Only a total of 900 .38 rimfire Navy revolvers are estimated to have been manufactured by the Bacon Manufacturing Company in Norwich, Connecticut, in the early 1860s. Of the three variations, this is the earliest and is easily identified by the loading lever profile and the need to remove the cylinder for loading. It was manufactured pre-1862 given the lack of the Rollin White patent marking that was required after the loss of a lawsuit to Smith & Wesson and has scroll engraving on the rear section of the frame and a triangle pattern along the border at the junction with the grips. The top of the barrel has the one line address and a dovetailed blade front sight. The rear sight is a groove in the top of the frame. The matching low serial number, "21," is marked on the underside of the barrel, on the cylinder pin, rear face of the cylinder, left side of the grip frame, underside of the grips, and the trigger ("1" visible). While no government contracts for these pistols are known, they are considered secondary martial pistols by collectors due to the likelihood that many were carried as privately purchased sidearms. They are considerably better suited for use as a sidearm than many of the other early metallic cartridge revolver and fit the hand well. Had Smith & Wesson not cornered the market through their control of Rollin White's patent, many more of these revolvers undoubtedly would have been manufactured and used during the war.

Fine. The revolver retains 30% of the bright original blue. Most of the remaining finish is located on the cylinder. The balance has mottled gray and brown patina. The grips are very fine, retain strong varnish finish, have some light dings and scratches, and display mild edge wear. The action functions fine, and the markings and engraving patterns are crisp.