By the end of the Civil War, the self-contained metallic cartridge had proven itself to be the future of ammunition. Simple, powerful, and easy to use, armies all over the world had begun to experiment with metallic cartridges by 1865. Chief among them was America, as the Ordnance Department had gotten a front row seat in the development of the metallic cartridge through the innovation spurred by the War Between the States. But, while their were few that would argue against the innovation that metallic cartridges provided, the verdict was still out when it came to the merits of repeating weapons. While repeating firearms, like the Spencer, had proven themselves to be great assets on the battlefield, the end of the resulted in an immediate return to the doctrine of single shot long arms to reduce the potential for ammunition wastage. The "Old Guard" bureaucrats in Washington voiced concerns that the large-scale issuance of repeaters would exponentially increase the strain of military logistics in providing enough ammunition to an army that could now fire their weapons as much as ten times faster than a single shot right. Considering the logistical nightmare that both Northern and Southern armies faced in providing the various types and calibers of ammunitions to troops largely armed with single-shot muzzleloaders during the Civil War, these concerns are understandable. In fact, this doctrine would persist for a surprisingly long time, even after the adoption of bolt action repeating rifles, the US Board of Ordnance continued to insist upon the addition of "cartridge cut-off" devices that forced soldiers to single load their rifles rather than allowing them to feed from the magazine. In fact, cartridge cut-off - equipped rifles were still produced as late as 1945 in the M1903A3!
Even branches of the military that had already seen large scale issuance of repeating firearms, like the Cavalry and Navy who had both officially adopted the revolver as their official sidearm during the War, were now seeing revolver contracts cancelled and new bids for single shot sidearms in their places. The Navy proceeded to contract for a new pistol as early as 1865. The gun would utilize the new metallic cartridge ammunition, but would be a single shot pistol rather than a revolver. The gun adopted was the Model 1865 Remington Rolling Block pistol. The gun was chambered for a .50 RF cartridge that was essentially a reduced power version of the .50 RF Government cartridge that had be adopted by the army for use in carbines. The gun had an 8 ““ round barrel and a spur trigger, and was rather quickly found to be lacking. By 1867 a modified version, designated as the Model 1867, was adopted. This model featured a traditional trigger with trigger guard, and new new centerfire cartridge - the .50-25.
Following the Navy's lead, the Army placed an order with Remington for their own version of the Rolling Block pistol in 1871. he US Ordnance Department agreed to purchase 5,000 Model 1871 “Army” Rolling Block Pistols from Remington on February 25, 1871. This acquisition was structured as a trade, with the new M-1871 pistols valued at $11 each. In exchange, Remington received 5,000 used Remington New Model Army percussion revolvers that were in storage at various government facilities. Remington profited by converting these used revolvers to cartridge-firing and selling them on the civilian market.
The Model 1871 Rolling Block Pistol was a significantly improved iteration of the 1867 Navy model. While it maintained the same 8-inch round barrel and used the .50-25 CF cartridge, it featured numerous upgrades. The grip was ergonomically redesigned, including a spur or hump at the upper rear of the frame to assist with recoil control. Mechanical improvements were made to the lock work and the extractor, and a retracting firing pin was added. The redesign also incorporated a new front sight blade.
Out of the 5,000 pistols delivered by Remington, 1,377 were distributed for field testing. However, the M-1871 was soon withdrawn from service. The US military adopted the Model 1873 Single Action Army just over a year after contracting for the Rolling Block pistols, and field reports likely found fault with the single-shot design, leading commanders to seek the Colt revolver as a replacement.
This particular M1871 Remington Rolling Block Army Pistol is in outstanding condition. It features excellent blue, nice "silvered" case color colors, and beautifully and crisp walnut stocks. Clearly, some amount of extraordinary storage must have been applied to this piece; as this piece retains an overwhelming majority of its original finishes.
The action is crisp with a solid half and full cock. The lock up is nice and tight. The barrel is in beautiful condition inside and out and features a near mint bore with sharp rifling and no rust or pitting. Ammunition for these .50 caliber centerfire pistols can easily be obtained by cutting down 50-70 cases and loading them with . 50 caliber lead conical bullet.
The receiver a crisp legible Remington manufacturer's stamp on the left side. The stocks a very nice with no cracks, chips, or damage of any kind.
This rare pistol would be very hard to upgrade. Its sure to be the crown jewel of any Cavalryman's collection!
