Historic American Civil War presentation, Tiffany gripped with “H” monogram and factory engraved cased Colt Model 1849 Pocket percussion revolver s/n 154206 inscribed to Major General Joseph Hooker. Contained in its nicely figured walnut presentation case, with scroll engraved triangular corner pieces. Its scroll engraved central rectangular silver-plated escutcheon with rounded corners is inscribed:    

Presented / To / MAJ. GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER / From the / Officers of the 20^th Corps / 1866

Special features include a hand engraved “SAML COLT ” barrel address. Hand engraved “COLT’S PATENT” on left side of the frame. Rare Mexican eagle & snake silver-plated Tiffany grips with the monogram “H” on the rear panel. Factory number 2 scroll engraving to the barrel, frame, loading lever and trigger-guard. Special features also include a bird of prey’s head engraved on the left side of the barrel lug, a dog’s head engraved on the right side of the barrel lug and a serpent engraved near the hammer screw. All screws are also engraved. Four inch blued barrel and five-shot cylinder with case-hardened frame, hammer and loading lever.

Accessories include a silver-plated brass .31 calibre mould, silver-plated nipple key, large eagle holding a revolver in its left claw and a powder flask in its right claw, Eley Bros 250 count cap tin with green label for Colt belt and pocket pistols. Complimented with key for the case.

Very fine condition, with much finish and silver-plating. All matching numbers, with all pins intact on the rear of the cylinder. The bore is good. Overall the action is good and in good working order   

Provenance can be traced back to the 1980’s. This beautifully engraved gun deserves a lot more research.

Joseph Hooker (1814-1879) was a career U.S. military officer who served as a major general and commander of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. He entered the Civil War in 1861 as a brigadier general and gained a reputation as a reliable combat commander during the Peninsula Campaign and the Battle of Antietam. After the Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Hooker succeeded General Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac in early 1863. Hooker was beloved by his men for his morale-boosting improvements in food rations and medical care, but a surprising defeat at the Battle of Chancellorsville led to his resignation in June 1863 just days before the Battle of Gettysburg. Hooker later served in the war’s Western Theatre during the Chattanooga and Atlanta campaigns in 1864. He ended the Civil War as a departmental commander in Ohio. He died in 1879 at the age of 64.