As I was thinking about Troy Fairweather’s post, counting firearms in my family over 100 years old, I started wondering about the history such weapons have survived. With farms and general stores in my family, there was always interesting firearms, and my grandfather used to joke that our family, like our pagan ancestors, firmly believe our weapons have a life of their own. If only our firearms could talk...
I went shooting yesterday with two brothers who claimed my Anaconda was talking when I put it down, the kinder one said it was telling him to buy me a new set of glasses, the other claimed it wanted to be sold to him for my purchase price 20 years ago.
I have two captures from around 1862 that were in my family, a .36 Navy Colt that reportedly had been worn at the Battle of Groveton (2nd Manassas) and a .58 Cal. that had been stored nearly unattended by a wealthy and wasteful army. There really is no proof of these claims except for handwritten notes made by a family member at the turn of the century. The one family firearm I favor most and tells a story is a Colt New Service 45LC that my great grandfather bought for my grandfather before he deployed to France with the 1st Battalion 5th Marines. He carried that until he was wounded at Belleau Wood and that weapon turned 111 years old this year...
...the Colt was hauled across the world, got soaked in mud and water several times, and seen heavy use. My grandfather was in his 90s before he gave that to us, and for the first time he explained the limp we'd always wondered about, along with facial scars. In 1918 after several days and nights of fighting, his squad had pulled back, trying to catch some sleep when they were jumped in the darkness. He had that Colt in his lap but it had slipped from his grip and was dangling from a lanyard ring. The enemy came screaming at them, one tried to spike him in the gut, hit his pelvis bone instead, tried again and hit his thigh -- he found purchase and fired point blank. It had taken that long to catch his balance, but then he got hit in the face with a rifle butt just as he fired again, the last he remembered.
After several days he arrived with wounded buddies at U.S. Military Hospital No. 1 at Neuilly, France, and was later sent to Walter Reed in Washington, D.C. From there, the battered gun was sent to Colt Firearms in Connecticut with a letter from my great grandfather, explaining its curious condition, the where and when, and requesting an estimate for “...a complete service that will return this favored firearm to a proper and safe condition."
When the Colt was returned, the boys were still in recovery at Walter Reed, and it looked like a new revolver. Even the latch and hammer had been replaced. Instead of an invoice there was a personal letter from the company wishing grandfather and his squad a speedy recovery with their heartfelt thanks and half the page signed by signatures. My grandmother who handled the paperwork for two farms and a large general store, kept records on everything, including the purchase invoice and shipping receipt when that gun was first ordered after enlistment.
My brothers and I have often wondered over other weapons, many from WWII that family members brought back from Europe and the island campaigns. If they could talk...
I went shooting yesterday with two brothers who claimed my Anaconda was talking when I put it down, the kinder one said it was telling him to buy me a new set of glasses, the other claimed it wanted to be sold to him for my purchase price 20 years ago.
I have two captures from around 1862 that were in my family, a .36 Navy Colt that reportedly had been worn at the Battle of Groveton (2nd Manassas) and a .58 Cal. that had been stored nearly unattended by a wealthy and wasteful army. There really is no proof of these claims except for handwritten notes made by a family member at the turn of the century. The one family firearm I favor most and tells a story is a Colt New Service 45LC that my great grandfather bought for my grandfather before he deployed to France with the 1st Battalion 5th Marines. He carried that until he was wounded at Belleau Wood and that weapon turned 111 years old this year...
...the Colt was hauled across the world, got soaked in mud and water several times, and seen heavy use. My grandfather was in his 90s before he gave that to us, and for the first time he explained the limp we'd always wondered about, along with facial scars. In 1918 after several days and nights of fighting, his squad had pulled back, trying to catch some sleep when they were jumped in the darkness. He had that Colt in his lap but it had slipped from his grip and was dangling from a lanyard ring. The enemy came screaming at them, one tried to spike him in the gut, hit his pelvis bone instead, tried again and hit his thigh -- he found purchase and fired point blank. It had taken that long to catch his balance, but then he got hit in the face with a rifle butt just as he fired again, the last he remembered.
After several days he arrived with wounded buddies at U.S. Military Hospital No. 1 at Neuilly, France, and was later sent to Walter Reed in Washington, D.C. From there, the battered gun was sent to Colt Firearms in Connecticut with a letter from my great grandfather, explaining its curious condition, the where and when, and requesting an estimate for “...a complete service that will return this favored firearm to a proper and safe condition."
When the Colt was returned, the boys were still in recovery at Walter Reed, and it looked like a new revolver. Even the latch and hammer had been replaced. Instead of an invoice there was a personal letter from the company wishing grandfather and his squad a speedy recovery with their heartfelt thanks and half the page signed by signatures. My grandmother who handled the paperwork for two farms and a large general store, kept records on everything, including the purchase invoice and shipping receipt when that gun was first ordered after enlistment.
My brothers and I have often wondered over other weapons, many from WWII that family members brought back from Europe and the island campaigns. If they could talk...
Last edited:
Very funny Jeff H.
