I have read two articles that have contradictory views of the center barrel of a Le Mat pistol. One said that it's a 20 gauge shotgun barrel (and I saw 'duelist1954" use it thusly). But then I read in a sales article that it's for a round ball, maybe .75. caliber. Any information on what it was used with? Each time I loaded it was with powder, wadding, 5 or 6 00 buckshot, and overshot wad. Either way sounds good to me.
The LeMat was first patented in 1856..., one of the original investors was P.T. Beauregard, and because he went on to become a General in the CSA, he obtained a bunch of "his" revolvers for the CSA. Manufacturing started in Philadelphia and then went to Liege, Belgium as well as Paris, France.
The original LeMat had a some variations based on who ordered them and when, but the Confederate Army apparently had them in 20 gauge (well really 22 gauge .600 barrels) and .42 caliber revolvers. There were some made with .35 caliber revolver portions and 28 gauge shotgun barrels. After the ACW began, apparently because of the oddity of the caliber, the LeMats were retooled to be made in .44, as well as .36. Most folks think that the end of the ACW was the end of the LeMat, that it was a "Confederate Cavalry revolver", but as it was made in Europe, it continued to be produced and sold and saw action in the Franco Prussian War of 1870. In fact there were some made to use pinfire cartridges after the ACW.
The revolver was sometimes called in the 19th century a
"Grape Shot Revolver" due to the shotgun barrel
shooting shot..., this confuses some folks who think the nick-name means the shotgun barrel is meant to shoot a piece of actual .750 caliber grape shot..., and authors sometimes then say the smoothbore barrel is .75 caliber.
The copies have 20 gauge barrels and .44 caliber bores for the revolver.
There is some indication that Confederate Cavalry liked to employ the tactic of riding up close to the enemy as if to actually charge through their opponents, but to turn and employ shortened SxS shotguns, and then to switch to revolvers, and withdraw. They would reload and then repeat this maneuver. Some people have written that the LeMat was designed then to do both, the Confederate Trooper would have two LeMat revolvers, ride up with them set to shoot the shotgun barrels, fire them at close range, and then switch the hammers to give the trooper 9 shots in each hand for a total of 18, which was the equivalent of a person using Colt or Remington revolvers having three revolvers AND a SxS shotgun. The problem with this myth, is that the LeMat as previously mentioned, was patented many years before the Confederate Cavalry employed the tactic.
LD
