Texas Rangers order 1,000 Colt revolvers; Beginning Samuel Colt's fame

Today this happened in the past

January 4, 1847

 Texas Rangers order 1,000 Colt revolvers from Samuel Colt

 

Samuel Colt and his revolver were practically out of business in 1846, that is until former Texas Ranger, Samuel H. Walker was sent to see Colt by Zachary Taylor, general in command of the border with Mexico.

Samuel Colt with a 1851 Navy Revolver

Texas had experience with Colt revolvers since The Republic of Texas purchased 180 handguns for the Texas Navy in 1839. When the Navy was disbanded in 1843 the Texas Rangers were given the surplus handguns. The Rangers loved them since it effectively increased their firepower five-fold. Prior to the 5-shot Colt revolver, each time a shot was fired the pistol would need to be reloaded. A Ranger with two revolvers would have a sustained firepower of ten shots before he needed to reload.  Especially in the battles with the Comanche, the new revolvers were particularly effective; the Comanche were trained to feign an attack only to get the Rangers to fire, then attack in force as the Rangers reloaded. 

Samuel Hamilton Walker

The meeting in 1846 between Colt and Walker produced suggestions on improving the revolver for the Texas Rangers. The end result was a Colt Walker revolver with 6 chambers instead of 5, held 60 grains of black powder in each chamber, twice what a typical revolver holds, and a stationary trigger and trigger guard.

The barrel was nine inches long and fired .44 caliber conical or round balls, larger than the prior Colts, and weighed 4.5 pounds unloaded.  Colt even commissioned New York engraver Waterman Ormsby to etch a scene on the cylinder of a prior 1844 battle that Walker was involved in and described to the engraver.

1947 Colt Walker Revolver

In effect, Samuel Walker was a co-inventor with Samuel Colt and it became known as the Colt Walker Revolver.

Texas Ranger John Ford claimed the new Walker Colt revolver was as powerful as the United States Model 1841 "Mississippi" rifle. Powerful indeed.

Thereafter the meeting between Colt and Walker an order was made for 1000 Colt Walker revolvers in 1847 by the Texas Rangers right in the middle of the Mexican-American War. Colt also supplied both sides in the Civil War and the Colt was the leading firearm in settling the western frontier.  

Samuel Colt never personally saw the aforementioned advancement of his revolver after the Civil War, he died in 1862 as one of the wealthiest men in America.

As for Samuel Walker, he was killed in battle the same year his famous handgun was invented, 1847, shortly after he had received his revolver.