Civil War Armory

Handguns

Handguns are small firearms that can be held and fired with one hand.  These were usualy used in battle for short range attacks.

Revolvers are a type of hangun that carries five or six bullets inside a rotating cylinder.  When the hammer on the back of the gun is cocked, the cylinder rotates to aline the next bullet with the barrel of the gun (hence its name, the Revolver).  Unlike other guns, the revolver only needs to be loaded every five to six shots.  This makes revolvers very efficiant weapons.

Colt Revolver

The Colt Revolver was invented in 1862.  It was a light, five-shot pistol.  It was loaded from the front of the cylinder with paper cartridges.  The Colt Revolver was the first ever revolving handgun.  It  got its name from its creator (Colt) and its revolving cylinder (Revolver).

 
Pepperbox Revolver

The Pepperbox Revolver was a hangun with three, four, or seven barrles.  A bullet would be loaded into each of the barrels.  The gun would then be fired and the barrles rotated by hand.  This gun was popular in North  America from 1830 to the Civil War.  The Pepper-box (or Pepper-pot) Revolver got its name from its resemblence to the household pepper grinder.