Friends,
I am stuck on a research project, and I need some help from experts.
A friend of mine, born in the 1920s, has owned the revolver shown in the photos below for "about 50 years." The owner doesn't have much use for computers, but with his consent I have been doing some research on this revolver. I've learned some interesting things, but I'm kind of stuck at this point. I hope that some of you might be able to fill in the gaps.
The revolver is a Smith & Wesson M&P Fourth Change target revolver, 6-inch, SN 291XXX. It is in excellent condition. There is an inscription on the right sideplate, which you should be able to see clearly the photo. The inscription reads as follows:
Presented by YMCA
to
Orton B. Stauffer
306th Engineers
US Pistol Team
Inter-Allied Matches
France 1919
S&W historian Roy Jinks tells me that this revolver was part of a shipment that went to the Springfield Armory in June, 1919. He said that the inscription was definitely NOT done at the S&W factory (note that the inscription is cut through the bluing, whereas S&W engraved guns and then finished them).
I then contacted the historian at the Springfield Armory Museum, who told me that such an inscription was definitely NOT done at the Springfield Armory during that era (although some engraving was done there during the 19th century). He said that in 1919, with respect to firearms supplied under contract from private companies, the Armory merely served as a way station for firearms on their way to their final destination.
I also confirmed, from documents available on the internet, the following information: First Lt. Orton B. Stauffer of the 306th Engineers won a silver medal in pistol competition at the Allied Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) match held at a newly constructed range at D'Avours, a short distance from LeMans, France in May, 1917. It appears that many of the American service members who did well at that event were placed on an American team to participate in a much bigger international event, the Inter-Allied Games, which was organized by General Pershing in collaboration with the YMCA. (At that time, it appears, the YMCA was big into supporting shooting, at least military shooting --how times have changed>) The Games were held June 22-July 5, 1919, at "Pershing Stadium" in Paris, which was constructed especially for the event. However, the shooting competitions were again held at the range at D'Avours/LeMans.
I confirmed that Lt. Stauffer was on the U.S. team at the Inter-Allied Games. I didn't find evidence that he won any individual medal there, but the U.S. team apparently did very well, winning what has become known as the "Pershing Trophy," which since then has been presented to the annual winner of a military rifle competition called the National Trophy Team Match. The pistol team was present at Pershing Stadium on July 6 when General Pershing presented medals and trophies to the winners of the various competitions, in the presence of about 30,000 spectators (see photo below).
I also found documentation that by 1935, Stauffer was a captain supervising Civilian Conservation Corps camps. He left the Army after World War II, as a colonel. He died June 5, 1964, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. My amateur investigations found no evidence that he ever made any mark in the world of competitive shooting subsequent to the 1919 Inter-Allied Games, but I'm sure my research on this point was far from comprehensive.
I found a Springfield Armory Museum page that contains interesting information about a special order by the Army of a later shipment of 50 M&P revolvers (serial range 386XXX), apparently very similar, for the 1920 Olympic games. This page quotes Captain Oliver F. Snyder, Ordnance Department, as saying, "This was the revolver used by the A.E.F. Pistol Team last year, and it has fully demonstrated its superiority over all existing models." The page is here: Springfield Armory Museum - Collection Record,
(Note, however, that Stauffer was NOT on the Olympic team, as far as I can tell.)
At this point, the biggest single question in my mind is about the inscription. I am wondering if the entire batch of revolvers was inscribed for the team members in the same fashion, and if so, who did it? In the alternative, it is possible that Lt. Stauffer himself hired a jeweler or someone else to inscribe this particular gun, or that somebody else did so before or after the match. I don't know how to nail this down except to find some collector who has another one of the other revolvers that were shipped to the members of the U.S. team at the Inter-Allied Games -- one of the 50, if there were indeed 50 -- to see if it has a comparable inscription. Are you out there?
Any other suggestions for reconstructing the history of this revolver would also be appreciated. Post comments or questions here, or send them to be via private message, however you feel most comfortable. Thank you in advance for any light you can shed.
(Note: I apologize that I did not notice and remove the pistol-rug fuzz in the chambers before I took the photo immediately below.)
Douglas Johnson
SWCA No. 2404
I am stuck on a research project, and I need some help from experts.
A friend of mine, born in the 1920s, has owned the revolver shown in the photos below for "about 50 years." The owner doesn't have much use for computers, but with his consent I have been doing some research on this revolver. I've learned some interesting things, but I'm kind of stuck at this point. I hope that some of you might be able to fill in the gaps.
The revolver is a Smith & Wesson M&P Fourth Change target revolver, 6-inch, SN 291XXX. It is in excellent condition. There is an inscription on the right sideplate, which you should be able to see clearly the photo. The inscription reads as follows:
Presented by YMCA
to
Orton B. Stauffer
306th Engineers
US Pistol Team
Inter-Allied Matches
France 1919
S&W historian Roy Jinks tells me that this revolver was part of a shipment that went to the Springfield Armory in June, 1919. He said that the inscription was definitely NOT done at the S&W factory (note that the inscription is cut through the bluing, whereas S&W engraved guns and then finished them).
I then contacted the historian at the Springfield Armory Museum, who told me that such an inscription was definitely NOT done at the Springfield Armory during that era (although some engraving was done there during the 19th century). He said that in 1919, with respect to firearms supplied under contract from private companies, the Armory merely served as a way station for firearms on their way to their final destination.
I also confirmed, from documents available on the internet, the following information: First Lt. Orton B. Stauffer of the 306th Engineers won a silver medal in pistol competition at the Allied Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) match held at a newly constructed range at D'Avours, a short distance from LeMans, France in May, 1917. It appears that many of the American service members who did well at that event were placed on an American team to participate in a much bigger international event, the Inter-Allied Games, which was organized by General Pershing in collaboration with the YMCA. (At that time, it appears, the YMCA was big into supporting shooting, at least military shooting --how times have changed>) The Games were held June 22-July 5, 1919, at "Pershing Stadium" in Paris, which was constructed especially for the event. However, the shooting competitions were again held at the range at D'Avours/LeMans.
I confirmed that Lt. Stauffer was on the U.S. team at the Inter-Allied Games. I didn't find evidence that he won any individual medal there, but the U.S. team apparently did very well, winning what has become known as the "Pershing Trophy," which since then has been presented to the annual winner of a military rifle competition called the National Trophy Team Match. The pistol team was present at Pershing Stadium on July 6 when General Pershing presented medals and trophies to the winners of the various competitions, in the presence of about 30,000 spectators (see photo below).
I also found documentation that by 1935, Stauffer was a captain supervising Civilian Conservation Corps camps. He left the Army after World War II, as a colonel. He died June 5, 1964, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. My amateur investigations found no evidence that he ever made any mark in the world of competitive shooting subsequent to the 1919 Inter-Allied Games, but I'm sure my research on this point was far from comprehensive.
I found a Springfield Armory Museum page that contains interesting information about a special order by the Army of a later shipment of 50 M&P revolvers (serial range 386XXX), apparently very similar, for the 1920 Olympic games. This page quotes Captain Oliver F. Snyder, Ordnance Department, as saying, "This was the revolver used by the A.E.F. Pistol Team last year, and it has fully demonstrated its superiority over all existing models." The page is here: Springfield Armory Museum - Collection Record,
(Note, however, that Stauffer was NOT on the Olympic team, as far as I can tell.)
At this point, the biggest single question in my mind is about the inscription. I am wondering if the entire batch of revolvers was inscribed for the team members in the same fashion, and if so, who did it? In the alternative, it is possible that Lt. Stauffer himself hired a jeweler or someone else to inscribe this particular gun, or that somebody else did so before or after the match. I don't know how to nail this down except to find some collector who has another one of the other revolvers that were shipped to the members of the U.S. team at the Inter-Allied Games -- one of the 50, if there were indeed 50 -- to see if it has a comparable inscription. Are you out there?
Any other suggestions for reconstructing the history of this revolver would also be appreciated. Post comments or questions here, or send them to be via private message, however you feel most comfortable. Thank you in advance for any light you can shed.
(Note: I apologize that I did not notice and remove the pistol-rug fuzz in the chambers before I took the photo immediately below.)
Douglas Johnson
SWCA No. 2404
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