Pietta 1851 Griswold & Gunnison Black Powder Revolver 36 Caliber 7.5" Blued Barrel Brass Frame Black Grip

Operators of a cotton gin factory before the War, Samuel Griswold and his partner Arvin Gunnison were one of only three manufacturers that took advantage of the interest-free loans and generous contract terms the Confederate government offered to southern factories who would convert their facilities over to producing sidearms for the Confederate Army. Of the three, Griswold and Gunnison was the only company that achieved any success as gunmakers. In 1862, the Confederacy gave them the go-ahead to produce as many pistols as they could, to supply troops that were carrying everything from Colt dragoons to antique flintlocks, but the South never caught up to the North in sheer numbers of armaments, owing to a dire shortage of raw materials. The Griswold and Gunnison pistol was a near-exact copy of the .36 caliber percussion cap and ball 1851 Colt Navy revolver, except it had a brass frame instead of steel -- due to the scarcity of metals in the south--and its barrel was round rather tha...