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LOT 241
Rare and Historic Spanish-American War Era Colt U.S. Model 1895 Gatling Gun with Iron Carriage
and Caisson - Serial no. 1028, 30 ARMY (30-40) , 32 inch round bbl., bright/green/black finish. This desirable Model 1895 Gatling
Gun is mounted on an iron carriage, features a ten-barrel cluster, and is
still chambered in it’s original rimmed .30 Army (.30-40 Krag) caliber, with the majority of these rechambered for use with the later rimless .30-06. The top of the brass breech cover is hand engraved “GATLING GUN PATENTED/Manufactured by/ Colt’s Pt. F.A. Mfg. Co./HARTFORD, CONN. U.S.A.” and “No 1028/Cal. 30/T.C.D./D.M.T.”
A forerunner to the modern machine gun, the Gatling gun platform was first used in
combat in the American Civil War, but would not be officially adopted by the U.S. Army
until 1866. Four ten-barrel Colt Model 1895 Gatling guns like this example were issued
under Lt. John H. Parker’s Gatling Gun Detachment of the 5th Army Corps and saw extensive combat, playing a significant role in Cuba during the Battle of San Juan Hill (July 1, 1898) through the Siege of Santiago (July 3, 1898-July 17, 1898) during the Spanish-American War.
–Reported by Theodore Roosevelt, assault on Kettle Hill
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“I leaped to my feet and called 'it’s the Gatlings, Men! It’s our Gatlings!' Immediately the troopers began to cheer lustily, for the sound was most inspiring.”