A little more trivia.....

The original order for the Schofield by the Army was for 3000 1st models and 5000 2nd models and was filled by S&W. At the same time the Army had taken delivery of 15,000 Colts. The Army tried to order 8000 more Schofields in 1878 but S&W wasn't interested as they had their hands full filling Russians orders (and the Russians were paying in gold!) and launching their New Model#3. If the new order had been filled, Schofields would have outnumbered Colts in service. The Army continued to carry them into the 1880's . The Schofield wasn't so much as withdrawn as it was no longer stocked in the arsenals. (Some were still in use by regular Army units as of 1887 per Col. Chs. Pate).
When the Schofield was finally withdrawn from Army service. (Mainly due to the ammunition compatibility problem) many saw service with State militias as late as the Spanish American War. Many went to dealers and were sold in the civilian market. 600 went to Wells Fargo and are a desirable collector’s item today. (If authenticated. There are a lot of fakes out there.)
There have been claims that they were "unsuitable for use on horseback". I have found one officer's report that the latch "could" be tripped in the holster and therefore cause an unintended ejection when drawn. Other officers admired the rapidity and ease of loading while on horseback. Most negative comments I have been able to find is that many thought the Schofield to be "too complicated" and that rapid reloading was not that big a deal. Of course this was an Army that was still issuing what was basically a modified Civil War musket to its troops because they might waste ammo with a repeater.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446