LeMat revolvers are most famously associated with the Confederacy during the Civil War as percussion revolvers, but they remained in production well-after the war ended. Centerfire LeMat revolvers were manufactured from the late 1860s until the early 1880s. Dr. Jean Alexander Francois LeMat received patents in the U.S. and Belgium in 1869 that covered a centerfire version of his famous double barrel handgun that combined a revolver with a central shotgun barrel that also served as the cylinder pin. He also received patents in France, led an American volunteer legion during the Franco-Prussian War, was a negotiator during the French Insurrection in 1871, and developed early airships. Production totals for the LeMat firearms are not known. However, given that production of the more well-known and more often seen percussion revolvers numbered only in the low thousands, the centerfire revolvers from the late 1860s to the 1880s production totals were likely very low, possibly only a few hundred. There are very few surviving examples. The 1869 patented LeMats have separate loading gates for the shot chambers and the revolver cylinders, and utilize pivoting arms on the hammers in order to allow the hammer to strike the firing pins at the rear of the shot chambers. The upper barrel is stamped "COLONEL LE MAT. PATENT" on top, "crown/U" proofs and "6 11" stamped on both barrels and on the front of the nine-shot cylinder which also has a circled "E/LG" Liege proof. Lanyard ring in bottom front of frame, and a removable screwdriver inside the butt.

Good overall with smooth gray and light brown patina, scattered freckling and light pitting, legible markings, artificially aged modern made ejector rod assembly, and light scratches and handling marks. Mechanically fine. This is a unique opportunity to acquire a centerfire LeMat "Grapeshot" revolver!