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Don’t Tread on Me: An English Colt Goes West

Samuel Colt’s efforts to enter the English firearms market resulted in exquisite blends of style like this Hartford-English Dragoon. It is one of only 700 such revolvers with their parts made in the Colt factory in Hartford, but then assembled and finished in Colt’s London factory.

As such, this classic and large American revolver features traditional English scroll engraving that would not have been out of place on fine British sporting arms of the time. The contrast is made even more apparent with carved grips depicting a rattlesnake and the American Revolutionary phrase, “Don’t Tread on Me.”

Around 200 of these Hartford-English Dragoons found their way back to the U.S. for use in the Civil War. This revolver, serial number 35, is likely one of 73 engraved Hartford-English Dragoons shipped to Joseph C Grubb & Co. of Philadelphia in September 1861.

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