Colt: A Man And His Guns :: essays research papers fc

Colt: A Man and His Guns The Colt six shooter will always be a legend to many fighting men. Whether you know it as an accurate, cowboy, Texas Ranger, gun-slinging, out West, corral gun, or as a little protection, the Peacemaker by Samuel Colt and Samuel Colt will never be forgotten. Samuel Colt is known as the inventor of the first revolving firearm. Colt was born in 1814 to a family were money was not the pressing issue. His father , Christopher, was a man that owned his own silk mill in the town where Colt was born, Hartford, Connecticut. Colt's mother died when he was six and his father's business started to fail. When Colt Colt was seven, he was fascinated by guns. He took apart his father's gun in a field and was able to successfully rebuild it. At the age of ten Colt was an apprentice in his fathers mill, mostly dying clothes. Science, adventures of an active life, and mechanics were all the favorite passions of young Colt. The adventures eventually led Colt into trouble. At the age of seventeen Colt was expelled form a preparatory school in Amherst, MA. During the years of 1830 - 1831 Colt voyaged to India.. It was during these years that Colt first conceived the idea of a revolving firearm. Some think it may have come from watching the revolving wheel of the ship, turning and locking. While on board ship, Colt must have seen other revolving firearms in London or India. He carved a wooden model of his ideal gun while he was at sea. None of what Colt may have previously seen on revolving guns could have led to his invention. His ideas were not copied from any source, even though the revolving idea was not unique. When Colt arrived home from sea, he showed the wooden model to his father and a family friend. This friend was Henry Ellsworth, Commissioner of the United States Patent Office. Both Colt's father and Mr. Ellsworth were greatly impressed by the model. They encouraged Colt to file for a patent for his revolving firearm. In the year 1831 Colt hired a man to create the first working model. In 1836 Colt began the production of the first revolver after his petition for the patent. Between these years Colt presented lectures on chemistry and did practical demonstrations of laughing gas. On February of the 25, in the year 1835, the first United States patent was granted for Colt revolver. The patent that Colt received covered eight basic features. First, the application of caps at the end of the gun cylinder.