1851 Colt

[kcmetman]

Where would I start looking to find out if this pistol was issued to this solider?

 

[necchi]

At Colt;
https://www.colt.com/Look across the top bar of their page at "Customer Services", the drop down will have,
"Serial Number look up" (that does list your revolver)
and
"Archive Services" that will document the data for that gun (fee based?)
https://coltarchives.com/archive-letter-infoNeat piece and share,, A relative of yours?
Good luck,,

 

[Stantheman86]

My first step would be to get a Colt Letter

Unless you have provenance or can access any existing Quartermaster ledgers, you'll never know 100%

The man whose name is on the frame may have bought the gun himself during the war and carried it

The name was most likely applied if it was a gift from family before he left for the war, or it was put on after he got out. Or he scratched it in during his time in

Stuff like this is always a crap shoot because information is so thin . You'll be playing maybe, what if , and probably without hard provenance

Colt can basically tell you where the gun was shipped, and in what configuration

It may be an Army depot, it may be a hardware store, or anywhere else. It will be a good start

 

[kcmetman]

Not a relative of mine. just a gun show find. googled his name and came up with the picture. I'll contact Colt and go from there. Thanks for the information.