Wasn't there an American general that carried ivory handled pistols...or was it pearl? One was a S&W revolver, I think.


Happy Independence Day!

God bless,
Birdgun

Ivory.
As George C Scott said in the movie..
Only a "New Orleans pimp carries a gun with pearl grips".

Or something close to that.

And happy Independence Day to you too.

Happy Independence Day to all. A great post and vid to watch today. : )

Nice video,of General Patton's revolvers and pistols.

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Thanks for posting on this July 4th!

I watched the 1970 movie recently on DVD and my Nigerian maid, who had never heard of Patton, was impressed as she saw it, too.

But I think what impressed the most was his vanity, being willing to lose American lives, just to beat Lord Montgomery to some victories.

Both men were peacocks. But had the US not had Patton, vanity and all, the war would have lasted longer and victory been more in doubt.

I do admire his interest in firearms.

So, that's a 3" Pre-27, right?

Sort of.... It's the first 357, AKA Registered Magnum #506 3.5" barrel. Customer could order any length from 3.5"-8.75" in 1/4" increments.
The video says he paid $60.00 for it, that was retail price. Military and Law Enforcement bought at a discounted price of $48.00 as shown on order form below. In other pic, S&W on his right and Colt SAA on his left.

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	Patton%20N_%20Africa_zpswhfulza6.jpg (82.5 KB, 229 views)

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George Patton served as a lieutenant on the staff of General "Black Jack" Pershing during the punitive expedition into Mexico, dealing with cross-border incursions by Mexican insurgents (bandits) serving under Pancho Villa and other revolutionary figures of the period (roughly 1913-1918).

Patton was the only US Army cavalry officer ever to be recognized as a "saber master" after spending about 2 years studying cavalry tactics in France. He was reportedly very upset when the decision was made to have US troops enter Mexico without their sabers (but ultimately supported by Dodge touring cars and a couple of airplanes).

Patton was highly critical of the then-new Colt 1911 .45 pistol, proclaiming it to be unreliable in combat use. During his time in Mexico he is reported to have privately purchased a new Colt SAA in .45 Long Colt caliber with hand-engraved ivory grips (he was rather wealthy and did not scrimp on personal expenditures, although still a very junior officer). On one scouting mission Patton is reported to have shot and killed two Mexican insurgents with his Colt revolver and returned to headquarters with their bodies strapped onto the Dodge automobile's fenders.

World War I followed quickly, and Patton received assignments, promotions and command positions. By the time World War II came along Patton was a very senior officer, and anyone who has studied his WW2 service can attest to his eccentric, even egomaniacal nature. He was known to carry his (general officer's issue) Colt Model 1903 pistol, either in a shoulder holster or just stuffed into his belt under his tunic, as well as the old Colt Single Action Army. He also had an early S&W Registered Magnum .357, also with hand-carved ivory grips, which he frequently carried.

Frequently at odds with higher command authorities (including the Commander in Chief), frequently known to embark on combat initiatives without consulting higher headquarters, and frequently known to speak his mind without concerns for diplomacy (or even common decency), Patton was relieved of command and assigned to England, where he was the putative commander of the ghost invasion forces created using plywood and inflatable tanks and artillery pieces to spoof Nazi reconnaissance forces.

Not a warm and fuzzy, give me a hug kind of guy, but he did prove rather useful in his several roles. Patton reportedly died in an automobile accident, which conspiracy theorists continue to speculate as being a political assassination.

Very good and accurate summary of Patton. I enjoyed the recap, as I do when I read about his life from time to time.
His death was somewhat coincidental after his expressed desires to finish the job..... suggesting taking on Joe Stalin after Germany fell. I have always wondered what the world would be like today if Patton prevailed..... for all I know we could still be at war (a fighting war).

True to a degree, but Patton’s vanity was backed up by competent leadership. With the exception of El Alamein, Monty wasted lives on plans that criminally stupid. Eisenhower & Bradley (Marshall & FDR can probably be thrown in) were to blame for letting Monty & Winnie do it.

You may include Sir Bernard Montgomery, English general, in the ego club. Pious, non drinker or smoker wasted more lives of his men than anyone else I can recall.

Patton was a fascinating character with a very interesting biography, as outlined by Lobo above.

But some of the stuff fantasized nowadays by Patton worshippers is quite ludicrous. In various forums, you can read how he would have been in Berlin before the Russians or, not satisfied with that, how he would have gone on straight to Moscow if Eisenhower had just let him.

Utter humbug. He was a competent battlefield commander and a natural leader who knew how to motivate his men, but he never commanded more than a few divisions, and he also got lucky; a few of his signature achievements, the dash across Sicily and the relief of Bastogne, commenced at a time when the Germans were already on the verge of packing it in.

Eisenhower respected Patton’s abilities enough to find ways to keep him around despite various “issues”. On his famous 1945 list of his most important generals in the ETO, Patton was fourth after Bradley, Spaatz, and Bedell Smith.

Anyways, he was still an authentic American hero, warts and all. I don’t know why we always have to turn men into myths. Happy 4th! (a bit late in the day )

When one considers the sports "heroes" of today who have done nothing but play with a ball and run up and down a field or court, there is not a single thing wrong with having military heroes, inventive scientists or great educators who have really accomplished something useful with their lives.

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Bill

It seems that many top wartime generals had big egos: Patton, Montgomery, MacArthur, etc. Huge egos for sure. But who wants to go into battle led by a general with an inferiority complex?

Many thanks for posting a great video. I'm happy to know that his handguns are in a museum and that someone didn't abscond with his Peacemaker upon his tragic and ironic accidental death.

No one wants to have troops killed in battle but some times the losses are more if the generals are not willing to make those decisions when needed. The long drawn out problems we face today are what happens when people aren’t willing to make hard decisions.

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How much of Patton's personal presentation was acting and how much real character? I remember Darren McGavins portrayal of Patton as a man who knew he was acting, as opposed to George C. Scott.
Geoff
Who has been to the museum at Ft Knox, when he was assigned to the 194th.

I have studied GSP (just for fun) over the years just and he was QUITE the interesting fellow!!! His sister Nita Patton actually dated General Black Jack Pershing for years and that I'll bet did not hurt Pattons career either.

As brash as he was, as politically incorrect as he was, and as braggadocios as he was, the General WAS what we needed at the time we needed him. I wish there were more like him today - but today's society would never allow a man like that in any position of power any longer (they barely allowed it back then - and only because they needed him and they knew it, especially Ike)!

Reading his biography's by different authors was very interesting and they all had a very slight different slant, but in the end he was basically the same man. Very disheartening HOW he died.

.

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Vonn is right, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, are good examples of decisive seemingly barbaric actions saving millions of lives. Truman had the courage to make the difficult decision. Patton was decisive and seemingly barbaric at times, but he was what we needed when we needed it. I read his book on leadership. One famous story told described a subordinate engaged in a battle,unsure how to handle the situation he called Patton. Patton, who was sleeping at the time, answered and told the subordinate he trusted his judgment, hung up then went back to bed. In the morning the subordinate reported a great success. The concept was to trust those you choose to put in positions around you. They know what to do and how to do it. You have to get them to have confidence in themselves to execute. It is a good lesson. We think we are helping others when we "help" them make a decision. In fact, we are hindering their growth. Takes a hell of a guy to adhere to that principle when the stakes are so high.

While this has bupkis to do with GSP's sixshooters, here'a a photo of his grand daughter Helen snuggled up next to El Bibliotecario, who has cropped himself out in the interest of both privacy and aesthetics. This was taken at the centennial observance of the Villista outrage at Columbus, NM. Ms. P was a featured guest, even though at the time granddad was 90 miles away at Ft Bliss.

Mustering my panache, I buttonholed Ms. P with a lame story about how I had respected her father, MG G S Patton IV, whose service overlapped mine. We had a brief but friendly chat, which convinced me charisma genes get handed down quite effectively through X chromosomes.

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I have sometimes wondered how much the repository of General Patton's Registered Magnum could raise for charity by selling 100 charitable minded people the opportunity to fire a round from #506. Or maybe even just the chance to hold it with cotton gloved hands.

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I don't know how I missed this on the 4th!! But thanks to the OP for posting it. Nice video. Nice guns. I have read many bios of GSP, and several other WWII General's, including the 3 volume work on Montgomery.

Patton was the wealthiest officer in any of the US services, and could afford whatever personal handguns he desired. He seems to have had great taste in guns, and was definitely a "gun guy".

Best Regards, Les

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He even knew there times he was acting. He also designed the last US cavalry saver after his your with the French, and competed in the Olympics in the modern Pentathlon. Apparently he always complained he lost the silver medal because he put 2 bullets through the same hole but the judge scored it a miss!

Being a retired US Air Force colonel and having gone through all of the required leadership courses, I think the effort of today's military is one in which every effort is made to "weed out" the officers with Patton-like characteristics. As someone years ago said, "The officers being currently trained are being taught which end of the sword is presented to surrender."

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Bill

General Patton had four holsters made by S.D. "Tio" Myers to go on the gun belt also made by Myers. They were left and right holsters for both guns so he could carry either gun on either side. The actual quote from Patton was, "Son, only a pimp in a Louisiana ***** house carries pearl handled revolvers, these are ivory."

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elm creek smith..........
Hey, it was the 4th of July.
The PBR's were starting to kick in.

That Colt Single Action Army is
absolutely stunning.

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