The revolver was manufactured in 1855 and features a German silver blade front sight, "ADDRESS SAML COLT NEW-YORK CITY-" on top of the barrel, "COLTS/PATENT" on the left side of the frame, the Texas Rangers and Comanche battle scene with "MODEL U.S.M.R." and "COLTS PATENT" on the cylinder, "V" and "G" on the left side of the trigger guard, a varnished walnut grip, and matching serial numbers on the wedge, arbor pin, cylinder, loading lever, barrel, frame, trigger guard, and back strap. There is a also a "2" ahead of the number on the barrel and perpendicular to the number on the cylinder. The silver plated back strap is inscribed "W. O. Owen/Lynchburg, Va" on the butt. The revolver is accompanied by a research letter from R. L. Wilson and National Archives records for William O. Owen as well as a cased half-plate ambrotype portrait of a young lady marked "AMBROTYPE BY/KEAGY/P.E. GIBBS" and "LYNCHBURG" and a portrait of an older gentleman with stamp for John H. Upton's studio in Richmond, Virginia, on the back as well as "Richard L. Page" marked at the top. Wilson noted that the revolver was owned by William Otway Owen, M.D. (1820-1892) of Lynchburg, Virginia, who was a distinguished surgeon with the Confederacy as documented by the records and was the surgeon in charge of the Lynchburg General Hospital during the Civil War. Wilson notes that the inscription is "contemporary with the service of the revolver, and was likely executed by a jewelry or firearms engraver...It is entirely possible the inscription was done at the Colt factory. The serial number record for that revolver has yet to be discovered. It is likely that shipment from Hartford took place late in the 1850s, prior to the outbreak of the Civil War." Dr. William Otway Owen was born on October 20, 1820, to Dr. William Owen (1788-1875) and Jane Latham Owen (1795-1827). His step-mother, Otway Anna Carter (1805-1852) was the great-niece of George Washington and once owned the famous John Ramage miniature portrait of Washington. Owen was thus born into one of the prominent families in Lynchburg, Virginia. After his education Dr. W. O. Owen initially worked as a civil engineer on the James River and Kanawha Canal before turning his attention to medicine and studied in the medical department of the New York University, graduating in 1842. He was noted both as a general practitioner and an especially skilled surgeon. His brother Colonel Robert Latham Owen Sr. was also a civil engineer and surveyor and was the president of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad during the Civil War and thus took an active role in the movement of Confederate troops and supplies. Colonel Owen and his wife Narcissa (granddaughter of Cherokee Chief John D. Chisholm) owned the famous Point of Honor in Lynchburg. After the war, he served as a state senator during reconstruction. Wilson indicates that Dr. Owen served as a private and sergeant early in the Civil War in B Company of the 14th Regiment of Virginia Volunteers known as the Bedford Rifle Greys and Captain Thomas Leftwich's Company of Riflemen. He enlisted for a 12 month term on April 24, 1861, shortly after the beginning of hostilities. National Archive records indicate that he was appointed to the Medical Department on June 29, 1861, and was confirmed on April 4, 1863. Other entries indicate he was appointed surgeon in Virginia on May 3, 1861. He was posted in Lynchburg where he became the surgeon in charge of General Hospital No. 1 by May 1862. He was off duty sick starting on March 22, 1864, and returned to work on May 5th. He was noted as "absent from 6 to 23 May with A. N. V. as member of Reserve Surgeon Corps. Resumed his duties at this post 23 May..." He was also absent from December 9-12, 1862, to appear before the Army Medical Board and then the 12th through the 23rd to serve as temporary operating surgeon for the Army of Northern Virginia." This would be during and just following the Battle of Fredericksburg. During the war, he came to be surgeon-in-chief for the thirty Confederate hospitals in Lynchburg carrying for the large number of sick and wounded. Near the end of the war, Lynchburg served as the capital of Virginia after the fall of Richmond. Dr. Owen was paroled on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House with Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia just twenty miles from Lynchburg. The city was surrendered on April 12, 1864, and Dr. Owen was paroled again on April 16, 1865, Dr. Owen married Alice Lynde during the war in 1863, and they had four sons and two daughters and were active members of their community after the war. He returned to his medical practice and was a member of the Lynchburg Medical Association and Medical Society of Virginia. He taught his nephew, also W. O. Owen, medicine, and the younger Dr. Owen became a physician and colonel in the U.S. Army. One of his own sons, Dr. Robert O. Owen, also became a physician, and his son William Owen became a businessman in Indian Territory and worked with his cousins Robert L. Owen Jr. who was the agent and worked in various business ventures in Indian Territory with Robert who later became one of the first senators for Oklahoma as well as another cousin, Dr. W. O. Owen of the U.S. Army. He married Mary H. Severs, daughter of prominent businessman Captain Frederick B. Severs. The Daily Virginian of Lynchburg on February 16, 1892, an obituary on the front page with the headline reading "Death of Dr. W. O. Owen Lynchburg's Leading Physician Passes." He died at the age of 72 from complications from influenza and is noted as beloved by the community. "During the war his skill in this specialty made him prominent in the medical service of the Confederacy, and he was made surgeon-in-chief of the hospitals of this city, a position which he filled with signal ability."

Fine with 40% original blue finish on the barrel and 50% original silver plating on the trigger guard and back strap, mostly dark patina overall, minor oxidation/pitting, distinct markings and cylinder scene, extensive dings over the otherwise legible inscription, and mild wear. The grip is also fine and has patches of the original varnish remaining with mild flaking and edge wear, dents on the butt, and a few small chips. Mechanically excellent. This is an incredible opportunity to acquire a fine Colt Dragoon revolver owned by a Confederate surgeon. Wilson noted that "Seldom are C.S.A. arms available to collectors, having histories, or (even more rare) inscriptions of the original owner. The Dr. William Otway Owen Colt Third Model Dragoon, serial number 15398, is distinguished by its authenticity, its excellence of condition (most C.S.A. arms being in poor condition), the supremely rare buttstrap inscription, and the history and distinction of the original owner."