In terms of the American Indian Wars in the late 19th century, no battle is as famous as the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25-26, 1876, during the Great Sioux War of 1876 (aka the Black Hills War). The "Battle of the Greasy Grass" as it was known to Native Americans, was one of the greatest battlefield victories in Native American history and one of the worst defeats in U.S. history. In the battle, the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho fought off an attack and then pursued and defeated the 7th Cavalry, including decimating Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's immediate command. Like St. Clair's Defeat during the Northwest Indian War almost a century earlier, the impressive Native American victory did little to slow the tide of western expansion, but it did make legends out of many of the warriors and chiefs that fought that day. By the time the corpses of Custer and his men laid strewn across the plains, Custer was already a very well-known military leader, but his death fighting alongside his command against a superior number of native warriors secured his place in history and has made "Custer's Last Stand" one of the most iconic legends of the American West. As a result, Custer became the most famous U.S. cavalry officer of the Indian Wars, and he and his men have been memorialized in countless works of art and literature. Their defeat shocked the nation. Over the decades, the story of Custer's defeat has been told over and over with varying degrees of accuracy. Much of what happened has been lost to time given no one fighting alongside Custer lived to tell the tale. Instead we have oral histories passed down from Native American warriors who defeated him, reports from surviving members of the 7th Cavalry and the U.S. allied Crow and Arikara scouts that fought elsewhere during the battle, and evidence collected from the battlefield. The basic story is clear. Custer led the 7th Cavalry in an attack on a large combines village of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapahoes on the Little Bighorn River. He believed the village was smaller contained at most 800 warriors, but instead, they found it contained around 8,000 Native Americans and as many as 1,800 warriors. The 7th Cavalry had 600 men, and 125 men were with the pack train. Custer took command of five companies (210 men) while two other detachments were led by Captain Frederick Benteen and Major Marcus Reno. After the initial attack, Reno's men retreated, and Custer's command remained separated and was decimated by the Native American warriors. Instead of one last stand as is often depicted, there were multiple attempts by groups of his men to fight. Around 40 of the 210 fighting under Custer died surrounded by hundreds of warriors on the hill where a stone monument stands today. Reno's detachment, supported by Benteen's men, fought on to the south through the night and learned of Custer's death the following day. The whole nation was soon shocked by the news of "Custer's Last Stand." As a result, the military committed additional resources to the effort to "pacify" the "hostile Indians" on the plains, and most were defeated and confined to reservations within a year. Colt Single Action Army revolvers are among the most iconic, collectible, and valuable firearms in American history. They are certainly among the top "blue chips" of gun collecting. Thus, it comes as no surprise that when it comes to the classic U.S. contract "Cavalry Model" Colt Single Action Army revolvers, none are more desirable than those used by the U.S. 7th Cavalry under the command of Custer at the historic battle discussed above. Our current revolver falls within the "prime lot" of Colt Single Action Army revolvers issued to Custer's men prior to that fateful day: the Lot Five revolvers, serial numbers 4500-5504. This historic revolver is accompanied by a letter of authentication from Colt Single Action Army authority John A. Kopec. He gave this revolver his coveted "gold seal" which signifies the revolver is one Kopec "feels would qualify being in his own personal collection: one for which "no excuses" would ever be required. Few surviving examples will qualify for this distinction." It is very evident why he gave this revolver that distinction considering both its historical significance and fine original condition. Very few Lot Five revolvers remain in original cavalry configuration, and only a few still remain in this high of condition. This revolver is newly discovered as it has been tucked away since at least the 1940s and was passed down through a single family and is fresh to the collector market. Kopec notes that it was new to his survey and was manufactured in 1874. It was sub-inspected by Orville W. Ainsworth, and "His tiny initial 'A' may be observed throughout the various components of this revolver." Kopec further notes that this revolver's place in Lot Five (serial numbers 4500-5504) puts it within one of the prime lots for revolvers issued to the U.S. Seventh Cavalry prior to the historic Battle of Little Bighorn. He notes their revolvers were issued from Fort Abraham Lincoln during the second quarter of 1874. Serial numbers 4673, 4684, and 4696 from Lot Five remained in service until they were recalled in 1893. "Our records indicate that the subject revolver #4694 falls between #4597, a revolver that belonged to Lieut. Luther Hare, Seventh Cavalry c. 1874 and the revolver #4729 which is listed as being a 'Presumptive" Custer Battle revolver that had been located on the 'Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation'. These records also indicate that the revolver #4686 was featured in the late Mel Guy's collection." He also discusses theories that these original Cavalry configuration revolvers from the Custer era were either lost, stolen, or captured by hostile Indians during their service and thus were not recalled for refurbishment but that "the quantities of surviving revolvers from within the Lot Five series seems to cast some doubts as to the validity of these standard explanations." The serial numbers of the revolvers issued to the 7th Cavalry are within the 4500-6559 range in Colt production Lots Five, Six, and Seven. On page 281 of "Colt Cavalry & Artillery Revolvers...a Continuing Study” by Kopec and Sterling Fenn, 600 of the 7th Cavalry Revolvers are estimated to have come from Lot Five, 300 came from the Lot Six, and just 39 came from Lot Seven. Thus, Lot Five revolvers are particularly desirable as they are significantly more likely to have been issued to the 7th Cavalry. The authors noted, “Serial numbers 4507, 4553, 4597, 4949, 4955, 5100, 5128, 5133, 5153, 5147, 5180, and 5416 all have either documented Seventh Cavalry history, or some lesser degree of Seventh Cavalry history or battle association. All of these revolvers are from Lot Five.” In the table on page 260, Custer’s command (companies C, E, F, I, and L plus ten staff and three scouts) are listed as having revolvers in the Lot Five and Lot Six range. The 212 revolvers from Custer’s men are presumed to have all been looted by Native American warriors. After the battle, 302 of the 632 revolvers carried into the battle by the 7th Cavalry were reported lost, and “At the minimum 252 and probably closer to 280 Colt Army revolvers were recovered by the warriors during the two day battle at the Little Bighorn” as noted on page 261. Many of the revolvers captured during the battle would have been employed by the warriors later in the battle as the warriors finished their rout of Custer’s men and then reformed and engaged Reno and Benteen’s men in the south. Native American capture would explain why some of these revolvers would not have been altered to Artillery configuration near the end of the century and also explains why so few survive given the overall low survival rate of Native American weapons broadly. Since the publication of Kopec's book, a limited number of additional examples have come to light. The most notable of these was serial number 4552 sold by Rock Island Auction Co. on May 14, 2022. That revolver is the finest known Lot Five revolver extant and came with documentation identifying it as a battlefield pickup from the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and it also received a gold seal letter from Kopec and brought an impressive $763,750 at auction, clearly demonstrating the immense interest and value these Lot Five revolvers possess. This historic revolver is in classic Cavalry Model configuration. It has a blade front sight, the top of the barrel is marked with the one-line address "+COLT PT. F. A. MFG. Co HARTFORD CT, U.S.A.+" showing the die breaks in the "o" in "Co" and partially broken "A" in "HARTFORD," the bottom of the barrel has "P" and "A," the ejector has the early "bullseye" tip, the "black powder" frame marked with the two-line patent marking and "U.S." on the left side, assembly number "847" on the loading gate, "A" inspection marks on the trigger guard and back strap just behind the hammer, faint "OWA" cartouche on the left side, and matching visible serial numbers on the cylinder, frame, trigger guard, and back strap. Kopec in his letter notes that the grip has "considerable old marking which remain undiscernible. One mark appears to be a teepee and another of crossed sabers." Kopec also noted the old dent on the right side of the butt into the grip which shows these parts are original to one another.

Fine. The barrel and ejector housing retain 65% original blue finish, the cylinder has mottled gray and brown patina, the frame and hammer have traces of original case colors mainly in the protected areas, the grip straps have 40% original blue finish and otherwise mostly smooth brown patina, and the revolver has generally fairly mild overall wear for a Lot Five revolver that may have seen use at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and could have been captured by Sioux or Cheyenne warriors. The grip is also fine and has a faint but legible cartouche, mild lower edge wear, minor flakes at the toe, light scratches, and much of the original oil finish. The hammer will not hold at half or full-cock. The revolver otherwise mechanically functions. This is a very attractive "Lot 5" Cavalry Model Colt Single Action Army revolver. Few of these revolvers remain in original Cavalry Model configuration today, and all are desirable as revolvers possibly used by the 7th Cavalry during the Indian Wars, especially the Custer battle!