Rare, early Confederate States of America, cased, engraved, William Tranter’s Patent fourth model 80 bore or .38 calibre, five shot, double action percussion revolver s/n 20492T, retailed by “Hyde & Goodrich” of New Orleans, circa 1861 with 4 ½ inch octagonal barrel and chequered walnut grips. The rare barrel address reads “W. TRANTERS PATENT / HYDE & GOODRICH. AGENTS FOR THE UNITED STATES SOUTH”.

The case and gun appear in “sleeper” good to very good condition with strong traces of original condition. The bore shows strong rifling with areas of pitting. One nipple is broken. In “as found” condition. The action is good and the revolver is in good working order. A rare Confederate used gun that was obviously well used in the American Civil War, 1861-1865.

The firm of Hyde & Goodrich (later Thomas, Griswold & Co) appears to have been the primary importer of Tranter Patent revolvers into the southern United States. Most of these retailer-marked guns were sold cased with accessories. Period advertisements in the south and extant examples with southern provenance make it clear that the guns were imported by blockade-runners as speculative items for sale in the south. A March 10, 1863 advertisement in the Richmond Times Dispatch for H. E. Nichols of Columbia, South Carolina read in part: “Fine English Revolvers. Just received from England, six Tranter’s fine revolving pistols, 80 and 120 bore. Price $220 each”.

All of this evidence indicates that at least some of the Tranter revolvers produced during (as well as prior to) the Civil War, saw Confederate use. Dating Tranter revolvers based upon their serial numbers is somewhat problematic, as frames were sometime produced in advance and the guns completed at a later date. What is known is that the “T” serial number suffix came into use around serial number 2200, sometime between 1854 and 1856. The majority of the retailer marked guns are from the southern states, with the largest majority of them being marked by New Orleans retailers. During the course of the American Civil War, it appears that the importation of Tranter revolvers was somewhat limited, at least in terms of Confederate central government purchases.

Hyde & Goodrich was a partnership between James Nevins Hyde and his brother-in-law Charles Whiting Goodrich. The long time New Orleans based merchant, importer, retailer and jeweller had been established in 1819 at the corner of Canal & Royal streets in New Orleans. As a dealer in “fancy & military goods” they often sold arms and equipment to the local gentry who served in pre-war militia units like the famed Washington Artillery. As the clouds for sectional strife darkened and the likelihood of a Civil War increased, they apparently started to import more and more English-made firearms. The firm became Thomas, Griswold & Company in 1861 and produced and retailed a large number of edged weapons for the Confederacy until the fall of New Orleans in June of 1862. During that period the former Hyde & Goodrich supplied everything from naval cutlasses and cavalry sabres to high grade officer’s swords to the southern cause. By 1865 the firm was doing business under the new name A.B. Griswold & Co. Apparently, the fall of New Orleans to US forces in June of 1862 eventually caused the company to fail at least temporarily, but it soon rose from the ashes without Henry Thomas as one of the partners and continued with the name of Arthur Breese Griswold only.