1/6th Plate Ambrotype of Confederate Soldier with Rare Revolver and Bowie Knife

Rare 1/6th Plate Confederate Ambrotype of a North Carolina Confederate sporting an extremely rare Wesson & Leavitt Revolver as well as a Bowie knife that is hidden underneath the mat. Housed in a complete thermoplastic case.
 
The first Wesson & Leavitt Revolvers were produced in 1850 were the larger “Dragoon” sized revolvers in .40 caliber. Later in 1850, the firm introduced a “Belt” size revolver in .31 caliber. Both revolvers utilized side-mounted, back action locks that operated in a “single action” fashion. They had a hinged top strap that connected the barrel to the rear portion of the frame, which contained the lockwork. The barrel was held in a stationary and locked position by a swinging latch that secured the topstrap to the forward portion of the cylinder arbor pin. The guns had six-shot cylinders with convex beveled fronts. This beveled cylinder face was one of the key features in Leavitt’s patent application, as he claimed the design would reduce the potential for the “chain fire” of adjacent cylinder chambers when the gun was fired. The cylinders also had oval recesses for the percussion cones, which entered the chambers at about a 30-degree angle. The cocking action of the hammer rotated a back plate in the frame of the revolver. This back plate rotated the cylinder by way of a pin, which extended from the plate and engaged an index hole on the rear face of the cylinder. A second, smaller pin would move in and out of the frame, engaging smaller holes on the rear of the cylinder that corresponded to each chamber, allowing for accurate indexing and lock up of the cylinder. The guns were manufactured with round blued barrels, case hardened frames and brass back straps and trigger guards, which were silver-plated. During the brief production run (1850-1851) of Wesson & Leavitt revolvers, Mass Arms produced about 800 of the larger Dragoon revolvers and approximately 1,000 of the Belt revolvers. Production was ended during 1851 due to a successful patent infringement lawsuit that was filed by Samuel Colt.