Model 1842 Pistol
date: label: date made
content: 1853
label: associated date
content: 1841
name: label: maker
content: Palmetto Armory
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description:
label: Description
content: This .54 caliber smoothbore, percussion lock pistol was made by the Palmetto Armory of Columbia, South Carolina around 1853. This pistol is brass mounted with a black walnut stock and an iron swivel type ramrod.
label: Description
content: The lockplate is stamped “COLUMBIA/S.C. 1853” at the rear and is stamped “PALMETTO ARMORY S*C*” in a circle around a palmetto tree under the flashpan. The left side of the barrel near the breech is stamped “WM GLAZE & CO”.
label: Description
content: History:
label: Description
content: The Palmetto Armory was established in 1852 by Columbia silversmith and jeweler, William Glaze and his associate Benjamin Flag. They purchased their equipment from Asa Waters of Milbury, Massachusetts. This armory initially retained its original name, the Palmetto Iron Works, which was famous for making tools, barrels and cotton gins. In 1851 the state of South Carolina contracted this company to produce arms for the South Carolina militia in preparation for a potential war.
label: Description
content: In addition to muskets and rifles, the Palmetto Armory produced 2,000 Model 1842 Palmetto Percussion Pistols for this contract between the years 1852 and 1853. These pistols were among the first to be issued to Confederate Troops during the Civil War. By 1860, any of the additional pistols that had not been sold to the federal government were sold to the state government. The factory was destroyed by General Sherman’s troops during the Civil War in February 1865.
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, 145.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: South Carolina, Columbia
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: 1982.0785.17
label: accession number
content: 1982.0785
label: catalog number
content: 1982.0785.17
label: collector/donor number
content: P59D
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pistol
label: Object Name
content: pistol, percussion
label: Other Terms
content: pistol; Firearms; Flintlock; .54 In; Smooth Bore; Muzzle Load; Sa
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: iron (part material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (part material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (part material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 14 1/4 in; 36.195 cm