Model 1826 Pistol
date: label: date made
content: 1830
name: label: maker
content: Evans, W. L.
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description:
label: Description
content: This .54 caliber U.S. Model 1826 smoothbore flintlock Navy pistol was made by W.L. Evans of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. It has iron mountings including an iron backstrap from the tang to the buttcap with an iron belt hook. All the iron parts are browned. The barrel bands are secured by springs. It has a swivel type steel ramrod and a brass flash pan.
label: Description
content: The lockplate is stamped “US/WL/EVANS”. The top of the barrel is stamped “LS US P” and the left side of the stock is stamped “C/IP”. It is also stamped “1830” at the rear of the lockplate.
label: Description
content: History:
label: Description
content: In 1825, John Rogers – a gun manufacturer in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania – could not get enough money to fund his government contracts, so he went into business with W.L. Evans. They produced these Model 1826 pistols between the years 1830 and 1831. Less than 1,000 of these particular pistols were made; making it very rare.
label: Description
content: This pistol was part of a contract for the Navy and is nearly identical to the Model 1826 made by Simeon North. Rogers and Evan’s factory was largely successful until a flood of Valley Creek washed away the entire factory. A new one was never built.
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: Flayderman, Norm. Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms…and their Values, Gun Digest Books, Iola, 2007. 9th edition
label: Description
content: Gardner, Robert E. Col. Small Arms Makers: A Directory of Fabricators of Firearms, Edged Weapons, Crossbows and Polearms, Crown Publishers Inc, New York: 1963, p 61.
label: Description
content: Houting, Scott. The Evans Family of Valley Forge: The US Model 1816 Flintlock Musket.” Valley Forge Historical National Park <www.tehistory.org/hqda/pdf/v40/Volume40_N4_115.pdf>.
label: Description
content: Smith, Samuel E. and Edwin W. Bitter. Historic Pistols: The American Martial Flintlock 1760-1845, Scalamandre Publications, New York: 1986, p. 319.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Valley Forge
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: See more items in
content: The Bitter Collection of Firearms
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Adriana and Edwin W. Bitter Family Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1986.0024.18
label: accession number
content: 1986.0024
label: catalog number
content: 1986.0024.18
label: collector/donor number
content: P112L
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pistol
label: Object Name
content: pistol, flintlock
label: Other Terms
content: pistol; Firearms; Navy; Flintlock; .54 In; Smooth Bore; Muzzle Load; Sa
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (part material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (part material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 13 1/2 in; 34.29 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 1/4 in x 14 in x 5 7/8 in; 5.715 cm x 35.56 cm x 14.9225 cm