Colt Samuel

In the time it took to ram a charge and a lead ball down the barrel of a single shot rifle, Comanche Indians could shoot six arrows or run 150 yards with spear and tomahawk.

Photos: (left) Connecticut Historical Society; (right) Connecticut State Library

A Mass Market

He invented a gun that fired multiple times without reloading, advanced manufacturing, and created a mass market. The Colt revolver was a godsend to Western settlers - and the ultimate threat to Plains Indians.

Interest in Guns
In the nineteenth century, Sam Colt's name was synonymous with his revolving-breech pistol, a weapon that was said to have "won the West." The second youngest of seven children, Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut on July 19, 1814. A confident, even reckless boy, he showed an early interest in explosions and weapons. While on a voyage to India as an apprentice sailor, young Colt designed an innovative gun with an automatic, revolving chamber.

Multiple Shots
In 1835, Colt took out his first patent and founded the Patent Arms Company in Paterson, New Jersey. His pistol was different from others; its design allowed several shots to be fired in succession without reloading. A single-shot weapon took 20 seconds to reload - a dangerous interval, especially for frontiersmen and soldiers fighting Indians who could fire six arrows in that time. Army officers used Colt's weapon in the 1830s, but production defects prevented widespread approval of the firearm. Colt would resolve to improve manufacturing, and by 1848 his guns would be safer.

War-Tested
Colt received a boost in sales during the Texas Revolution and the Mexican American War. His weapons...