Harpers Ferry Horse Pistol
by Kerry Barlow

The Harpers ferry pistol would have been used by union troops,having been designed at the Harpers ferry armory. Designed in 1855 for the United States mounted rifles the gun was meant to be carried on the side of the horse in a holster. It was said that the soldier would carry 1 pistol on each side of his horse. This weapon was a .58 caliber single shot and had a rifled barrel almost 12 long. The barrel is round at the end and octagonal at the breech.

This Pistol had an adjustable rear site of sorts. It was a rear site on a swivel mount. One side of the site being higher then the other. The soldier could tap on the rear site and rotate it around to a different position depending on the range he wished to shoot. I myself wonder how often this would be used in battle!

Another interesting item was a shoulder stock that could be mounted to the handle/handgrip turning this into a short barreled rifle of sorts. This would certainly improve the accuracy of the pistol.

The soldier would load almost twice the powder charge in this pistol compared with the other 6 shot revolvers of the day. Add to this the .58 ball or bullet and you have a formidable weapon. Being of .58 caliber this was truly a magnum pistol in its day. This weapon was designed and issued just before the war broke out, but its probable it was still carried by union mounted calvary.