View source for LeMat Revolver

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Lemat Revolver
| image              = Le Mat Revolver.jpg
| caption            = 
| type               = [[Grapeshot]] [[revolver]]/[[service pistol]]
<!-- Type selection -->| service            = 1861–1865
| wars               = [[American Civil War]]<br>[[Franco-Prussian War]]<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = [[LeMat|Jean Alexandre LeMat]]
| number             = approx. 2,900
| length             = 13.25 in (356&nbsp;mm)
| action             = Single action revolver<br />Single barrel shotgun
| image_size         = 300
| origin             = [[United States]]<br />[[Second French Empire|France]]
| is_ranged          = yes
<!-- Service history -->| used_by            = [[Confederate States]]<br>[[Government of National Defense]]
| design_date        = 1855; US Patent 1856
| manufacturer       = John Krider of [[Philadelphia]]<br />Charles Frederic Girard and Son of [[Paris]]<br />London Armoury Company
| production_date    = 1856–1865
| variants           = Revolver<br />Carbine
<!-- General specifications -->| weight             = 4.1&nbsp;lb (1.86&nbsp;kg), loaded
| part_length        = 6.75 in (172&nbsp;mm) barrel (revolver)
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->| cartridge          = .42 ball (.44 repro.) or .36 ball<br />16 to 20 ga. shot
| barrels            = 2
| caliber            = .42/.44 (repro.)/.36<br />20 ga. shot
| rate               = 
| velocity           = 620 ft/s (190&nbsp;m/s)
| range              = {{convert|40|yd|abbr=on}}
| max_range          = {{convert|100|yd|abbr=on}}
| feed               = 9-round cylinder; and<br />single-shot smooth-bore secondary barrel
| sights             = fixed front post and rear notch
}}

The '''LeMat revolver''' was a .42 or .36 [[caliber]] [[percussion cap|cap & ball]] [[black powder]] [[revolver]] invented by [[Jean Alexandre LeMat]] of [[France]], which featured an unusual secondary 16 to 20 [[Gauge (bore diameter)|gauge]] smooth-bore barrel capable of firing [[buckshot]]. It saw service with the [[Military of the Confederate States of America|armed forces of the Confederate States of America]] during the [[American Civil War]] of 1861–1865 and the Army of the [[Government of National Defense]] during the [[Franco-Prussian War]].

==History and design==
This unique sidearm was also known as the "Grape Shot Revolver." It was developed in [[New Orleans]] in 1856 by Jean Alexandre Le Mat, whose manufacturing effort was backed by [[P. G. T. Beauregard]], who became a general in the [[Confederate States Army]]. Some were made by [[John Krider]] of [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], in 1859, including the first 250 prototypes. It is estimated that 2,900 were produced in [[Liège]], Belgium, and [[Paris]], France. The European-made pistols were shipped through [[Birmingham]], England, where they were proofmarked.<ref name="Flayderman2007">{{cite book|last=Flayderman|first=Norm|title=Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms and Their Values|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THeWYkwoLSUC&pg=PA643|date=17 December 2007|publisher=F+W Media, Inc|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-0-89689-455-6|page=643}}</ref>

Approximately 900 revolvers were shipped to the Confederate States Army and 600 to the [[Confederate States Navy]] through [[Bermuda]] to avoid the Southern Naval Blockade.<ref name="Flayderman2007"/><ref name="Chicoine2005"/>

The distinguishing characteristic of LeMat's revolver is that its 9-shot cylinder revolves around a separate central barrel of larger [[caliber]] than the chambers in the cylinder proper. The central barrel is smoothbore and can function as a short-barreled [[shotgun]] (hence the name "Grape Shot Revolver"), with the shooter selecting whether to fire from the cylinder or the smoothbore barrel by flipping a lever on the end of the hammer. Flipping the lever up caused the movable striker to fall upon the primer set directly under the hammer, discharging the lower barrel while leaving it in the standard position would fire the chambers in the cylinder, much like any other revolver.<ref name=adler>{{cite book|title=Guns of the Civil War|first=Dennis|last=Adler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_uDFetQrUbcC&pg=PA205|date=28 March 2011|publisher=Zenith Imprint|isbn=978-0-7603-3971-8|pages=205–206}}</ref>

The 1st Model LeMats manufactured in Paris were originally chambered for .42 caliber balls or bullets in the cylinder and had a .63 caliber (18 gauge) smoothbore barrel and had a jointed [[ramrod]] (mounted on the right-hand side of the frame), which was used to load both barrels. Later, during the American Civil War, a lighter .35-caliber pistol with a .55-caliber (28-gauge) smooth bore barrel was produced. Still, as these were non-standard ammunition sizes (.36 or .44 caliber were most common for contemporary revolvers), LeMat owners had to cast bullets (instead of being issued from general military stores). The final models of the LeMat were produced in .36 or .44 caliber in response to these criticisms, but too few of them managed to get past the [[Union blockade]] of the South during the Civil War to be of any actual use.<ref name="Cumpston2005">{{cite book|last=Cumpston|first=Mike|title=Percussion Pistols and Revolvers: History, Performance and Practical Use|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQausfRgWvYC&pg=PA138|date=July 2005|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-35796-3|pages=138–146|chapter=A Hail of Lead-the Confederate LeMat}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=Design
|align=center
  |File:LeMat digitally remastered.png|Patent LeMat 1856
  |File:LeMat revolver-IMG 0822-black.jpg|top view showing the ramming rod parallel to the barrel and the lever of the pivoting striker
  |File:Lemathammer.jpg|A close-up of the hammer on a LeMat Pinfire Revolver shows the pivoting striker that could be used to fire the [[pinfire]] cartridges in the revolving chambers or the secondary smoothbore barrel.<ref name=adler/>
}}

==Civil War use==
LeMat hoped to market his adaptable revolver as a primary sidearm for [[dragoon]]s and other mounted troops. He entered into a partnership with [[P. G. T. Beauregard]] (at that time a major in the U.S. Army) in April 1859 to market his handgun to the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]. Beauregard, besides being LeMat's cousin, was one of the first U.S. Army officers to resign and join the Confederacy.<ref name=adler/>
[[File:Perkussions Revolver Le Mat.JPG|thumb|LeMat Revolver, original [[Percussion cap|cap & ball]] model, used by Confederate States troops in the American Civil War]]
When war broke out, LeMat received Confederate contracts to produce 5,000 revolvers, and plans were laid to manufacture the gun abroad and then import them into the Confederacy, which lacked the necessary facilities to produce the weapon locally. Confederate gun runners were able to slip shipments of the gun through the U.S. Navy blockade, and it is estimated that about 2,500 made it into Confederate service.<ref name=adler/>

In addition to General Beauregard and Colonel LeMat, LeMat's revolver was used by such famous Confederate officers as Major Generals [[Braxton Bragg]], [[Stonewall Jackson]],<ref>McNab, Chris. LeMat Revolver: The Innovative, Single-handed, close-quarters Weapon. HistoryNet, 8 March 2022. https://www.historynet.com/the-lemat-revolver/</ref> [[J. E. B. Stuart]], [[Richard H. Anderson (general)|Richard H. Anderson]], and Captain [[Henry Wirz]]. Confederate Major General J. E. B. Stuart "was known to favor the LeMat revolver".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pocket Book of Civil War Weapons|first=Angus |last=Konstam|publisher= Chartwell Books, Inc.|location=Edison NJ|year= 2004|page=89}}</ref> General Beauregard's personal engraved LeMat, which he carried throughout the war, is preserved at the [[Museum of the Confederacy]] in Richmond, Virginia.<ref name="Taffin2005">{{cite book|last=Taffin|first=John|author-link=John Taffin|title=Single Action Sixguns|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0vrK2zj7V3cC&pg=PA187|year=2005|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=1-4402-2694-6|pages=187–188}}</ref>

The LeMat revolver was manufactured from 1856 to 1865, with approximately 2,900 being produced. The first models were manufactured by John Krider of Philadelphia, with the second model (the first overseas model) being produced by Charles Frederic Girard and Son of Paris. Quality concerns prompted LeMat to consider production at the [[Birmingham Small Arms Company]] in Birmingham, England, but production was never mounted there. LeMat revolvers from France were shipped to the Confederate States forces via the United Kingdom, and all firearms that landed in the UK were (and still are) required to be [[proof (firearms)|proofed]]. The LeMats that found their way through the U.S. Navy blockade were stamped with British proof marks from the [[Birmingham Proof House]], leading to the misapprehension that the pistols were manufactured in the UK. A handful are known to have been made illegitimately in the UK by an unknown manufacturer, believed to be the [[London Armoury Company]], but only two examples survive to the present day, and it is doubtful any of the English-made LeMats ever saw service during the U.S. Civil War.<ref name="Lewis2010">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Russell E.|title=Warman's Civil War Collectibles Identification and Price Guide|date=4 March 2010|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-1522-3|pages=331–333}}</ref>

The original revolver, constructed of [[blued steel]] with grips of checkered [[walnut]], was not considered to be a very accurate weapon, although it was deadly at close range. Civil War cavalrymen, particularly in the South, preferred to carry several pistols, as it was faster to draw another loaded weapon than to try to reload a cap and ball revolver in combat.

After the introduction of [[cartridge (firearms)|cartridge]]-firing [[firearm]]s, the LeMat system appeared in [[pinfire]], but this version is exceedingly rare. A centerfire version in [[12 mm Perrin]] or [[11 mm Chamelot-Delvigne]], with a 24 gauge shot barrel, was made in later years in Belgium.<ref name=adler/> While having better sales than its pinfire relative, the centerfire LeMat also had no real commercial success due to the invention of the double-action system. With both weapons, loading was accomplished via a loading gate at the 4 o'clock position for the cylinder and by swinging the breech of the shot barrel up and left.<ref name=adler/>

==Variants==
* '''Black Powder Caplock''' – The first variant of the LeMat.<ref name="Shideler2011"/>
* '''Pinfire Cartridge''' – Second variant, can be recognised by cylinder.<ref name="Lewis2010"/>
* '''Centerfire Cartridge''' – The centerfire variant came with a distinctive grip.<ref name=adler/>
* '''Carbine''' – A rare variant with extended barrels and a rifle-type stock totaling 20" in length.<ref name="Shideler2011">{{cite book|last=Shideler|first=Dan|title=The Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xyoOLh4ZNCQC&pg=PA556|date=10 May 2011|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-1890-3|pages=555–556}}</ref>
* '''Baby LeMat''' – The rarest variant of the LeMat is a reduced size version with a 4 3/4" barrel, the revolver chambered in .32 caliber, and the shotgun chambered in .41 bore. Only 100 were produced.<ref name="Shideler2011"/>

==Modern reproductions==
[[File:Lemat.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Modern reproduction of a LeMat cap and ball Revolver.]]
[[File:Lemat25targ.JPG|thumb|right|200px]]
The Pietta company of Brescia, Italy, has manufactured modern reproductions of the LeMat revolver since 1985. United States distributors include Navy Arms Company, Dixie Gunworks, and [[Cabela's]]. Canadian distributors include Marstar Canada, among others.<ref name="Chicoine2005">{{cite book|last=Chicoine|first=David|title=Guns of the New West: A Close Up Look at Modern Replica Firearms|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNuEWcNOjjgC&pg=PA31|date=2005|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=0-87349-768-6|pages=61–63|chapter=The LeMat Revolver}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Henrion, Dassy & Heuschen Revolver]]
* [[Pistola con caricato]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
* ''The Confederate LeMat Revolver'', Doug Adams, Mowbray Publishing, 2005.

==External links==
* {{US patent|15925|U.S. Patent 15,925 issued on 21 October 1856}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312142138/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_158_26/ai_86704796/pg_2 Article] from ''[[American Handgunner]]'', July 2002, on the Navy Arms reproduction LeMat Revolver

{{Multiple Barrel Firearms}}

{{USCWWeapons}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemat Revolver}}
[[Category:American Civil War weapons]]
[[Category:Combination guns]]
[[Category:Early revolvers]]
[[Category:Military revolvers]]
[[Category:Multiple-barrel firearms]]
[[Category:Revolvers of the United States]]
[[Category:Single-action revolvers]]
[[Category:Weapons of the Confederate States of America]]
[[Category:Guns of the American West]]
[[Category:Black-powder pistols]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1856]]