New Aquisition: S&W No. 3 American U.S. Army

wlw-19958 · Mar 11, 2025

Hi There,

As the title says, I recently received a early 1st. Model No. 3
and I would like to share it with you.

This one is a Veteran of the Indian Wars period of the great wes-
tern expansion. According to the Factory letter, this one was
originally a blue one but now sports a nice nickel finish (as
you can see). Under the left grip panel are two dates attesting
to returns made in 8 . 14 and 12 24. I assume it was during
one of these returns that the revolver was refinished in nickel.

Here are some pics for you to look at.

Cheers!
Webb

wlw-19958 · Mar 11, 2025

Hi There,

Here are a couple more pics.

Cheers!
Webb

iby · Mar 11, 2025

The finish looks real good

Exmilcop · Mar 12, 2025

Colour me envious! Very nice piece of history.

sspierce8 · Mar 12, 2025

I’ve got number 1686. My GGG grandpas. Yours is beautiful.

BMur · Mar 12, 2025

Inspector Marks?

Webb,
Does your US example still have inspector marks? There should be 6 stamps. 3 Ainsworth and 3 inspector P. 2 on the cylinder.
My example shown has matching assembly numbers on frame, cyl, barrel, and latch. They do not match the serial number, begin with a letter, and mine is in the late 13xx number range.

I suspect yours was a late Militia issued gun but why it went back to the factory twice I have no idea.

Murph

Model19man · Mar 12, 2025

Sure looks nice! Thanks for sharing.

wlw-19958 · Mar 12, 2025

Hi There,

It is my understanding that guns sent back to the Factory had
their serial number stamped on the major parts to prevent loss
and keep thing together (if those parts didn't already have ser-
ial numbers).

The assembly/fitting numbers are unclear at this point. There
doesn't appear to be an assembly code on the frame. The in-
spector stamps, the "P"roof and "A"insworth stamps unfortunately
have been polished off.

The grip panels have been swapped with SN 2012 (which is on
the list of revolvers sold to the Government) so, maybe an
armory replacement.

Cheers!
Webb

BMur · Mar 12, 2025

US 44 Americans

Yeah,
Thanks for posting.
I’m still reading, when I get a chance, the military records. I was focused on the Railroad riots of 1877 where the Military records actually reflect a significant number of US 44 Americans being issued to the State Militias in lieu of the riots all over the country. Over 600 in 1877-1879 time frame alone. Also seen in that exact time frame are many thousands of rounds in 44 American being manufactured by the Frankford Arsenal. So that fits like a glove.

I believe a large number of these basically sat in the various arsenals for years ( probably still crated) before being issued. I’m working my way back to 1871 with the records to see how many were issued to the Infantry/ Cavalry units. So far I’ve accounted for 138. So not many actually left to account for.

What’s also interesting is the very early inspection process seems to be somewhat regimental however later guns (1873-1875) reflect oddities almost like they missed something for some reason. Or perhaps sat in the crate for years.

I think there is a lot more to the story regarding when they actually reached various armories and were actually inspected. Or not.

It’s hard for me to believe that all the inspector markings could be removed without leaving evidence of over polishing. Especially the P’ stamp in the cylinder flute and the A’ found on the back of the cylinder.

I’ve documented a few Schofields that went back to the factory (Wells Fargo research) and all of those inspector markings are found intact.

So I’m thinking the early 1871 inspection process and gun distribution was far from regimental for some reason. Military communications clearly reflect that a lot was going on at that time with various cartridge conversion contracts. Seems to have been very busy.

Murph

wlw-19958 · Mar 12, 2025

Hi There,

BMur said:
It’s hard for me to believe that all the inspector markings could be removed without leaving evidence of over polishing. Especially the P’ stamp in the cylinder flute and the A’ found on the back of the cylinder.

Murph

I agree that it would be hard to polish off the marks without
some remnant or other telltale attesting to the removal. Only
an expert buffer with the proper shaped buffing wheels and
decades of experience could do it. The Factory would have had
those resources.

I am unaware of an Ainsworth "A" stamp on the back of the
cylinder. It is my understanding that the Ainsworth "A" stamp
was placed in one of the cylinder flutes (180° from the "P"
stamp).

The assembly code isn't easy to read, I can make out a zero
(as the second character) but the first one is just a blob shape.
The barrel has a fitting code that looks the same as the cylinder.
Because I cannot identify the first character, I cannot say for
sure they are the same (but I think they are). There isn't any
assembly code on the frame that I can find.

Cheers!
Webb

BMur · Mar 12, 2025

Military contracts

Well,
At the exact same time the Military purchased these 44 S&W’s they were also in the middle of pistol trials that included;
Remington 46rf
Remington 38cf
Remington 50cal single shots
Whitney stationary breech revolver
Whitney revolving breech revolver
Smith & Wesson 44cal
National Arms Co revolver
And a huge number of conversions/ contracts/ and ideas to convert the old cap and ball guns cheaply,
Also selling off old obsolete cap and ball revolvers at government auction.

So After seeing many of these examples lacking inspector markings Im of the opinion that some of the 44 Americans suffered the same fate. They were never actually inspected.

I believe the Army at that time was overwhelmed.

Murph

wlw-19958 · Mar 12, 2025

Hi There,

The revolver Murph posted pics of is quite interesting. I notice
the extractor gear latch is of a later style. It looks like the type
used on the Schofield and Russian 3rd Models. Also, it look like
it has the wrong cylinder. The gap between the barrel and cylin-
der is too excessive.

These early No. 3 Americans had a cylinder that was 1.452" long
(not including the gas ring). By the time of the 1st Russian con-
tract, the cylinder length was reduced to between 1.412" and
1.422" (roughly 1/32" shorter). This change resulted in the gas
ring that was longer in attempt to reduce the affects of fouling
had on rotation of the cylinder.

Getting back to my No. 3, I did some high magnification pics
and I can see more detail. There is a remnant of the "P" proof
mark on the barrel. See pics.

Cheers!
Webb

mmaher94087 · Mar 12, 2025

Webb, that is a nice 1st American.

wlw-19958 · Mar 12, 2025

Hi There,

I've continued with my high magnification examination and I
have to correct myself about the assembly marks. After close
scrutiny, I can say they are present. The code is either "G0" or
"GO." I even found a tiny mark on the frame that I'm pretty
sure is a part of the code. See the pics.

Cheers!
Webb

BMur · Mar 12, 2025

This says it better

At the end of the Civil War an inquiry to the Secretary of War was referred to the Ordnance Dept inquiring about the number of pistols both in inventory and issued during the War with the following reply;

Gentlemen,
To the Secretary of War;
The number of pistols used during the War has been referred to this office and in reply I have to state that there has been procured from the commencement of hostilities to the present April, 1865
466,772 pistols
397,877 of which have been issued to the troops.

So after the war the arsenals were literally overflowing with hundreds of thousands of basically obsolete cap & ball pistols that the Army was trying to figure out what to do with. They also had a very large number of privately owned and purchased pistols taken from the dead. Who knows how big number was?

Many hours of reading correspondence from Military facilities,officers, stations, ships (Navy) inquiring about :
When do we get new guns.? Ours are worn out!
What to do with the old guns?
How to supply remote locations?
How to convert existing guns to cartridge?

The correspondence is endless. So they were definitely overwhelmed.

Murph

wlw-19958 · Mar 12, 2025

Hi There,

Here are some pics of the assembly code on the frame (what
there is of it). As you can see, at low magnification it doesn't
look like there is anything but as I go in, a small detail comes
to light.

The last pic is rotated 90° to make the marks sensible. It is the
serifs of the letter "G" plus a small amount of the upper arc.

Cheers!
Webb

wlw-19958 · Mar 12, 2025

Hi There,

One last pic is comparing the "G" on the cylinder and the rem-
nant on the frame.

Cheers!
Webb

Schof45 · Mar 12, 2025

On the 200 nickel plated US Americans both the trigger guard and barrel catch are nickel plated which is very unusual for a S&W plated single action.

wlw-19958 · Mar 12, 2025

Hi There,

Schof45 said:
On the 200 nickel plated US Americans both the trigger guard and barrel catch are nickel plated which is very unusual for a S&W plated single action.

Yes, that is true but this one was one of the 800 blue ones
originally but sometime later it was refinished in nickel. I
assume this was done when it was sent back to the Factory.
It has been refinished in the typical fashion that S&W used
on most of their nickel guns (i.e. hammer and trigger guard
are case colored and barrel latch blue).

Cheers!
Webb

iby · Mar 15, 2025

Schof45 said:
On the 200 nickel plated US Americans both the trigger guard and barrel catch are nickel plated which is very unusual for a S&W plated single action.

I have seen a number of early Americans that are fully plated.
I have an early 2nd model lettered as Full Nickel plated
The plating was not done in the factory but by sub-contract

New Aquisition: S&W No. 3 American U.S. Army

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