Civil War single-shot “Boot Pistol”, dated 1845, as in Gettysburg Museum

This is a nice original single shot pistol made by the famous firm of Allen & Wheelock of Worcester, Massachusetts. It has the stamped mark on the flat top of the part round, part octagonal barrel. The barrel is the pattern with the 3-1/4 inch length.

These small pistols were often carried by soldiers and thought of as a last line of defense if under attack. They were small enough to tuck away in their pocket or in their boot. Usually, these pistols would have a small caliber bullet, but this one is large and would do a lot of damage.

The double action mechanics no longer functions correctly. When you lift the hammer, you can push the hammer forward. If you do that you can pull the trigger to fire it. It has the assembly number of "448" on the underside of the barrel, just in front of the triggerguard.

Somewhere along the line, it has had the triggerguard removed. This is the version that uses a bar style hammer and on the left hand side of that hammer you can still see the "ALLEN'S PATENT APRIL 1845" marking. The original wooden grips are present on the handle, and they have a nice, weathered look.

An exact example of this pistol was recovered from the Gettysburg Battlefield and is now in the collection of the Gettysburg NPS Battlefield Museum (see pictures).

There are also similar dug examples in "Civil War Relics - A Guide for the Historian", by Crouch (see pictures). Another one in the new book “The Hammond Civil War Collection”, by O’Donnell & Crouch (see pictures).

This is a great looking and interesting pistol to add to your collection. Judging by the large numbers of these small pistols that are excavated, validates their popularity during the war. There is also a period photograph of a Civil War soldier holding one (see pictures). It comes in the glass top display case pictured.