Amos Rogers and Julius Spencer ran a company making mostly farm equipment in the 1840s and 1850s. In 1859, they took on a firearms manufacturing contract (as mechanical fabrication companies often do) to make Pettengill revolvers. The Pettengill was not a fantastic design, but it was good enough that after the Civil War broke out, the Union gave Rogers & Spencer a contract to make 5,000 of them and also 25,000 standard muskets. The musket production went well, although the revolvers had problems – more due to the design than any fault of the manufacturers.
By the summer of 1864, Rogers and Spencer had decided to try their own hand at revolver design. Using the experience gained from the Pettengill, they came up with a .44 caliber single action Army type revolver very similar to the Freeman, and in November 1864 got a contract to make 5,000 of them for the Army. Deliveries began with 500 in January of 1865 and a further 500 each month until the contract concluded successfully. Unfortunately, as the first stands of arms were delivered during the final days of the War, the Rogers & Spencer revolver never saw service in the "War Between the States". Instead, all of the Rogers & Spencer revolvers were put into storage, where they stayed until 1901. At that point they were finally old as surplus. The entire lot of 4,982 (eighteen having gone missing over the intervening 4 decades) was purchased by Francis Bannerman for just over 25 cents each, and then listed for sale in his catalog at $3.85.
The Rogers & Spencer revolver has gained a lot of popularity since the first offerings were listed for sale by Bannerman's. Civilian shooters were pleasantly surprised with the gun's accuracy and durability. The gun remains a favorite with N-SSA shooters, to the point that Italian reproduction firearms company Euroarms actually began reproducing Rogers & Spencer revolvers in the 1980's. The design would also garner the attention of prolific firearms design Bill Ruger, who modeled the famous Ruger "Old Army" after the design of the Rogers & Spencer.
This particular Rogers & Spencer revolver is all original, and among the 5,000 pistols delivered by the Rogers & Spencer Co. between January and October 1865. It remains in excellent shape with a crisp action and great markings.
The action is very smooth with a nice tight lock up and no cylinder wobble when cocked. The hammer holds solid on both full and half cock.
The frame, barrel, and cylinder all feature numerous subinspector stamps; which is indicative of a military gun with all its original components. The original manufacture stamps are crisp visible on the top of the pistol; as is the serial number on the bottom of the butt.
There is no major rust or pitting on this pistol and much of the original factory blued finish is still visible; particularly in the protected areas.
The bore and chambers are good with crisp rifling and some minor areas of surface rust that would likely clean up with a brass brush and some elbow grease.
The grips feature a crisp inspector's cartouche.
This pistol would make both a fantastic shooter and a collector's item!
