IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2022 - 20

Book Review
Upon returning to the United States, Colt spent
several years touring the country entertaining audiences
as " Dr. Coult " while conducting chemical
demonstrations and " selling [intoxicating] hits of
nitrous oxide gas to fund the development of his
gun. " Relying primarily on family members and
friends for financial support, he managed to accumulate
sufficient funds to hire two skilled gunsmiths
to build working models of his revolver and ready
them for a patent application. With his American
patent granted in 1836, Colt proceeded to form a
corporation and initiate manufacturing operations
at a factory erected in Paterson, NJ, USA. However,
slack sales and escalating expenses in the midst of a
depression forced its bankruptcy in 1841.
The early 1840s were lean years for Colt, but his
prospects brightened in 1846 with the onset of the
War with Mexico. Having received an enthusiastic
endorsement of his Paterson-made pistol from
Capt. Samuel Walker and other members of the
Texas Rangers, Colt signed a contract with the War
Department for a new and improved version of his
revolver designed in consultation with Capt. Walker.
Appropriately called the " Colt Walker, " it was the
largest pistol ever made by Colt, weighing nearly five
pounds and firing a .44 caliber bullet that packed a
wallop. Not having a manufacturing facility of his
own, Colt arranged to have the new model gun made
at Eli Whitney Jr.'s armory in New Haven, Connecticut.
Exactly why Colt selected Whitney to produce
his revolver is not discussed, but the explanation
likely lies in the fact that Thomas Warner, former
master armorer of the Springfield National Armory
and a key figure in the development of interchangeable
manufacturing there, had recently moved to
New Haven to superintend Whitney's works. Having
visited Springfield Armory with the intention of
emulating its well-known manufacturing techniques,
Colt clearly thought highly of Warner and what he
stood for.
The story Rasenberger tells pivots around the
introduction of the Colt " Walker " because it represented
a fundamental improvement of the older
" Paterson " model and, in effect, became a template
for virtually all Colt pistols made up to the Civil
War. The shift began in 1847 when Colt decided to
expand by establishing his own manufacturing facility
at Pearl Street in Hartford. Having acquired spare
parts from Eli Whitney, Colt used them to improve
the Walker pistol and design what became known
20
as the Colt " Dragoon, " a large pistol but not quite as
large and cumbersome as the Walker. What really
propelled Colt's fortunes, however, was the discovery
of gold in California and the great " rush " westward
that occurred from 1849 well into the 1850s.
The resulting demand for his pistols skyrocketed, so
much so that in 1849, Colt moved his manufacturing
operations to larger premises at Grove Lane in Hartford.
At about the same time, he introduced two new
revolver models, the Model 1849 pocket pistol and
Model 1851 Navy revolver. Both proved extremely
popular and quickly dominated the market. Thousands
of soldiers carried them during the Civil War,
including the Confederacy's Robert E. Lee.
Colt's star rose to its zenith during the 1850s. He
became one of Hartford's wealthiest citizens and
traveled overseas to market his guns and drum up
orders from the leading powers of Europe. Oftentimes,
he took highly embellished revolvers with
him to present to dignitaries like the Czar of Russia
and Sultan of Turkey. His impressive pistol display
at the 1851 London Crystal Palace Exhibition
attracted considerable attention and received glowing
reviews in the often-critical British press. Largely
as a result of his display at the Crystal Palace, he was
invited to address the prestigious Institution of Civil
Engineers in London and was awarded its coveted
Telford Medal. He even established a new pistol factory
in London that garnered a lot of attention, even
though it ultimately failed to yield the profits desired
and was closed. Nonetheless, Colt ended up selling
thousands of guns in Europe, especially to Russia
and Turkey.
With orders flowing in from the domestic market
and his Grove Lane factory running at peak capacity,
Colt decided on a major expansion of his works with
the approach of the Crimean War. After buying up
large tracts of land along the Connecticut River in
Hartford, in 1855, he erected a huge factory complex
called " Coltsville. " With the large factory and other
industrial buildings located along the river with
gardens, fruit orchards, and other agricultural operations
gracing premises as the carefully manicured
grounds rose from the river to the crest of a hill where
Colt's impressive mansion " Armsmear " stood, Coltsville
had the appearance of a stately plantation. Not
surprisingly, it quickly became a showplace of industry,
boasting one of the most technically advanced
manufacturing establishments in North America.
Much of the credit for Coltville's stature belonged
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2022

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