Pietta Spiller & Burr Revolver
- Last updated: 19/12/2016
Prized among antique gun collectors, revolvers produced by the Confederate States during the American Civil War bring premium prices on today’s market. Fortunately, for the aficionado whose pockets are not quite deep enough, the Italian company of Pietta produces reproductions of a few of these sought after pistols.
That the American Civil War lasted as long as it did is a testament to the bravery and doggedness of the Confederate troops, and the skill of their leaders. Right from the start their resources, in the shape of manpower and weapons, were far inferior to those of the Union forces, but for four-years, three-weeks and six-days they doggedly resisted the might of the Northern Army. Finally, on April 9th, 1865, general Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox courthouse in Virginia, realising that to continue would achieve nothing more than further loss of life on both sides. As it was, the total death toll for both sides was greater than the American Army’s loss in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined.
With the major government arsenals, along with private manufacturers such as Colt and Remington, based firmly in Union territory, it was obvious that the North would have little difficulty equipping its troops with weapons. The South on the other hand would virtually have to start from scratch to build the factories needed. Purchases of revolvers from dealers, along with importations from Europe, provided a stopgap, but the need for production facilities was paramount to the war effort.
Without a factory or machinery, businessmen Edward Spiller and David burr decided to help the war effort and enlisted the aid of James H. Burton, Superintendent of Armouries for the CSA. Burton had considerable expertise in the manufacture of arms, as before the War, he was Master Armourer at Harper’s Ferry Arsenal and prior to that worked at the RSA factory at Enfield.
In November, 1861, Burton negotiated a contract with the Confederate Government for Spiller & Burr to manufacture 15,000 revolvers with the War Department providing $60,000 for the building of a factory and purchase of machinery. They also provided a Colt 1851 Navy revolver as a pattern for their requirements, with the agreement that, because of a shortage of materials, the frames could be made from brass.
The new factory was built in Richmond, Virginia and by May, 1862 was almost ready to begin production but by the end of that month the Union Army had advanced as far as the James River, only a few miles from the city. The decision was taken to move everything further south to Atlanta, Georgia, meaning that they were not ready to start producing until September, with the first few revolvers, probably no more than a dozen or so, were delivered to the war department in December 1862.
The next batch of 40 revolvers was not delivered until the spring of 1863 and most of these were rejected as faulty. Modifications were made but deliveries were very slow and the Confederate Government bought the factory in January 1864 and moved equipment and machinery to Macon, Georgia. By December of that year, the Northern Army was knocking on the door again and the machinery was once more packed up. Production of the Spiller & Burr revolver never resumed. Total production is estimated at less than 1500 pieces, a far cry from the 7000 per year asked for in the 1861 contract. Quite why the revolver turned out to be a brass-framed copy of the Whitney rather than an 1851 Colt, as originally requested, is open to speculation.
The Pietta company turns out a number of brass-framed revolvers, many of which are merely ideas from their design department and have no basis in history. The revolver we have here is one exception and is a faithful clone of the Second Model Spiller and Burr with the thicker frame in front of the cylinder, an improvement made to overcome the rejections of 1863.
Casting the frame and grip straps as one piece may have been a reason for the nineteenth century design change, with the integrated top strap adding a little strength to compensate for the weakness of the brass. Those who shoot muzzle loading reproductions will doubtless, on at least one occasion during loading, have tried to rotate a partially loaded cylinder to find that one ball has not been seated all the way and will not pass the barrel/cylinder gap. Usually the cylinder has to be removed to remedy the situation.
With the Second Model Spiller & Burr this problem is eliminated. The thick barrel lug has the loading cut-out milled on the right side only, meaning that the cylinder cannot be turned to the next chamber unless the ball is seated at least flush with the cylinder face. A great plus on today’s shooting line and even more so in the heat of battle in the nineteenth century. The edges on the frame are nice, without being too sharp and the two-piece walnut grips fit very well. Other brass parts are the trigger guard, grip escutcheons and front sight. The rear sight is a sharp v-notch cut into the top rear of the frame.
The barrel, cylinder, loading lever/arbour combination, arbour pin, trigger and all screws are black, while the hammer is case coloured. The rear of the cylinder uses a Remington-style ratchet for rotation and deep safety notches – much deeper than the originals – to take the face of the hammer. Looking back over past reviews, I found a previous version of this Pietta revolver lacked these safety notches.
The excellent lever/arbour combination makes cylinder removal very easy. Held at the front by a Colt-type latch and catch arrangement, the small flat knob at the front left of the frame needs only a 180-degree turn to allow the whole assembly to be removed. Much like Remington percussion revolvers, I found it easier to remove the cylinder from the left side of the frame and replace it via the right side, rotating clockwise as I did so. The cylinder locks up very tightly, showing good mating between the locking bolt and its notches on the cylinder periphery.
The capping cut-out on the right side of the recoil shield is somewhat smaller than most revolvers of this type but the nipples are angled slightly away from the central axis, so placing the small percussion caps in position is not quite as bad as it might have been. Remington number 11 caps were a good fit and functioned faultlessly throughout. The solid frame design prevents any broken cap fragments from falling into the hammer channel, as sometimes happens with the Colt open frame style of revolver.
With its 6½-inch barrel, the Spiller & Burr is slightly more compact than the ‘belt’ or ‘navy’ revolvers from the likes of Colt and Remington but offers a similar size grip and packs just as much punch as the opposition. The sights described above, provide a decent enough picture for the use for which the revolver was designed, that is a fairly large target at relatively close range.
Cocking the revolver required a shade more effort than some I have used and the trigger pull was heavier than many, but this is something that could easily be improved. A load of twentytwo grains of Henry Krank fine black powder behind a .375-inch lead ball, with a wax ‘cookie’ in between, proved a very manageable combination.
The shorter barrel means a marginally shorter rammer but it still pushed the balls home with little effort. Best that I could manage was five shots into a shade over four-inches at 20-yards, but the pistol is doubtless capable of better results in more capable hands.
Binding from the black powder fouling began to manifest itself after thirty-six shots and after another cylinder full it was time to remover the cylinder to give things a wipe over. The design of the lever/ arbour set-up, as described above, makes this an easy and speedy operation. Should you find a little resistance, then place the rammer between two chambers on the face of the cylinder and lever it off. A mop through the cylinder centre hole, a wipe over the front inner face of the frame and the arbour – a smearing of grease or oil here before re-assembly helps keep it rolling a bit longer – and we were ready to go again.
With its Remington-style frame and Colt type mechanism, the Spiller & Burr would seem to have the best of both worlds, and it is indeed a fine revolver. If you are in the market for a .36 calibre revolver, and fancy something just a bit different, then this Pietta is worth checking out. The latest Pietta catalogue shows a nickel version of this revolver, with a brass trigger guard and a cylinder without safety notches. Check with the importer to see if this model is available in the UK.
PRICE: £225.00
DISTRIBUTOR: Henry Krank www.henrykrank.com