and London were major cosmopolitan cities and he retained an office in New York at 155 Broadway where he based his salesmen. Colt

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2706-453: A series of paintings depicting exotic scenes in which a Colt weapon was prominently used against Indians, wild animals, or bandits in the earliest form of "product placement" advertisement. He placed numerous advertisements in the same newspapers; The Knickerbocker published as many as eight in the same edition. Lastly, he hired authors to write stories about his guns for magazines and travel guides. One of Colt's biggest acts of self-promotion

2829-458: A sight; and the disadvantage is, that the weapon requires both hands to fire. The factory's machines mass-produced parts that were completely interchangeable and could be put together on assembly lines using standardized patterns and gauges by unskilled labor, as opposed to England's principal gun makers who made each part by hand. Colt's London factory remained in operation for only four years. Unwilling to alter his open-top single-action design for

2952-451: A source of disease." He recommended the construction of new sinks. Hoffman did not heed these warnings. By the middle of August, the number of prisoners had climbed to over 9,200. This ended up overwhelming the staff and quickly depleting supplies. Diseases soon broke out, and the death toll jumped from 11 in July to 121 by the end of August. It was not until October 27 that work finally began on

3075-719: A stationary trigger and had a larger caliber. Colt submitted his single prototype to the War Department as a "Holster revolver". Captain Samuel Walker of the Texas Rangers had acquired some of the first Colt revolvers produced during the Seminole War and saw first-hand their effective use as his 15-man unit defeated a larger force of 70 Comanches in Texas. Walker wanted to order Colt revolvers for use by

3198-617: A steamship overlooking the factory as well as fireworks and rifle salutes. The couple had four children: two daughters and a son who died in infancy and a son born during 1858, Caldwell Hart Colt . Soon after establishing his Hartford factory, Colt decided to establish a factory in or near Europe and chose London. He organized a large display of his firearms at the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Hyde Park , London and ingratiated himself by presenting cased engraved Colt revolvers to such appropriate officials as Britain's Master General of

3321-410: A train carrying 833 Confederate POWs and 128 Union guards bound for Elmira collided with a coal train coming from the opposite direction. 49 POWs and 17 guards were killed with many more seriously wounded. The rail line was cleared of wreckage by the next day, and survivors were loaded aboard another train to continue their journey. News quickly spread of the accident, and by the time the train pulled into

3444-516: A village in Potsdam. In an effort to end the flooding from the river he planted German osiers , a type of willow tree, in a 2-mile-long dike. He subsequently built a factory to manufacture wicker furniture made from these trees. On June 5, 1856, Colt married Elizabeth Jarvis , the daughter of the Rev. William Jarvis, who lived downriver from Hartford. The wedding was lavish and featured the ceremony on

3567-429: A whole in the United States. His preoccupation with patent infringement suits slowed his own company's transition to the cartridge system and prevented other firms from pursuing revolver designs. At the same time, Colt's policies forced some competing inventors to greater innovation by denying them major features of his mechanism; as a result, they created their own. Colt knew he had to make his revolvers affordable, as

3690-415: Is now Woodlawn National Cemetery . The cemetery, which is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the prison camp site, was designated a National Cemetery in 1877. At the end of the war, each prisoner was required to take a loyalty oath and given a train ticket home. The last prisoner left the camp on September 27, 1865. The camp was then closed, demolished, and converted to farmland. A source suggests that

3813-493: The 179th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment . Commissary General of Prisoners William Hoffman was informed of this, and on May 19 he sent word to Eastman to "set apart the barracks on the Chemung River at Elmira as a depot for prisoners of war." He was also informed that the prison might be needed within ten days and that it might have to accommodate 8,000 or up to 10,000 prisoners. According to Eastman's calculations,

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3936-576: The Colt 1851 Navy Revolver which was larger than the Baby Dragoon, but not quite as large as the full-sized version. The gun became the standard sidearm for U.S. military officers and proved popular among civilian buyers. After the testimony by Houston and Rusk, the next issue became how quickly Colt could supply the military. Ever the opportunist, when the War with Mexico was ended, Colt sent agents south of

4059-461: The Compendium of Knowledge , a scientific encyclopedia that he preferred to read rather than his Bible studies. Its articles concerning Robert Fulton and gunpowder motivated Colt throughout his life. He discovered that other inventors in the Compendium had accomplished feats that were once deemed impossible, and he wanted to do the same. Later, after hearing soldiers talk about the success of

4182-724: The United States Department of Veterans Affairs , it encompasses 10.5 acres (4.2 ha), and as of 2021, had over 11,000 interred remains. In 1861, Camp Rathbun, near the town of Elmira, was established as a training camp at the beginning of the Civil War . As the Union troops who trained there were sent to their respective assignments, the camp emptied and in 1864 it was turned into the Elmira Prison prisoner-of-war camp. The facilities were not adequate to house

4305-480: The arms race . A major cause of Colt's success was vigorous protection of his patent rights. Even though he had the only lawful patent for his type of revolver, scores of imitators copied his work and Colt found himself litigating constantly. For each one of these cases, Colt's lawyer, Edward N. Dickerson, deftly exploited the patent system and successfully ended the competition. However, Colt's zealous protection of his patents greatly impeded firearms development as

4428-416: The cylinder by the action of cocking the hammer , with an attached pawl turning the cylinder, which was then locked firmly in alignment with one of the barrels by a bolt, a great improvement over the pepperbox designs, which required rotating the barrels by hand and hoping for proper indexing and alignment. When Colt returned to the United States during 1832, he resumed working for his father, who financed

4551-492: The double-barreled rifle and the impossibility of a gun that could shoot five or six times without reloading, Colt decided that he would create the "impossible gun". During 1829, at the age of 15, Colt began working in his father's textile plant in Ware, Massachusetts , where he had access to tools, materials, and the factory workers' expertise. Referencing the encyclopedia, Samuel built a homemade galvanic cell and advertised as

4674-512: The mass production of revolvers commercially viable. Colt's first two business ventures were producing firearms in Paterson, New Jersey , and making underwater mines; both ended in disappointment. His business affairs improved rapidly after 1847, when the Texas Rangers ordered 1,000 revolvers during the American war with Mexico . Later, his firearms were used widely during the settling of

4797-494: The western frontier . Colt died in 1862 as one of the wealthiest men in America. Colt's manufacturing methods were sophisticated. His use of interchangeable parts helped him become one of the first to use the assembly line efficiently. Moreover, his innovative use of art, celebrity endorsements , and corporate gifts to promote his wares made him a pioneer of advertising, product placement , and mass marketing . Samuel Colt

4920-422: The 12,100 prisoners. A lack of lumber delayed the construction of new barracks until October when the cold New York nights started to pervade the camp. In November, it was also reported the existing barracks were experiencing trouble as well, with roofs falling into disrepair, unfit to withstand the elements. Even in late November and early December, there were reports of over 2,000 Confederates sleeping in tents, and

5043-500: The 12-foot stockade wall. Though there were many attempts to tunnel out of the camp, Washington B. Traweek led the only major successful escape from the prison along with a few other soldiers, all of them members of the Jefferson Davis Artillery Company. The escape plan involved digging a tunnel from a neighboring tent underneath the fence and into town. Later, when a series of hospitals was to be built for

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5166-462: The Camp N.W. Corner of Property at 722 Winsor Ave. Donated by Paul and Norma Searles Dedicated under Auspices Chemung Valley Living History Center Inc. Mayor James Hare, City of Elmira, N.Y. On September 11, 2015, work began on reconstructing the only remaining building of the camp. On July 6, 2016, exactly 152 years after the prison received its first prisoners, work began on reconstructing

5289-573: The North and the South . Historians still debate on whether that was due to poor management and inadequate supplies, retaliation, or both. Nevertheless, newspapers in the North attempted to downplay the conditions of the camp. The New York Herald denied any mistreatment of prisoners in Elmira, calling the reports a "pure fabrication." To the Herald , all rations at Elmira were sufficient and though it admitted

5412-720: The Ordnance. At one exhibit Colt disassembled ten guns and reassembled ten guns using different parts from different guns. As the world's major proponent of mass production techniques, Colt delivered a lecture concerning the subject to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in London. The membership rewarded his efforts by awarding him the Silver Telford Medal . With help from ICE secretary Charles Manby Colt established his London operation near Vauxhall Bridge on

5535-649: The Patent Arms Manufacturing Company, he teamed with Samuel Morse to lobby the US government for funds. Colt's waterproof cable, made from tar-coated copper, proved valuable when Morse ran telegraph lines under lakes, rivers, and bays and made attempts to lay a telegraph line under the Atlantic Ocean. Morse used the battery from one of Colt's mines to transmit a telegraph message from Manhattan to Governors Island when his own battery

5658-521: The Rangers in the Mexican–American War and traveled to New York City in search of Colt. He met Colt in a gunsmith's shop on January 4, 1847, and ordered 1,000 revolvers. Walker asked for a few changes; the new revolvers would have to hold 6 shots instead of 5, have enough power to kill either a human or a horse with a single shot and be quicker to reload. The large order allowed Colt to establish

5781-517: The River Thames and began production on January 1, 1853. During a tour of the factory, Charles Dickens was so impressed with the facilities that he recorded his comments of Colt's revolvers in an 1852 edition of Household Words : Among the pistols, we saw Colt's revolver; and we compared it with the best English revolver. The advantage of Colt's over the English is, that the user can take

5904-610: The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Abdülmecid I , informing him that the Russians were buying his pistols, thus securing a Turkish order for 5,000 pistols; he neglected to tell the Sultan he had used the same tactic with the Russians to elicit an order. Apart from gifts and bribes, Colt employed an effective marketing program which comprised sales promotion, publicity, product sampling, and public relations. He used

6027-474: The U.S. military. Rusk testified: "Colt's Repeating Arms are the most efficient weapons in the world and the only weapon which has enabled the frontiersman to defeat the mounted Indian in his own peculiar mode of warfare". Lt. Bedley McDonald, who was a subordinate of Walker when Walker was killed in Mexico, stated that 30 Rangers used Colt's revolvers to keep 500 Mexicans in check. Colt used this general design for

6150-601: The Union. In response to these charges, Colt was commissioned as a colonel by the state of Connecticut on May 16, 1861, of the 1st Regiment Colts Revolving Rifles of Connecticut armed with the Colt revolving rifle . Colt envisioned this unit as being staffed by men more than six feet tall and armed with his weapons. However, the unit was never sent to the field and Colt was discharged on June 20, 1861. Samuel Colt died of complications of gout in Hartford on January 10, 1862. He

6273-566: The United Kingdom. In August 1835, Colt left for England and France to secure his foreign patents. During 1835, Samuel Colt traveled to the United Kingdom, much as had Elisha Collier , a Bostonian who had patented a revolving flintlock there that achieved great popularity. Despite the reluctance of English officials to issue a patent to Colt, no fault could be found with the gun and he was issued his first patent (number 6909). Upon his return to America, he applied for his U.S. patent for

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6396-447: The army purchased a few thousand rounds for further testing. During 1843 the army gave Colt an order for 200,000 of the tinfoil cartridges packed 10 to a box for use in muskets. With the money made from the cartridges, Colt resumed business with Morse for ideas other than detonating mines. Colt concentrated on manufacturing his waterproof telegraph cable, believing the business would prosper along with Morse's invention. He began promoting

6519-424: The barracks, with an additional 1,000 troops in tents. In the first years of the war, there had been a prisoner exchange system , and most prisons lay empty. Confederate mistreatment and enslavement of Black Union soldiers in 1863 disrupted this system; by April 1864 it had been completely suspended, and prisons quickly became overcrowded. Space had recently opened up in Elmira after the departure of six companies of

6642-486: The border to procure sales from the Mexican government. During this period, Colt received an extension on his patent, since he did not collect fees for it during the early years. During 1849, gun makers James Warner and Massachusetts Arms infringed on the patent. Colt sued the companies, and the court ordered that Warner and Massachusetts Arms cease revolver production. Colt then threatened to sue Allen & Thurber due to

6765-455: The brig Corvo , Colt had the idea for a type of revolver while at sea, inspired by the capstan, or windlass, which had a ratchet-and-pawl mechanism that he would later say gave him the idea for his revolver designs. On the Corvo , Colt made a wooden model of a pepperbox revolver out of scrap wood. It differed from other pepperbox revolvers at the time in that it allowed the shooter to rotate

6888-402: The camp could hold only half that properly. In addition, Eastman reported that the kitchens could feed only 5,000 a day and the mess room could seat only 1,500 men at once. To top all of this off, there were no hospital facilities in the camp; the soldiers instead relied on facilities in the town. Still, Eastman was told to be prepared to receive prisoners, and from the beginning it would seem that

7011-413: The camp such as beef bone or horse hair; guards would then sell them throughout town. Those who were skilled in carpentry were hired by Union personnel to help build various facilities throughout the camp for a small wage and extra rations. The outside of the prison took on a festive atmosphere. Two observatories, as well as food and beverage stands, were erected on the opposite side of Water Street during

7134-399: The camp was destined to be overcrowded. This led to many charges that the prison camp was designed from the beginning to be not a prison, but a death camp. The camp's first Commandant was Major Henry V. Colt (brother of the famous pistol maker Samuel Colt ) of the 104th New York Volunteers. He was given charge over the prisoners because of an inability to serve in the field (due to injury),

7257-510: The camp was so embarrassing, the site was deliberately destroyed. The area where the prison once stood is residential today, but work is underway to reconstruct the camp. One of the conspirators of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln , John Surratt , claims to have been in Elmira on a spy mission to gather information about the prison when Lincoln was shot. Upon hearing the news, he fled to Montreal, Quebec. On April 15, 1861, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteer troops to help suppress

7380-522: The camp, the prisoners involved in Traweek's plot decided to transfer their tunnel to go under the hospital and started work on a new tunnel. Others had a similar idea, which resulted in the tunnels being discovered. However, the first tunnel had not been discovered, so Traweek and his men returned to work on that tunnel. Though Colt was a fair man and was liked well enough by most of his prisoners, he took his duty seriously as commandant. The next day, Traweek

7503-740: The campsite itself. Miserable conditions for the prisoners in the camp are depicted in the 1982 miniseries The Blue and the Gray . The prison was also described in With Lee in Virginia . John W. Jones Museum (607) 846-3030 Woodlawn National Cemetery Woodlawn National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery within Woodlawn Cemetery , which is in the city of Elmira , in Chemung County, New York . Administered by

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7626-590: The concept of modernism before the word was invented, he pioneered the use of celebrity endorsements to promote his products, he introduced the phrase "new and improved" to advertising and demonstrated the commercial value of trade-name recognition as a word for "revolver" in French is le colt . Barbara M. Tucker, professor of history and director of the Center for Connecticut Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University , wrote that Colt's marketing techniques transformed

7749-500: The cylinder design of their double-action pepperbox revolver. However, Colt's lawyers doubted that this suit would be successful, and the case was resolved with a settlement of $ 15,000. Production of Allen pepperboxes continued until the expiration of Colt's patent during 1857. During 1854 Colt struggled for his patent extension with the U.S. Congress, which initiated a special committee to investigate charges that Colt had bribed government officials in securing this extension. By August he

7872-427: The deceased were prepared for burial at the camp and transferred to Woodlawn Cemetery approximately 1.5 miles north of the camp site. The coffins would then have a jar containing the name of the person and any information he was willing to share placed inside, and then be laid to rest side by side in a long burial trench. Wooden grave markers were erected in the pattern of soldiers lining up for inspection. The man who

7995-430: The doom of many great inventions was a high retail price. Colt fixed his prices at a level below his competition to maximize sales volume. From his experience in haggling with government officials, he knew what numbers he would have to generate to make enough profit to invest money in improving his machinery, thereby limiting imitators' ability to produce a comparable weapon at a lesser price. Although successful at this, for

8118-406: The drainage system, but the cold weather kept this project from being completed until January 1. In the meantime, prisoners were subjected to stagnant and unclean water, and sickness soon prevailed throughout the camp. The other problem that Alexander identified concerned the hospitals. While the camp now had a hospital, in the form of a tent, it did not have an assigned surgeon and instead relied on

8241-401: The early morning of July 6. The POWs were then unloaded, put in double columns, and marched to the camp. Eyewitnesses describe the men as being dirty and ragged, but happy to be removed from their previous horrid confinement. Upon arriving at the camp, they were counted, divided into groups of 100, and shown their quarters. The transfer of prisoners continued without incident until July 15, when

8364-465: The editor a free revolver for writing them, particularly if such a story disparaged his competition. Many of the revolvers Colt gave away as "gifts" had inscriptions such as "Compliments of Col. Colt" or "From the Inventor" engraved on the back straps. Later versions contained his entire signature which was used in many of his advertisements as a centerpiece, using his celebrity as a seeming guarantee of

8487-402: The evolution of the design. The improvements were 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 -inch (190 mm) barrels for accuracy, shorter chambers and an improved loading lever. The shorter chambers were loaded to 50 grains of powder, instead of 60 grains in the earlier Walkers, to prevent the occurrence of ruptured cylinders . Finally, a positive catch was installed at the end of the loading lever to prevent

8610-537: The firearm from a utilitarian object into a symbol of American identity. Tucker added that Colt associated his revolvers with American patriotism, freedom, and individualism while asserting America's technological supremacy over Europe's. In 1867, Colt's widow, Elizabeth, had an Episcopal church designed by Edward Tuckerman Potter built as a memorial to him and the three children they lost. The church's architecture contains guns and gun-smithing tools sculpted in marble to commemorate Colt's life as an arms maker. In 1896,

8733-581: The firing hammer exposed, but problems continued. During late 1843, after the loss of payment for the Florida pistols, the Paterson plant closed and a public auction was held in New York City to sell the company's most liquid assets. Colt did not refrain long from manufacturing and began selling underwater electrical detonators and waterproof cable of his own invention. Soon after the failure of

8856-407: The flooding of the camp, and many of the prisoners were forced to huddle on top of the bunks in the barracks until rescue could arrive, and 2,700 feet of the stockade wall was washed away. In April came word of General Lee's surrender, and the camp began to parole the men. Though there were many escape attempts, only 10 men were successful. A day after the camp opened, two prisoners escaped by scaling

8979-439: The harsh reality of what they were paying to see. Five days after the camp opened, Surgeon Charles T. Alexander was ordered to inspect the Camp at Colonel Hoffman's request. Alexander found two major problems with the camp that he detailed in his report. The first was that of the camp's sanitary conditions. The sinks near Foster's Pond contained stagnant water, and he feared if they were not cleaned, they might "become offensive and

9102-467: The help of the political acquaintances of these venture capitalists, the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company of Paterson, New Jersey, was chartered by the New Jersey legislature on March 5, 1836. Colt was given a royalty for each gun sold in exchange for his share of patent rights and stipulated the return of the rights if the company disbanded. Colt never claimed to have invented revolvers; his design

9225-584: The honorable way in which they were buried. In 1907, the deteriorating wooden grave markers were replaced with marble headstones inscribed with the soldier's name, regiment, and grave number. In 1911, remains of both Union and Confederate victims of the Shohola train wreck were exhumed from the site of the accident and interred at Woodlawn In 1937, the United Daughters of the Confederacy had

9348-672: The lever from dropping due to recoil . Besides being used in the war with Mexico , Colt's revolvers were employed as a sidearm by both civilians and soldiers. Colt's revolvers were a major tool used during the westward expansion. A revolver which could fire six times without reloading helped soldiers and settlers fend off larger forces which were not armed in the same way. During 1848, Colt introduced smaller versions of his pistols known as Baby Dragoons that were made for civilian use. During 1850 General Sam Houston and General Thomas Jefferson Rusk lobbied Secretary of War William Marcy and President James K. Polk to adopt Colt's revolvers for

9471-455: The money he made from the sales of the Walkers and a loan from his cousin, banker Elisha Colt, Colt bought the machinery and tooling from Blake to build his own factory: Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company factory at Hartford . The first revolving-breech pistols made at the factory were named "Whitneyville-Hartford-Dragoons" and became so popular that the word "Colt" was often used as

9594-471: The most part, his preoccupation with marketing strategies and patent protection caused him to miss a great opportunity in firearms development when he dismissed an idea from one of his gunsmiths, Rollin White . White had an idea of a "bored-through" revolver cylinder to allow cartridges (made of paper at the time) to be loaded from the rear of the cylinder. Only one gun fitting White's design was ever made, and it

9717-539: The name of one of his company's later innovations, the " Peacemaker ". Although by the end of 1837 the Arms Company had made more than 1,000 weapons, there were no sales. After the Panic of 1837 , the company's underwriters were reluctant to fund the new machinery that Colt needed to make interchangeable parts , so he went on the road to raise money. Demonstrating his gun to people in general stores did not generate

9840-572: The newspress to his own advantage by giving revolvers to editors, prompting them to report "all the accidents that occur to the Sharps & other humbug arms", and listing incidents for which Colt weapons had been "well used against bears, Indians, Mexicans, etc". Colt's firearms did not always fare well in standardized military tests; he preferred written testimonials from individual soldiers who used his weapons and these were what he most relied on to secure government contracts. Colt felt that bad press

9963-465: The other, Sarah Ann, later died by suicide. One brother, James, became a lawyer; another, Christopher, was a textile merchant. A third brother, John C. Colt , a man of many occupations, was convicted of an 1841 murder and died by suicide on the day he was to be executed. At age 11, Colt was indentured to a farmer in Glastonbury , where he did chores and attended school. Here he was introduced to

10086-415: The paper got wet it would ruin the powder. Colt tried alternative materials such as rubber cement, but decided to use a thin type of tinfoil. During 1841 he made samples of these cartridges for the army. During tests of the foil cartridges, 25 rounds were shot from a musket without cleaning. When the breech plug was removed from the barrel no fouling from the tin foil was evident. The reception was moderate and

10209-419: The parts of every Colt gun to be interchangeable and made by machine, to be assembled later by hand. His goal was an assembly line . This is shown by an 1836 letter that Colt wrote to his father in which he said: The first workman would receive two or three of the most important parts and would affix these and pass them on to the next who would add a part and pass the growing article on to another who would do

10332-782: The performance of his weapons. Colt eventually secured a trademark for his signature. One of his slogans, “God created men, Col. Colt made them equal,” (claiming that any person could, regardless of physical strength, defend themselves with a Colt gun) became a popular adage in American culture. Before the American Civil War , Colt supplied both the North and the South with firearms. He had been known to sell weapons to warring parties on both sides of other conflicts in Europe and did

10455-418: The production of two guns, a rifle and a pistol. The first completed pistol exploded when it was fired, but the rifle performed well. His father would not finance any more development, so Samuel needed to find a way to pay for the development of his ideas. He had learned about nitrous oxide (laughing gas) from the factory chemist of his father's textile plant, so he took a portable laboratory on tour and earned

10578-463: The rebellion. Elmira was one of three locations chosen as training centers in New York (Albany and New York City were the others) due to its location and railway hub. Troops were first housed in rented buildings, but these quickly became overwhelmed when an additional 500,000 troops were called for later that year. Four military installations were constructed throughout the city; Arnott Barracks, Camp Rathbun, Camp Robinson, and Post Barracks. Camp Rathbun

10701-413: The rifling in gun barrels. Root has been credited as "the first to build special purpose machinery and apply it to the manufacture of a commercial product". Colt historian Herbert G. Houze wrote, "had it not been for Root's inventive genius, Colt's dream of mass production would never have been realized". Thus, Colt's factory was the first to make use of the concept known as the assembly line . The idea

10824-465: The sales volume he needed, so with another loan from his cousin Selden, he went to Washington, D.C., and demonstrated it to President Andrew Jackson . Jackson approved of the gun and wrote Colt a note saying so. With this letter, Colt got a bill approved by Congress endorsing a demonstration for the military, but failed to obtain an appropriation for military purchase of the weapon. A promising order from

10947-608: The same in lecture halls and museums. As ticket sales decreased, Colt realized that "serious" museum lectures were not what the people wanted to pay money to hear and that it was dramatic stories of salvation and redemption the public craved. While visiting his brother John in Cincinnati, he partnered with sculptor Hiram Powers for his demonstrations with a theme based on The Divine Comedy . Powers made detailed wax sculptures and paintings based on demons, centaurs, and mummies from Dante 's work. Colt constructed fireworks to complete

11070-559: The same with respect to the war in America. During 1859 Colt considered building an armory in the South and as late as 1861 had sold 2,000 revolvers to Confederate agent John Forsyth . Although trade with the South had not been restricted at that time, newspapers such as the New York Daily Tribune , The New York Times and the Hartford Daily Courant termed him a Southern sympathizer and traitor to

11193-454: The same, and so on until the complete arm is put together. Colt's U.S. revolver patent gave him a monopoly of revolver manufacture until 1857. His was the first practical revolver and the first practical repeating firearm, thanks to progress made in percussion technology. No longer a mere novelty weapon, the revolver became an industrial and cultural legacy, as well as a contribution to the development of war technology, represented ironically by

11316-566: The services of William C. Wey, a local civilian. Alexander also thought the notion of using a tent as a hospital within the prison was inappropriate, and therefore should be rectified. Hoffman approved of three pavilion wards to be planned at Alexander's suggestion. While Hoffman was open to suggestions on how to improve his prisons, he believed in thrift. After hearing reports of the horrible conditions Union soldiers faced in Confederate prison camps, he ordered reduced rations in retaliation. As

11439-455: The show, which was a success. According to Colt historian Robert Lawrence Wilson, the "lectures launched Colt's celebrated career as a pioneer Madison Avenue-style pitchman". His public speaking skills were so prized that he was thought to be a doctor and was obligated to cure an apparent cholera epidemic aboard a riverboat by giving his patients a dose of nitrous oxide. Having saved some money and still wanting to be an inventor as opposed to

11562-524: The solid frame double-action revolver that the British asked for, Colt sold scarcely 23,000 revolvers to the British Army and Navy. During 1856 he closed the London plant and had the machinery, tooling, and unfinished guns shipped to Hartford. When foreign heads of state would not grant him an audience, as he was only a private citizen, he persuaded the governor of the state of Connecticut to make him

11685-573: The south by Foster's Pond, on the north bank of the Chemung River . The camp consisted of 20 barracks (which could hold up to 2,000 troops), an officer's quarters, and two mess halls. Foster's Pond was used for bathing and washing. The number of troops stationed in the city fluctuated for the first few months, and by June 1862, only fifty men occupied Camp Rathbun. This led to the closing of both Camp Robinson and Post Barracks, and they would never be used again. A month later, in July, conscription

11808-858: The state of South Carolina for 50 to 75 pistols was canceled when the company did not produce them quickly enough. Constant problems for Colt were the provisions of the Militia Act of 1808, which stated that any arms purchased by a state militia had to be in current service in the United States military. This act prevented state militias from allocating funds towards the purchase of experimental weapons or foreign weapons. Colt imperiled his own company by his reckless spending. Selden often chastised him for using corporate funds to buy an expensive wardrobe or give lavish gifts to potential clients. Selden twice prohibited Colt from using company money for liquor and fancy dinners; Colt thought getting potential customers inebriated would generate more sales. The company

11931-430: The station in Elmira later that night, a large crowd had gathered. Eastman was waiting at the station with a special contingent of stretcher bearers, guards, and a caravan of 12 wagons. Those that could walk were removed first and marched by a torchlight procession to the camp where they received a warm meal. The more seriously wounded were then loaded aboard the wagons and followed suit. Amputations were performed first as

12054-406: The summer months, and for 10–15¢, curious onlookers could view inside the camp. Prisoners, unhappy about being gawked at, would sometimes perform pejorative circus acts. In the beginning of September, the army took possession of the area and dismantled one of the towers. The other tower remained open though business declined due to the encroaching cold weather, and onlookers were beginning to realize

12177-443: The telegraph companies so he could create a greater market for his cable, for which he was to be paid $ 50 per mile. Colt tried to use this revenue to resurrect the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company, but could not secure funds from other investors or even his own family. This left Colt time to improve his earlier revolver design and have a prototype built by a gunsmith in New York for his "New and improved revolver". This new revolver had

12300-478: The thousands of Confederate prisoners, and many succumbed to exposure, malnutrition, and smallpox and were subsequently interred at the cemetery. Woodlawn National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Samuel Colt Samuel Colt ( / k oʊ l t / ; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made

12423-566: The two day sea voyage up to Jersey City, New Jersey . The journey was extremely uncomfortable for the POWs in the overcrowded and filthy holds of the ships, even to the point that some men slept standing up. Once there, the first group of 400 prisoners was loaded aboard a train for the 17–20 hour trip to Elmira. 8,000 men would eventually be transferred from Point Lookout to Elmira not only due to overcrowding but also because of its vulnerability to attack from land and sea. The train arrived in Elmira in

12546-405: The unusually high incidence of illness in the camp, the newspaper said that the sickness was "beyond the control of the authorities... there is no lack of medical attendance or supplies." The propaganda was so powerful that the belief that the Elmira prison camp was a humane alternative to Andersonville still prevailed in some circles of thought years later. In a meeting in 1892, John T. Davidson,

12669-486: Was Samuel Caldwell Colt, the son of his brother, John C. Colt . Colt historian William Edwards wrote that Samuel Colt had married Caroline Henshaw (who later married his brother, John) in Scotland during 1838, and that the son she bore later was Samuel Colt's and not his brother John's. In a 1953 biography about Samuel Colt based largely on family letters, Edwards wrote that John Colt 's marriage to Caroline during 1841

12792-400: Was a more practical adaption of Collier's earlier revolving flintlock incorporating a locking bolt to keep the cylinder aligned with the barrel. The invention of the percussion cap made ignition more reliable, faster, and safer than the older flintlock design. Colt's great contribution was the use of interchangeable parts . Knowing that some gun parts were made by machine, he envisioned all

12915-536: Was a way to legitimize her unborn son as the real father, Samuel Colt, felt she was not fit to be the wife of an industrialist and divorce was a social stigma at the time. After John's death, Samuel Colt cared financially for the child, named Samuel Caldwell Colt, with a large allowance, and paid for his tuition in what were described as "the finest private schools." In correspondence to and about his namesake, Samuel Colt referred to him as his "nephew" in quotes. Historians such as Edwards and Harold Schechter have said this

13038-719: Was born in Hartford, Connecticut the son of Christopher Colt (1780–1850), a farmer who had relocated his family to the city after he became a businessman, and Sarah ( née Caldwell). His maternal grandfather, Major John Caldwell, had been an officer of the Continental Army ; one of Colt's earliest possessions was John's flintlock pistol. Colt's mother died from tuberculosis when Colt was six years old, and his father married Olivia Sargeant two years later. Colt had three sisters, one of whom died during her childhood. His oldest sister, Margaret, died of tuberculosis at age 19, and

13161-570: Was briefly saved by the war against the Seminoles in Florida which provided the first sale of Colt's revolvers and his new revolving rifles . The soldiers in Florida praised the new weapon, but the unusual hammerless design, sixty years ahead of its time, resulted in difficulty in training men who were used to exposed-hammer guns. Consequently, many curious soldiers took the locks apart. This resulted in breakage of parts, stripped screw heads and inoperable guns. Colt soon reworked his design to leave

13284-487: Was built in between the Chemung River and Water Street. The campgrounds were enclosed in a 300yd by 500yd fence on the west, north, and east with Fosters Pond forming the southern boundary. Towner's history of 1892 and maps from the period indicate the camp occupied an area running about 1,000 feet (300 m) west and approximately the same distance south of a location a couple of hundred feet west of Hoffman Street and about 35 feet (11 m) south of Water Street, bordered on

13407-411: Was called before Major Colt. Colt inquired as to where Traweek's tunnel was and who had been tunneling with him. When Traweek refused to tell, Colt ordered him into a sweatbox and presided over his questioning, willing to go to extreme measures to find and persecute the tunnelers. Traweek held fast, however, and Colt was forced to release him. Traweek and his companions eventually escaped. The bodies of

13530-482: Was enacted by the US Congress, and by 1863, Elmira was once again filled with troops. During this time, the city was named draft rendezvous headquarters for the western part of New York. At the beginning of 1864, the headquarters was placed under command of Lieutenant Colonel Seth Eastman . More facilities were built at the remaining two camps, and upon completion, allowed Camp Rathburn to hold up to 5,000 troops in

13653-437: Was exonerated, and the story became national news when the magazine Scientific American reported that the fault was not with Colt, but with Washington politicians. With a virtual monopoly, Colt sold his pistols in Europe, where demand was high due to tense international relations. By telling each nation that the others were buying Colt's pistols, Colt was able to get large orders from many countries who feared falling behind in

13776-507: Was interred on the property of his private residence Armsmear and reinterred to Cedar Hill Cemetery in 1894. At the time of his death, Colt's estate, which he willed to his wife and three-year-old son Caldwell Hart Colt, was estimated to be valued at about $ 15,000,000 (equivalent to US$ 458,000,000 in 2023). His professional responsibilities were given to his brother-in-law, Richard Jarvis . The only other person mentioned in Colt's will

13899-413: Was just as important as good press, provided that his name and his revolvers received mention. When he opened the London armory, he posted a 14-foot sign on the roof across from Parliament reading: "Colonel Colt's Pistol Factory" as a publicity stunt, which was noted by the British press. Eventually the British government forced him to remove this sign. Colt historian Herbert Houze wrote that Colt championed

14022-418: Was not considered practical for the ammunition of the time. A year after White left Colt, Colt's competitor, Smith & Wesson , attempted to patent a revolver using metallic cartridges only to find that it infringed on White's patent for the bored-through cylinder. They then licensed that component of White's patent and kept Colt from being able to build cartridge firearms for almost 20 years. Colt purchased

14145-464: Was not new but was never successful in industry at the time because of the lack of interchangeable parts. Root's machinery changed that for Colt, since the machines completed as much as 80% of the work and less than 20% of the parts required hand fitting and filing. Colt's revolvers were made by machine, but he insisted on final hand finishing and polishing of his revolvers to impart a handmade feel. Colt hired artisan gun makers from Bavaria and developed

14268-519: Was put in charge of overseeing the burials was John W. Jones , the local sexton and an ex-slave. Jones was respectable in his duties and kept such precise records that only 7 out of the nearly 3,000 men buried there are unknown. He carefully cataloged and stored any valuables that were in possession of the prisoners at the time of their death, and later shipped them to their families. After the war, several men were exhumed and transferred home, but most families chose not to have their loved ones moved due to

14391-470: Was serving as a US Representative from Massachusetts's 8th congressional district , scuttled the project as "not fair and honest warfare" and termed the Colt mine an "unchristian contraption". After this setback, Colt turned his attention to perfecting tinfoil cartridges he had originally designed for use in his revolvers. The standard at the time was to have powder and ball contained in a paper or skin envelope or "cartridge" for ease of loading. However, if

14514-478: Was the custom of the day, followed by attending to those that were less critical (also known as triage ). Though the understaffed and under supplied medical personnel worked tirelessly to treat the wounded, some men still lay unattended days later. Life inside the camp for the POWs was dull, and many sat around with nothing to do. There were those that found ways to occupy themselves through various means. Some built trinkets out of different items they found throughout

14637-438: Was the elder Colt's way of letting the world know that the boy was his own son without saying so directly. After Colt's death, he left the boy $ 2 million by 2010 standards. Colt's widow, Elizabeth Jarvis Colt, and her brother, Richard Jarvis contested this. In probate court Caroline's son Sam produced a valid marriage license showing that Caroline and Samuel Colt were married in Scotland during 1838 and that this document made him

14760-404: Was the first American manufacturer to use art as a marketing tool when he hired Catlin to prominently display Colt firearms in his paintings. He was awarded numerous government contracts after making gifts of his highly embellished and engraved revolvers with exotic grips such as ivory or pearl to government officials. On a visit to Constantinople he gave a custom-engraved and gold inlaid revolver to

14883-488: Was the payment to the publishers of United States Magazine $ 1,120 ($ 61,439 by 1999 standards) to publish a 29-page fully illustrated story showing the inner workings of his factory. After his revolvers had gained acceptance, Colt had his staff search for unsolicited news stories containing mention of his guns that he could excerpt and reprint. He went so far as to hire agents in other states and territories to find such samples, to buy hundreds of copies for himself and to give

15006-469: Was too weak to send the signal. When tensions with the British prompted Congress to appropriate funds for Colt's project toward the end of 1841, he demonstrated his underwater mines to the US government. During 1842 he used one of the devices to destroy a moving vessel to the satisfaction of the United States Navy and President John Tyler . However, opposition from John Quincy Adams , who

15129-416: Was vindictive and intentionally reduced rations for the prisoners, while others show that he cared for his captives but was unable to do anything about their conditions due to government bureaucracy. In December, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Moore was placed as commandant of the camp after Major Colt had returned to action. The winter of 1864–65 was lethally cold. Twice the temperature dropped to -18 °F and

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