Pietta USA, which now owns EMF and is probably the dominant reproduction revolver source, has introduced a new “Deluxe Grande Californian” model revolver. The handgun’s design is based on customer requests coupled with the company’s engraving and engineering artisans, and is Pietta’s vision of a deluxe six shooter based on the classic old Colt Model 1873. The gun is available in both .357 Magnum and .45 Long Colt, and, according to Pietta, “elevates the classic beauty of the original ‘Californian’ to an entirely new level. It is elegantly engraved with a combination of Victorian scrollwork and sunbursts on the blued barrel and features a deep rich color-casehardened frame accented with a one-piece, diamond checkered grip. Like the rest of the Great Western II line, the Deluxe Grande Californian can be considered one of the most ‘true-to-original’ pistols on the market today.”
Alessandro Pietta, Vice President of Pietta Firearms and CEO of EMF, said: “We’re confident that this will become an instant classic and hopefully an heirloom to be handed down for generations to come.” So, if you are looking for a classy traditional handgun, you might want to check this model out. I am sure we will be seeing “Deluxe Grande Californian” style cap and ball sixguns from Pietta before long. Or maybe they will be called “Deluxe Grade Gettysburgian.” If your reenactment presentation
by Joe Bilby
is as a general, or a junior officer who is the offspring of a wealthy family, it might be a must.
Speaking of handguns, it might be well to refresh our memories on their use during the Civil War. It could be said that in many cases during the conflict, aside from the cavalry, the revolver was a badge of rank not unlike the sword. Enlisted men who went off to war in 1861 with handguns tucked into their equipage soon got rid of them, either because they were ordered to do so or decided the extra weight on a long march was not worth its potential value in combat. The use of a revolver in combat by an infantry officer was rare enough to be thought worthy of note in letters and diaries. Artillery batteries were issued a limited number of handguns, which were mostly used to shoot mortally wounded horses.
Despite legends in song and story, the handgun has never been a decisive weapon of war, or, for that matter, even a critical one, although from the days of the 16th and 17th century caracole to Alvin York’s trench raid of 1918 and John Basilone’s last ditch defense of Henderson Field in 1942, it has indeed come in handy on a number of tactical occasions.
The most successful users of handguns in the Civil War were guerillas, who usually carried several revolvers (Bloody Bill Anderson had six on him when he was killed in 1864.) and pointed rather than aimed them while delivering a blizzard of bullets in surprise rapid-fire close range shock attacks against an unprepared or tactically compromised foe. There are a number of recorded incidents of this attack mode being used in Missouri and other areas where guerillas were common. These tactics make modern tests of dismounted accuracy at standard targets somewhat moot when judging historical combat effectiveness. The poor sights on a Colt 1860 Army, for example, were no doubt compensated for by the gun’s natural pointing qualities, which were valued far more than bulls eye accuracy.
If you have an interest in New Jersey history, Civil War history, or, hopefully, both, there is a great new source book that is a must add to your library. The title is Stars Over New Jersey: New Jersey’s Generals and Admirals of the Civil War Era, by John W. Kuhl and Dr. David G. Martin. John is well known as the most knowledgeable collector of Civil War Jerseyana, and Dr. Martin is the author of numerous books on military history.
Stars Over New Jersey contains 285 biographies of New Jersey’s mid nineteenth century military leaders. It is an expansive effort that not only covers native born New Jerseyans, but officers who lived in New Jersey after the war, and those from outside the state who led Jersey troops. The subjects include seventeen militia generals, all brevet or honorary generals, seventy-four naval officers, and even twenty-eight Confederate officers. The biographies in Stars Over New Jersey run from one to four pages and all but a few have portraits of their subjects,