This is among the rarest of Civil War era American percussion pistols and is in outstanding condition. Only 100 are estimated to have been manufactured by the Union Knife Company in Naugatuck, Connecticut, for John P. Lindsay, a former employee of the Springfield Armory. All of Lindsay's weapons are rare, but this model and the slightly smaller belt version are the rarest. He had hoped to get a government contract for this version. Lindsay lost his brother to an Indian attack and sought to prevent other families from suffering the same loss. His brother had been armed with a conventional musket and was able to neutralize one of his two attackers, but, with his only shot spent, his second, likely furious, assailant was able to overpower him, kill him, and take his scalp. Lindsay believed a second shot would have saved his brother's life and thus set about finding a way to provide one. His answer was three sizes of two-shot pistols and the Model 1863 rifle-musket. Firearms with multiple loads in a single barrel had been experimented with since at least the 16th century, but they were never widely adopted because they were potentially dangerous to their users. The bullet from the second load was supposed to provide a gas seal and thereby prevent both charges from going off at once; however, if the wrong hammer released or there was a gas leak, both charges could ignite at once creating at minimum excessive recoil and very likely exploding or otherwise disabling the weapon. Multiple discharges were apparently not uncommon with the Lindsay Model 1863 rifle-muskets issued to the 16th Michigan Volunteer Infantry at Peebles Farm, Virginia, in 1864 either due to errors in safely loading the weapons in the heat of battle or because of weapon malfunctions. This exceptional example has the standard brass "knife blade" front sight on a barrel with round front section and reinforced rear section marked with the matching serial number on the bottom and "LINDSAY'S/YOUNG-AMERICA/PATENT'D. OCT. 9 1860." on top at the breech. The "gunmetal" (bronze alloy) frame has a notch between the two hammers for a rear sight and the matching serial number on the bottom at the breech and left side under the grip at the toe.

Very fine. The barrel retains 85% plus of the bright original high polish blue finish and has some small patches of gray and brown patina and scattered light scratches. The frame has a naturally varied aged patina overall and some minor marks. The hammers and trigger have flourishes of subtle case colors, minor spotting, and gray patina. The grips are also very fine and retain nearly all of the original finish, minor scratches and dings, and mild lower edge wear. Mechanically fine. The markings remain sharp. This is one of the finest examples extant of one of the rarest of all Civil War era pistols. Given only 100 are believed to have been manufactured and many were lost or destroyed both during the war and the following century and half, you are unlikely to get another shot at acquiring one of these rare pistols, especially in this fabulous condition, any time soon. Even with the thousands of arms that pass through our auctions every year, we have only sold three of these incredibly rare Lindsay "martial" pistols in over a decade, and this one is by far the best!