Griswold and Gunnison Confederate Percussion Revolver, serial no. 2651
Griswold and Gunnison
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
This pistol was made in 1864 by enslaved laborers in the Griswold and Gunnison pistol factory located in Griswoldville, GA, about ten miles south of Macon, for use by Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War (1861–65). In 1862, when the Griswoldville factory began manufacturing pistols, its twenty-two machines were operated by twenty-four people, twenty-two of whom were enslaved. Over the course of the war, from 1862 until 1864, when the factory was destroyed in Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s (1820–1891) March to the Sea, it produced approximately 3,700 revolvers—more than any other Confederate firearm factory. Its importance to the Confederate war effort was acknowledged by a visit from the President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) in 1863, an event described in contemporary newspapers: “The President at Griswoldville. – At Griswoldville, on the Central Railroad, where the President arrived between eight and nine o’clock on Friday night, about forty negroes, laborers in Mr. Griswold’s pistol shops at that place, had collected and manifested great anxiety to see Mr. Davis. Being told of it he got off the car and went the rounds, taking each one by the hand and giving him a pleasant word.” (The Macon Telegraph, Macon, GA, Monday, Nov. 2, 1863, p. 2). Based on the Colt Model 1851 revolver, the design of the Griswold and Gunnison revolver differed from the Colt in several respects, most noticeably the grip’s rearward tilt and in the materials from which the revolver was made. The Griswold and Gunnison revolver featured a brass frame and iron components, instead of steel. The scarcity of raw materials in the South during the Civil War necessitated that the metals required for firearms production be sourced and recycled from unconventional sources, including brass church bells, which were melted down to make pistol frames of Griswold and Gunnison revolvers as well as those of other Confederate manufacturers. The Griswold and Gunnison factory was owned by Samuel Griswold (1790–1867). Originally of Burlington, CT, Griswold moved to Georgia in the 1820s, eventually establishing the town of Griswoldville on four thousand acres of land he purchased. His factory manufactured cotton gins before the War, becoming one of the largest producers of the machines in the nation. In 1862 it ceased its manufacture of cotton gins to make pikes. Later that year, the factory switched its production to pistols. The serial number on the Museum’s revolver indicates it was manufactured soon before the factory was destroyed.
Arms and Armor
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.