The Watchdog

Longstreet’s Sidearm

By Craig L. Barry · Originally published March 2016 · p. 19

The Watchdog By Craig L. Barry Longstreet’s Sidearm

The question came up recently on a Civil War Internet chat forum: “Does anyone know what kind of pistol James Longstreet used as his personal sidearm?” Revisiting such discussions are not new or unusual. A few posts followed about the likelihood of the famous Confederate general owning a Colt Navy (like Gen. Robert E. Lee), a Beaumont Adams (like Gen. Thomas J. Jackson) or a LeMat (like Gen. J.E.B. Stuart) even though Stuart also carried a Whitney. Stuart, before he was mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern, fired his Whitney Revolver Serial #3110 — now in the collection of the Virginia Historical Society — until empty into the Union troops charging through his lines. It seemed timely for a look at the surviving records. I will quote myself [the following 10 paragraphs] from an earlier thread on the same Internet forum some years ago, because to my knowledge nothing has changed nor is it likely to change: Arthur Fremantle of the Coldstream Guards noted from his travels with the Army of Northern Virginia that “…neither Lee nor Longstreet was in the habit of carrying a sidearm.” While Lee is known for owning the Colt Navy revolver, there is no record of which I am aware that documents what type sidearm Longstreet owned. If there is no record, we may have to accept that this detail (and many others) are lost to history. There were, of course, instances, though not common, where Civil War generals shot and killed enemy combatants in battle with their personal sidearms. One Confederate commander who springs immediately to mind is Gen. N.B. Forrest who routinely put his brace of Navy Colts to the purpose for which they were intended. Gen. Joseph Shelby is another and he commented at length about the qualities of the Colt revolver. Carrying and using a revolver was not only a feature of the Western Theater and Trans-Mississippi cavalry commanders, though. In the Army of Northern Virginia, Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton carried an ivory handled Colt and the following was noted: “Hampton acquired a small ivory-handled Colt revolver from a captured Yankee lieutenant and decided to try it out. The target was a tree, no larger than a man’s arm, some twenty yards away. He opened fire and every bullet hit the tree.” Staff officer Nathan Davis complimented the general on his marksmanship, but [Hampton] said he personally preferred the heavier Colt Navy pistol. Hampton replied that he expected to use his new weapon only in close quarters, adding that he never sighted a handgun, only “looked at his target and opened fire.”

It was further noted by Manly Wade Wellman in his 1949 Giant In Gray: A Biography Of Wade Hampton Of South Carolina that he also shot two Federals from their saddles, an event which Hampton commemorated by carving notches in the handle. Technically, Hampton could have carved a few more notches, too. The book went on to say that some years after the Civil War had ended, a clerk with the South Carolina Supreme Court and part-time historian named U.R. Brooks, asked the aging Confederate general how many Federals he had killed. Hampton replied, “Eleven. Two with my sword and nine with my pistol.” Brooks believed that number too low and reminded the general of at least two Union soldiers killed at Trevilian Station (June 1864). “Oh,” replied Hampton, “I did not count them, they were running.” While Lee owned a personal sidearm, he apparently did not normally carry it in battle. According to Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms, in 1870 after Lee had passed away, his Colt Navy revolver was still loaded and had to be emptied out. It was carrying the rounds last placed in its cylinders

Wartime image of Gen. James Longstreet (Library of Congress)

sometime during the Civil War. Lee, for his part was, like Longstreet, not known for carrying either a personal revolver or a saber in combat. While such items as swords and revolvers were considered “badges of rank” and hence often carried by ranking officers, it would appear that the best answer is some generals did and some generals did not carry personal sidearms. Considered another way, since General Longstreet was accidentally injured and lost use of his right arm in 1864, if it had gotten to the point where he had needed a revolver during a battle, things were very bad indeed. Craig L Barry writes for The Watchdog, a non-profit that specializes in the social and material culture of the Civil War era. For more, see letter in this issue.